Cajun Magic
Just a little taste...
After taking his sister’s car keys, Gerald followed the highway signs leading him to the heart of New Orleans. He parked in the same place they did when he came to see his brother-in-law and followed his memory to the old house. The old woman was sitting right where he left her two days ago.
“Welcome back, Gerald Dixon. I knew you would come.”
He stopped in front of her. “You did, huh? Well then, maybe you could tell me what the hell is going on. Nothing has been the same since I left this place.”
She nodded. “Yes, you would think that, but all is well.”
“Look, I'm not in the mood for games. Just tell me what is going on.”
“You have been chosen because strength and courage in a nonbeliever is needed to lift a curse that should have never been cast. Are you up for the challenges? Will you do what is necessary to free Margarita Malveaux's spirit?” she asked him critically eyeing him as she leaned across her table.
“Yes, I want to help her be free.”
She nodded once and stood. “That is why you are here. Follow me.”
The old woman walked him down a small deserted street, into an alley and around many corners. When he faltered, she continued around the corner but waited for him. Finally she led him to a cluster of dense trees. Gerald struggled to keep up. The woman moved faster than he thought possible by the looks of her advanced age. He followed her to a clearing and was glad to see her sitting down against a tree.
“Are you well, Gerald Dixon?” she asked when he eased himself down to the ground.
“I’m fine, I’m fin," he answered out of breath. "Why are we here?”
“This is where the ritual will take place, away from prying eyes and ears. Margarita will be able to manifest herself here when we call her forth.”
“You can bring her here, now, even when I’m not asleep?” he asked wide-eyed.
She smiled at him and spread her arms out over a small pot that sat on top of dried leaves and broken twigs. Muttering words that he could not understand, she slowly moved her hands toward the pot and the contents beneath it burst into flames.
Gerald jumped back causing him pain. He moved away from the fire to lean against the closest tree. He stared at her over the fire and wondered how he had gotten himself into this situation. The old woman was muttering again when and then suddenly her words started to make sense.
“Margarita Malveaux, you are needed, come forth.”
The crackle of the fire got louder and louder as it popped and shot sparks up around the pot. Margarita’s ghostly form started to take shape as it seemed to step out of the pot. She stood across from him next to the old woman staring at him. Gerald saw the very same beautiful, smoky form that was in his room. The firelight made her look less ghostly and almost real, except for the hovering, of course.
“Gerald, the three challenges are not complicated, but they do require strength, stamina and courage. This is your last chance to change your mind,” the old woman cautioned him.
“No, no, I’m okay. What do I have to do?”
She took up a cup waiting next to the tree and scooped some of the contents from the pot with it. “Here, drink this.”
He looked between her and the cup then took a deep sniff before drinking it down like a shot. He licked his lips and shrugged before handing it back to her.
“The first challenge is to retrieve something of Margarita’s and bring it back here.”
He sucked his teeth. “What? How the hell am I supposed to do that? She’s been dead for over two hundred years. Everything she had has long been gone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m— Wait a minute. The woman giving the tour said the house was untouched since the last tenants lived there. The article said she died in her room, in her sleep, there may be a chance that something is still there of hers.”
“You must retrieve something of Margarita’s and bring it back here,” she repeated.
“What, you mean now?” Her expression was unchanged when he posed his question. He sighed and pushed himself up with the aid of his cane and the tree then left for the house mumbling to himself, “If I have to take this long ass walk back to that house you’d better be here when I get back. I'm still not totally convinced that this isn't some drug induced melt down I'm having from all this damn heat and pain.”
The old woman meerly smiled as she watched him hobble away from the clearing.