Chapter 30: Mali’s wild wild stories

Ajamu placed the tea chest and its contents in Mali’s lap as if he was handing her a baby.

“You want me to fasten the seat belt around it?” it was Mali’s turn to tease Ajamu.

“You better don’t let any of the precious seeds drop, we don’t know how much we need yet. With you fresh self.”

Mali was on too much of a high to take on Ajamu. She could see the little gleam in his eye anyway. “Come on man, time’s wasting.” Mali recognized that Ajamu had turned the truck in the direction of Ife Nla. “If anyway? I mean, Ife Nla? Why we heading there?”

“What you call the people place? If anyway?”

“Man sometimes I can’t remember how to pronounce the name. I wouldn’t say it in front of them I promise. But why we not going straight to Auntie Karla?”

“I want Natalie and Dimple to come with us.”

“But Natalie has been up all night. She needs to get some sleep.” Mali had no idea why Ajamu felt he needed all this company. “And why Dimple?” Mali remembered the day she had spent in Auntie Reeya’s little house as if it was years ago, when she was very young. She remembered Dimple helping to make her feel welcome, when all she wanted was to be back in Miami. “Why Dimple, Ajamu?”

“Mali I can’t explain exactly why I want them with us. I am not sure that it is going to be as simple as you think. We have the antidote, of that you are sure; we go in, give a bath, Karla drinks the concoction, wakes up, everybody happy.”

“Right! Exactly! What could go wrong?” What was Ajamu’s problem?

Ajamu pulled over the truck at the entrance to the path into Ife Nla. He wanted to look Mali straight in the eye. “Remember I told you that Reeya might not be so ready to try this? Not only that, I am a little bit worried about what Precious may try to pull. Whatever she has been going on with in that house, she is not going to let some young girl from Miami get in her way. What do you know about obeah?”

Obeah? What had her mother told her? Only ignorant sinners who don’t know the power of God believe in obeah. But Ma also says that belief kills and belief cures. So if people believe in the power of others to do harm, then it will work. Mali remembered her Uncle Sammy telling her how her grandfather believed that everything in life that he had lost, he had lost it because someone had worked obeah on him. Her mother wouldn’t tell her any of those stories, because that would have meant that Granddad was an ignorant sinner. “I remember Uncle Sammy telling me about how some people, including my grandfather, would always believe that people had worked obeah on them. And only another obeah person could lift the spell.”

“Yes, well, it is true, and people in this country still believe in it. I am not sure where Precious come from; some parts of Jamaica practice it more than others. But I want to believe that obeah has something to do with Karla’s sickness. Now I don’t think Reeya will want to do anything that sounds like obeah, even if it reverses the process. So I want a few people on our side. Whether we going to get Reeya out of the way, or have Dimple talk some sense into her.” Ajamu could see that Mali wasn’t convinced of his argument. “Listen chile, you know how you just know that you have the solution right there in your lap?”

Mali nodded.

“Well I just know that I need some reinforcements if you are going to put it into practice.”

Ajamu took her hands in his, and she felt that thrill of electricity travel through his fingers while he looked dead in her eyes.

“Man those eyes of yours,” he said, “Girl, you are going to have to trust me, just like how I am trusting you.”

With Annie Beattie’s secrets sitting in her lap, Ajamu holding her hands and gazing into her eyes, Mali felt as if she could have sat there forever. But they had work to do. “OK, boss. I guess you know what you know, and I know what I know. Let’s go.”

Ajamu gave her fingers a squeeze, then dropped them as he put the truck in gear. Her fingers felt suddenly cold without his hands, but she had to stay on track. She was on a mission, and she had Ajamu on her side. If he was right, she was going to have to be very firm. It would be good to have Natalie there.

*                 *                       *                       *                       *                       *                       *

The ride to Karla’s house passed quickly as Mali tried to tell her tale to Natalie and Dimple. Ajamu had given her permission to tell them everything, and as she heard herself going over the details, she realized he was right. The whole tale was simply unbelievable. From the old man with the light brown eyes, the ‘tiger-eyes’ as Ajamu called them, who had visited Mali in strange places, to Annie Beattie’s journal, it sounded very strange. Then the mask outside of Karla’s room, the carving under the stairs, and the bad smelling bath salts, it all added up to a very peculiar story.

“So Mali, that’s why you never get to see the statues in the park? Because some duppy was telling you story?” Natalie was laughing at Mali, but she couldn’t be mad at her. Even if it was her best friend Jamila who was telling her this shit, she would not have believed it. She could not blame Natalie at all.

“And Jamu, you just as bad. You find some old book and decide is Annie Beattie’s book?”

Mali looked down at her lap, and looked up to catch Ajamu glancing quickly at her. She had forgotten that she had more of Annie’s secrets in the tea chest waiting to be revealed. Ajamu needed to get to Karla’s house and soon!

“I am driving as fast as I can, given the conditions of these roads and the risk of running into some big vehicle round these corners Miss Mali.”

I wish he would stop doing that! thought Mali, what if he can read me when I am thinking about his lips! Thankfully he had his eyes on the road and missed that thought.

“But that is not everything. Natalie you have seen how weird Precious has been acting. Tell me you don’t believe she has anything to do with this?”

Natalie mumbled something indistinct.

“And there is something funny about Shaka.”

“OK, now you just plain paranoid, Mali. What you mean funny?” Natalie was not buying this at all.

“I never got to tell you how I overheard him having some very intimate sounding phone conversations with someone called Nicolette.” Mali’s voice trailed off. She was beginning to realize that Ajamu had been right. It was not going to be as simple as she thought. Walk in, tell Reeya she knew what to do to wake Karla up, give her a bath, give her the segra seeds magic, and all would be well. Yeah, right. And apparently it would be even worse if she tried to tell everything that had happened to her over the past week. If Natalie was giving her a hard time, then the adults would be even worse. Was it really that fantastical?

“I believe you.”

Mali turned around in surprise. It was Dimple who was speaking. “I believe you, Mali. The one Precious come from up in the bush, she have family who is Maroon. Some of those people practice obeah. I believe is obeah Precious work on Miss Karla. And it make sense for Mass Simon to be around right now. Him wife just dead. Him want to come for her and carry her over. Is not the first time I hear say somebody dream him. My sister dream him before her baby father die. Mass Simon tell her to get ready, she going to have to be strong. That she going to have a boy. That time she never even know say she pregnant.

“And Natalie, is you same one tell me that Mali have sense, that she sensible, and is she help you pass you exam. You really believe she telling you story? You really believe she come from ‘Merica to come make up duppy story to tell you? That make any kind of sense to you? If she tell you bout limousine, and big celebrity party then you right to disbelieve her. After you can’t verify that. But she telling you bout your country people. She telling you bout a man that we know did exist. And been dead long time. How she would know bout him? How she know him have the same eyes like her? Think about it, Natalie. It sound crazy, but how she could mek up a story like that?”

There was silence in the truck as everyone thought about what Dimple was saying. Mali was so relieved that someone other than Ajamu believed her. Could Dimple get Auntie Reeya to listen to her story?

Ajamu was pulling up in front of Karla’s house. It looked like his father and Shaka had already left. He turned to Mali, put his hand on her knee, and said in a low voice “I still don’t think it’s going to be a good idea to hit Reeya with all a this yet. I have an idea though.” He turned to the back of the vehicle. “Dimple, I going to need you to back me up. I am going to suggest that Reeya and Jenna take a break, get out of the house for a while. Maybe we could even get them to take Precious with them. They must need to go supermarket. If we get them out of the house, then Natalie can bathe her with the bush. Mali, you see if you can find that book so we know what to do with these seeds. Natalie, you go upstairs and try get Jenna to come down. I will talk to her and she will help. We can do this guys, Karla is waiting on us.”

Natalie and Dimple climbed out of the back of the truck while Mali sat, thinking. Will Precious know we are going to try something?

“Come, chile, we can do this. Precious not going to stop us. But make sure you hide the stuff. If she finds the segra seeds you can bet she going to throw them away. Let me first go in, I will get Precious out on the verandah while you go hide the chest. We can do this.”

Mali let him go ahead, gave him a few minutes before she entered the house. Even though there were more than six people in the house, the place felt quiet and subdued, as if the house itself was holding its breath. Waiting for Mali’s magic to do its work and bring Karla back to life.

Chapter 29: Secrets of the dead

When Shaka and Dr. Robinson arrived at Karla’s house on Friday morning, there seemed to be nothing to report. Reeya sat with them on the verandah, sipping yet another cup of the aromatic Blue Mountain coffee while she tried to make the nothing sound positive.

“Her vital signs are good; her blood sugar is within normal limits. She is turning herself in the bed, and we have been doing range of motion on her extremities to try to prevent any complications. Last night both Jenna and I felt as if she was lighter than before, a couple of times it sounded like she was saying something, but she slipped right back into a deep sleep. Or whatever it is. Glen, you think we should take her to the hospital?”

“NO!” Shaka spoke for the first time. “You know how she feels about hospitals. I showed you her declaration already. I am telling you it would kill her!”

Dr. Robinson looked serious. “Shaka, this can’t go on indefinitely. We are just barely supporting her right now. I know what Ariadne means.”

The sound of Glen Robinson saying her given name so fluidly always reminded Reeya of their nights together. In between sessions he would read Greek poetry to her. And although he wasn’t the most inventive lover, they had shared a love of literature that almost compensated. Who am I fooling, thought Reeya, it was not going anywhere. How can you get the whole package? That’s what I want, the whole package. A good package, an intellectual, a fine physique, is it too much to hope for? Karla, here I go again, always dreaming. Reeya became aware that Shaka had addressed her. “Sorry Shaka, say that again?”

“I was asking you when you going to call her mother?”

“Shaka, every day I get up and think, I need to call her. Then I ketch coward and decide to wait. By evening I decide that if there is no change by morning I will definitely call. And then I start all over again. Today is Friday, right? Her mother would be expecting her back from the islands tomorrow. So if Karla doesn’t decide to wake up by tomorrow, I guess we will have to break down and tell her. Glen, you better have some intravenous sedation ready for that. Cause it will not be pretty, mi tell you.

“Come, Glen, come and examine her. See if you see a little lightening of her level of consciousness.” The old time medical terminology slipped back into her conversation so easily, it was hard to imagine how many years had passed since she had worked in a hospital. Once a nurse, always a nurse. Glen and Reeya left Shaka sitting on the couch, and climbed slowly up the stairs. Outside the bedroom, Reeya was surprised by a new carving set on the little table outside. It was a mother and child, but the expression on the mother’s face was truly horrendous. How had she never noticed it before? Had it been there all along and she had not seen it?

Reeya left Glen with Karla, and motioned Jenna to come outside. She pointed at the carving, with a questioning look on her face.

“This is hideous! Why did you put it there?” Jenna seemed as shocked as Reeya.

“Me? I didn’t put it there! I just saw it right now. So it wasn’t there before?”

“Absolutely not, it is gross!” Like Reeya, Jenna was whispering, as if neither of them wanted Karla to know about the carving.

“You think Precious…?” they spoke with one voice. Jenna thought of Mali, and knew that the carving had to be moved as far away as possible.

“I’ll take it, you go and see what Glen thinks” and Jenna picked up the carving, with the grotesque face turned away from her as she hurried downstairs.

Approaching the kitchen, Jenna knew she couldn’t get past Precious, so she doubled back and hid the carving under the stairs. She became aware of another whispered conversation taking place in the kitchen. She quietly approached, and strained to hear what she could. Unfortunately only a few words were audible. ‘Daughter’, ‘Karla’, ‘taking too long,’ ‘do something,’ ‘Nicolette’, was all she could hear, with indistinguishable words in between. What was going on? Why was Shaka in quiet collusion with Precious? How could Jenna get to the bottom of this? As she stood in the dining room, uncertain of what to do next, Shaka appeared at the door.

“Jenna, good morning! So what does Glen think?”

Shaka managed to sound almost normal, but Jenna could see a nervous tic beneath one eye. This whole episode was taking a toll on him. A short, powerfully built man, he had aged over the past week. He normally exuded a confident charm, used to entertaining the ladies with his knowledge of the classical romantics, his understanding of the art world. She had seen his students treating him like a celebrity, and had wondered how much he needed that adulation. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Shaka, who could resist his charisma? But she had found him to be a typical Caribbean man. Fun to be with, hard to trust. Right now she almost felt sorry for him. His dark skin had lost its glow, he had circles under his eyes.

“Don’t know yet, Shaka. You want to go up there?” Jenna wanted Shaka to go so that she could see if she could find out anything from Precious. And when were Mali and Ajamu coming back? “You hear from Ajamu recently?”

“I guess he just leaving Mama Julie set up. Sorry I couldn’t reach over there. I can imagine the music and the food boy. And the white rum must have been flowing.”

“I hope Mali wasn’t too bored.”

Shaka held on to the railing as he climbed the stairs, looking for all the world like an old man. Jenna shook her head and went to tackle Precious.

“So, Precious. I hear you told Reeya you don’t have a daughter. You want to tell me what is going on here?”

*           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *

Inside Ajamu’s shack, Mali could barely keep still. She could not understand why a chest that had been hanging out for over a hundred years should be so hard to open. But the rusted over lock was making Ajamu sweat. While he worked with a hammer and chisel she paced around the small room, trying to find something to distract her. Why do I feel so sure that there will be something in that trunk that makes a difference? she wondered.

“I don’t know why you think there will be anything here that is going to make a difference,” said Ajamu.

Shit, he’s started listening to my thoughts again, how does he do it?

“Just focus on opening it, then we will know whether there is anything worthwhile or not.” Mali admonished him. “You need me to hold anything for you?”

“Girl you are so jumpy, you would make me hit my finger! See a Julie mango on my desk, it supposed to ripe by now. That should hold you.”

Ajamu knew the way to a girl’s heart. The Julie mangoes were the best, and she hadn’t seen any since she landed in Jamaica. “I thought they were finished?”

“Well, that’s the last one off the tree. I was saving it for a special occasion. Or a special person.”

Mali scarcely noticed his quiet compliment, she was busy getting into the mango. The banging of the hammer allowed Ajamu to pretend he hadn’t said anything special, and he focused his attention on the lock. By the time she had sucked the seed completely white, she saw that he seemed to be getting the best of it. Ajamu glanced over at her, “You couldn’t save some for me?”

Mali could see the lid loosening and had no time for idle chatter. “Ajamu, come on man. You will get more Julie mango. Open the thing! Please!” She was wringing her sticky hands. “Wait one minute; let me go wash my hands. Don’t open it till I come back!”

“Open it, don’t open it. Make up your mind lady, please!”

“Jamu!” she yelled as she went to the outside pipe. The boy is trying to make me crazy! But she had to admit it felt good to be teased by him.

She found the piece of soap where Ajamu had shown her the day he had given her soup. As she carefully washed her hands and mouth she thought about how long ago that seemed. And here she was about to find something, but what? Entering the room, she caught the towel Ajamu threw her, and knelt down beside him. “Did you look while I was outside?” she asked him.

“No, daughter, I am here waiting patiently on you.”

The look that he gave her made her insides turn to water, and she felt that familiar leaping of her heart in her chest. His long lashes, why did the guys always get the long lashes? The slight dimple in one cheek, the flash of white teeth between those soft lips. How does he do that? I am here wanting to do nothing but see what is in this trunk, and he is making me think lustful thoughts again.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Ready.” she answered, so ready, she thought, or am I?

Ajamu pried open the tight lid, twisting and turning the chisel to loosen the rust. Mali leaned in as he pulled it open. “What’s that?” This was cruel indeed! Like Russian nesting dolls, fitting snugly inside the chest was a wooden box. Ajamu lifted up the chest, turned it upside down and tried to shake out the box.

“Look like it does not want to come out.”

“Ajamu please, I am begging you, can’t you just break it open?”

“Don’t want to do that Miss Mali. It look like a mahogany tea chest. These things are quite valuable. I know you are impatient, but let me try and get it out without breaking it. Look, there are initials carved in the top.”

Mali looked, sure enough, the letters A and L were linked together in a curling design. “Annie and Levi. What was her husband’s name again? Thaddeus? How come she had a tea chest with her and Levi’s initials? What if Thaddeus had found it?”

“Chile, I don’t know the answers! Just hold you corners and let me take my time and get it out.”

Ah yes, another of those cute Jamaican sayings to distract her. ‘Hold you corners,’ an instruction to keep quiet, no sudden movements and stay out of trouble. Her father used to be full of such phrases. Nowadays with his young wife, he was more likely to talk in Ebonics. So embarrassing.

Ajamu was gently teasing the box out of its tight womb, using a sharp knife to separate the polished wood from the outer skin of the tin chest. Mali could see that the box was easing slightly and slowly from its decades’ long resting place. She would have to be as patient as Ajamu seemed to be. So she stopped harassing him and concentrated on studying the beauty of his long fingers, admiring his gentle touch as he coaxed and cajoled the shy tea chest with who knows what secrets inside.

After what seemed like an hour, he finally freed the tea chest from its outer sleeve. And then he tortured her some more by holding up the tea chest and admiring the beauty of its form and the delicate letters carved on every side. He slid his nails between the lid and the box, and once more had to gently ease the lid away from the base.

“It’s like it is airtight. Whoever carved this was an excellent carpenter.”

“Yes, yes, whatever, Jamu, come, have mercy on me please! We can admire the artistry later!” Mali had had it with the admiration. “You are torturing me!”

“Tease me, tease me, till I lose control,” now Ajamu was singing some old song, she could see he was laughing at her.

And then the cover was off, and inside the tea chest were a number of smaller containers, and some pages that were held together with a faded ribbon. Ajamu took out each smaller box, setting them to one side. In the base of the chest was one larger box, which he carefully opened. As Mali looked at the contents, she remembered a drawing she had seen in the book from Shaka’s bookshelf.

“Those are the segra seeds! Dried segra seeds! Jamu! Annie has sent us the antidote! We have the cure!”

“Are you sure?”

“I swear! The book I was telling you about had some illustrations, and this is what the segra seeds looked like! We have to go get the book! I told you that it tells you how they make the antidote from the segra seeds! This is it! Let’s go!” Mali threw her arms around Ajamu and gave him a big hug before rushing out of the shack.

Ajamu collected the contents of the tin chest. He was smiling quietly to himself, enjoying the energy of Mali’s excitement. “Let’s hope you right, darling. Let’s hope you right.”

Chapter 28: Annie Beattie’s Antidote

Unlike Sleeping Beauty awoken from her sleep with a kiss, Mali was abruptly awoken by several large drops of ice cold rain.

“Lord, Ajamu, rain!”

It took him a moment to orient himself, then he yelled, “In the truck!”

And as they ran up the path to the truck the dark clouds that had snuck up on them as they slept, dumped sheets of painfully cold rain on them. Shivering and drenched, Mali slammed the truck door behind her. “Good thing you had taken off your dashiki,” she said. The simple white t-shirt that Ajamu wore was clinging to his skin. Mali’s mind went from his chest to the kiss last night. Why did Jasmine show up just at that moment? In the need to convince Ajamu of the importance of tracking down the segra seeds, she had pushed the kiss to the back of her mind. And now it was knocking on her forehead, making her aware of the steaminess inside the truck. Good thing he didn’t tell me to run for his shack. Just thinking of being alone with him in his bedroom was enough to make a girl forget all of her good intentions.

“Let’s hope this rain ease off soon so we can go and hunt down your antidote.” Thankfully Ajamu was not thinking the same lustful thoughts as Mali. Or am I crazy to want to feel his fingers gently drawing circles on my skin? To feel his heart thudding in his chest in the same crazy rhythm as my own. To taste…Mali pulled her attention back to the present. It was her mission he was talking about. Her desire to see if all of these strange messages and even stranger messengers were real or just some bizarre side effect of breathing in the aromatic mountain air. Maybe it was a contact high? What did Junior Gong sing? “Welcome to Jamrock, the smell a give you girlfriend contact,” maybe she had inhaled too much of the good Jamaican weed!

“Ajamu what if this is all some crazy Jamaican fantasy, brought on by, I don’t know, inhaling something someone was smoking?”

“First off Miss Mali, I have had you out all night, but I have not had you around any weed smokers. Is not everybody in Jamaica smokes weed or gets high.”

Apparently Mali had hit a nerve.

“Secondly, although your story is indeed outlandish, there are too many things that add up. It was me that gave you Annie Beattie’s book to read in the first place, so I have to accept some responsibility for the outcome. Thirdly, although I do not subscribe to the concepts of ghosts, I get the feeling that you are not an excitable young lady, I also get the feeling that you do not make up stories. You don’t strike me as the typical fantasizing female, full of gossip and chat. More likely to shut them down and keep them in than make them up.”

Mali was not sure how to respond to all that Ajamu had said, not to mention that the whole speech had been mostly grammatically correct and spoken with his educated Jamaican accent. Somewhere hidden in that correctness was a compliment or two, she thought, and although she never liked it when people pointed out that she was not a typical teenager, in this case she guessed it was a good thing.

While she mused on what he said she looked out the window. The rain appeared to be easing off, and the sky was getting lighter. At least his long speech had stopped her from thinking about his cool skin, his, OK, must get back on task!

“So do you think you will recognize the wild cassada if you see it?” Mali spoke in proper tones, hoping to match him.

“I think so. Actually, I know most of the other plants, so I guess I will know it if I don’t know it, if you know what I mean.” They both laughed, and Mali felt she was back on safer ground. “But I am still worried about finding the seeds. Most of these herbal remedies use dried seeds; the fresh ones may be poisonous for all I know. Normally you would store them in a dry place for weeks to let them dry out. Come to think of it, I have heard of people baking seeds in the oven when they were needed to dry something out quickly, so perhaps we can do that. We are in unchartered territory Miss Mali, Reeya is usually the one who knows about these things. She actually did some research on herbal remedies.”

“So we can ask her about the segra seeds then!” Mali was excited, if this was Auntie Reeya’s area of expertise, then things would be much simpler.

“Don’t get too excited chile, I not too sure if your Auntie is going to be totally on board with your remedy. Even though it fits in with her philosophies, she may not want to trust the word of an American teenager who claims to see dead people!”

Mali hadn’t thought about that. She had just assumed that once they found the segra seeds, the rest would be history. Auntie Karla would wake up, and life would go back to normal. Though she was not sure what normal was any more. Was normal traveling all of Jamaica unchaperoned with this so fine young man who looked extra special in a wet t-shirt? Was normal staying up all night? Was normal wanting Ajamu to reach for her and, Lord this daydreaming had to come to an end!

“Look, rain stop falling.” Ajamu’s tone had slipped back into the informal. She loved the way Jamaicans said things like ‘rain stop falling’ instead of ‘it has stopped raining’. They had a way of doubling up words for emphasis as well, like ‘fenke-fenke’ meaning weak; ‘fool-fool’ meaning foolish; ‘degge-degge’ meaning only one. Sometimes she needed a dictionary to understand what her mother was saying when she went off on a tirade.

She climbed out of the truck and was glad to feel the sun on her wet back. Their clothes would soon dry. Finally they were off to the great house (great disgrace) in search of Annie Beattie’s remedy. Would this be the answer?

*     *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *

Back at Karla’s house, Jenna and Reeya had pulled an all-nighter of their own. They had alternated taking naps and watching over Karla. They kept thinking they saw hopeful signs, a fluttering of the eyelids, an occasional sound, but still no response when they called her name.

When Reeya went into the kitchen to fix them both a hot drink and some breakfast, she saw Precious hard at work in the kitchen.

“Back so early Precious?” Reeya was quite surprised. The first bus didn’t usually come up the hills so soon.

“I got a ride Miss Reeya. Plus I wanted to be here to fix a bath for Miss Karla. I remember the salts did finish, and I got some more.”

Reeya was remembering something Jenna had told her about the salts and Mali. Something was making her think this was not a good idea. “That’s ok Precious. Miss Jenna and I already bathed her.”

“But is the detoxifying salts, the one that supposed to get her better!”

“I know, I know, maybe later we will give her another bath. Just leave them down here for now. I think Miss Jenna is allergic to them.”

Precious did not respond, she just continued cleaning up. Reeya was curious, she could tell that Precious was not happy. “I know Jenna will be happy to know you are hear fixing breakfast for us,” she was trying to get a reaction out of Precious, “I hope you had a good time, how is your daughter?”

Precious looked up sharply. “Daughter? Who tell you I have a daughter?”

Reeya had gotten a reaction, but it was very unusual to hear Precious talk so sharply. Normally she used respectful tones when she addressed Reeya, today she sounded challenging. And Reeya had never seen such a stern expression on her face before. “I think Jenna had mentioned that you were going to see your daughter. It kinda surprise me, because I only know you have a son. But you know how Miss Jenna stay.”

“No ma’am, I don’t have a daughter. I don’t know what Miss Jenna was talking about. I went and look for my son baby mother. That must be who she mean.” Precious had pulled herself up, and seemed to consciously soften her tone. She must have seen the effect on Reeya, and tried to be more normal. “If you go upstairs, I will bring up some breakfast for you and Miss Jenna. It soon ready.”

“Thank you Precious, that sounds good.” Reeya turned away with a thoughtful expression on her face. Perhaps Jenna was right. There was something very different about Precious. Something that Mali had apparently seen. Who would have thought Miss America would be able to read the situation better than Reeya? I must be slipping; Reeya thought to herself, I can usually sniff out these undercurrents. It must be because I am so worried about Karla. Plus I usually have Karla to back up my suspicions.

Back up in Karla’s cozy room Reeya gave Jenna a brief account of her encounter with Precious. “I am beginning to see a side of Precious I have never seen before. You may be right, you and Mali. Makes me wonder what else I have been missing. Karla girl, I am off my game. You really need to wake up.”

*     *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *

Mali almost skipped down the path to the great house. She was so eager to find the plant that she was sure held the cure to all of Karla’s troubles. Ahead of her a small bird was flying low to the ground, it looked as if it was leading the way. “Ajamu,” Mali called over her shoulder to Ajamu who was bringing up the rear armed with his trusty machete, “look at this little bird, it looks like it is telling me to follow it.”

“That’s a ground dove, Miss Mali. Funny thing is they call it the duppy bird, say it carry the spirit of the dead.”

Strangely enough, Mali was not surprised. So much had happened since her arrival in this country; she felt that nothing could shock her now. So now a bird was trying to help her find the antidote for Karla. Well why not. “Ajamu, I looked up the segra seeds in a book that Shaka has, I think it tells you how to use the segra seeds as an antidote.”

“Yes, well, let us find the plant first chile; we will worry about how to use them afterwards.”

I guess you have a point. Somehow Mali had never even considered them not finding the plant. Mass Simon, Annie Beattie’s book and now this little ground dove had her convinced they were going to be successful. “I am not worried at all, Ajamu. Not worried at all.”

When they arrived at the kitchen of the great house, Mali felt anxious, as if she was about to take a test she hadn’t studied for. All of a sudden her confidence had run away, and she let Ajamu take the lead.

“Come young girl, we going find it.” Ajamu led her around to the back of the building. There were some neat rows of bushes planted. “See the gungo peas I planted here. I don’t see any vine here. Come let’s walk towards the river. I see some vine growing on that tall mahoe tree down there.” He was pointing at a huge tree that grew straight up and tall.

Mali could see some pretty orange flowers, but she was more interested in the vine that was clinging to its branches. “Remember that Annie Beattie said they used the leaves to give her a bath, and that it was the smell of the leaves that woke her up enough to drink whatever it was from the seeds. We have to get some of the leaves!”

She was beginning to get excited now. The nervousness she had felt before had turned into excitement. She was beginning to hope. They pushed through the undergrowth to the tall tree. Ajamu chopped down some of the leaves. He crushed some together and sniffed them. “Whoa, this is renk for true!”

Mali remembered hearing her mother use the word renk before, but usually to describe someone who had been very rude to her. She stepped closer and leant in to sniff the leaves. “Whoa,” she echoed Ajamu, “this should wake the dead!” She guessed ‘renk’ must mean ‘stink’! The smell reminded her of the ammonia salts they kept on hand at church, to be used if some old lady passed out. Break the seal and push it under their nose and it woke them up in a flash! “Do you see any seeds?”

“So you have decided this is the wild cassada?”

“Ajamu, don’t mess with me. You don’t think is the wild cassada?” Mali could not believe he was going to try her now.

“Tell you the truth, I don’t have any idea what this plant is. So I guess it has to be the one! But remember the seeds will be inside the fruit. And I don’t see anything look like a fruit here.”

Mali could not believe they had come so far to fail now. She looked around her, hoping for some inspiration, the special antidote they had come in search of. As she looked around she noticed how clear everything was. The shower of rain had cleaned the air, she felt as if she could see for miles. She could hear the river, could feel the breeze blowing through the trees and the wild cane that still grew in the fields. A bird was calling, the cooing sound of a dove. She wondered where the ground dove, the duppy bird, had gone.

Looking back up towards the kitchen, she saw a movement in the bushes close to the wall. It was the ground dove. Was he calling her? Waiting for her to follow her? Ajamu was busy collecting an armful of the wild cassada bush to make a bath for Karla, pulling a ‘scandal bag’ out of his pocket to put it in. Boy these Jamaicans with their names for everything! How does a black grocery bag become a scandal bag?

Mali headed back up to the kitchen, and saw the ground dove glancing up at her. The bird skirted the ground and swooped around the corner of the building, then seemed to hover in front of the open doorway. Did the bird want her to go inside this fusty old building? Mali took a step inside. As her eyes adjusted to the dim room, she could see nothing of interest. There was an old fire place in one wall, and what must have been a window on the opposite wall. Mali thought she could hear a scrabbling in the fireplace, and went closer to see what it was. The ground dove was pulling at something in the wall. It looked like a twig sticking out from a small brick, as if the bird wanted it to build a nest.

As the bird pulled at the twig Mali could see that the brick was loose. She went closer, still feeling as if the bird was trying to tell her something. The bird fluttered away, and Mali decided to shake the brick. It pulled out easily, then Mali pulled the one beside it, and thought she saw the glint of something inside the wall. She ran to the window to call Ajamu, but saw he was already on his way.

“Ajamu, come look at this!”

When Ajamu came into the room he saw immediately that something interesting was hiding in the old wall. “It look like another chest like the one I did find outside! Good work girl!”

Mali could not wait to see what was in this chest. It must be another of Annie Beattie’s secrets! “What you think is in this one, Ajamu?”

“Girl just help me move these bricks. We not going to know until we get it out.”

They both worked quietly for a while, not aware of the ground dove sat on the window, intently watching them. When they had pulled out enough bricks to remove the small tin chest hiding in the wall, they gently pulled it out and placed it on the floor.

“You want us to take it to my place to open it? This room is not the most pleasant.”

“You really going to make me wait Ajamu?”

“We waited this long, we can wait a little longer. Come; let’s get out of this smelly old room.”

“You sure nothing else is inside there?” Mali was hesitant to leave the kitchen.

“Absolutely positive. Come chile, let’s go see if Annie has given us more answers. I need to get my tools to break open this lock anyway.”

Mali and Ajamu headed back to Ajamu’s shack, the ground dove dancing excitedly ahead of them. As they followed the bird, Mali’s thoughts were racing as she tried to be patient. How come Ajamu could be so cool, so relaxed, when she was thinking a mile a minute?

Chapter 21: Step by step

Reeya became aware that Jenna was not keeping up with her as they climbed the stairs. When she looked back she saw that Jenna was leaning against the stairs. “What’s up Jenna? You smoking again? Short of breath? I hope you not having any chest pain?”

“Reeya, this is not funny.  I am getting a very bad feeling. Did you cleanse the space yet?”

“Of course! That was the first thing I did. You need to lie down?”

“I need to go back downstairs. Something is wrong up there.”

Mali overheard the conversation and thought to herself, you think? Everything is wrong up there. Just give me a chance and I will do what I have wanted to do all day.

“Miss Jenna you want something to eat? A cup of tea?” Precious was on guard again, quick to intervene.

“Tea sounds good Precious. Thank you so much. I’ll go out on the verandah. I feel like I need some air.”

Well at least I see Miss Jenna does have some psychic ability. She has picked up on the bad vibes I have been feeling since I got here. Mali wondered if she could recruit Miss Jenna. But then again, seeing Mali having her meltdown may not have made a good impression on her. Maybe I need to try the sugar again, thought Mali. She walked into the kitchen behind Precious, “You want me to carry that to Miss Jenna for you?”

This time she made Precious jump. “Yes Miss Mali, that is fine.”

“Didn’t mean to make you jump, Precious, looks like you were a million miles away.” Actually it had felt quite good to see that Precious was jumpy. I wonder if she is scared of Miss Jenna, thought Mali. And scared that Miss Jenna will see through Precious.

“Just tired, Miss Mali. And worried to see Miss Karla so sick.”

I’m sure you are. Mali realized she was no closer to understanding why Precious would want Karla sick. She just knew that Precious was behind a lot of what was going on here.

Mali carried the tea out to the verandah to Miss Jenna. Her Auntie had gone upstairs to lie down, said she was just taking a nap. Miss Jenna’s face looked extra pale in contrast to her long ginger hair. “Here is your tea Miss Jenna,” said Mali, “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself to you earlier. That was rude of me. Things have been crazy around here.”

Jenna took the tea gratefully. “I can see that.” She took a sip, then reached for Mali’s hand. “Sit down Mali, let’s talk.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think it’s a good time to talk right now,” Mali spoke very quietly. She thought that Precious might keep her distance, but she could not be sure.

“That’s ok, that’s ok. By the way, what happen to Ajamu?”

“Don’t ask me. He left out of here in a hurry. Guess he didn’t like me speaking my mind to him. He’ll be back later, or tomorrow. He’ll get over himself.”

“Sounds like you have gotten to know him pretty well in a few days.” Jenna was quite impressed; Mali did not appear to be love-struck around Ajamu, unlike most of the other young women of her acquaintance.

Mali suddenly realized that she needed Ajamu. He was supposed to help her get back on the computer.

“You need to get on the computer Mali?”

Mali was shocked. This woman who was holding her hand was looking at her intently. Like Mali’s thoughts were trickling down her arm and right into Miss Jenna’s mind.

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. Reeya should be sleeping for a while. Natalie is upstairs with Karla, right?”

“Yes, and she can stay up all night and all day if necessary. She is something else!” Mali was beginning to feel excited, she was going to be able to get back to Annie’s book after all.

Jenna let go of her hand and sat back. The color was beginning to come back to her cheeks. She could see that Mali knew something about what was going on around here. Perhaps the two of them would be able to help Karla.

“Anything else I can get you Miss Jenna?” Precious was back to her old tricks, sneaking up on people.

“No thank you, I am feeling better now.” Jenna was looking at Mali as Precious stood behind her. She was getting a very interesting vibe. What was going on?

“OK then, I am leaving now. Tell Miss Reeya that I will cook a big breakfast for everybody in the morning. Ajamu say that Shaka and the Doc will be here early, Doc wants to check out Miss Karla again.”

This was good; this was the earliest that Mali had seen Precious go to her place. Finally Mali could breathe. And get back to Annie’s book.

“Go on child. Go fire up the computer and read your book.”

Mali gave her a weird look, this lady is too much!

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *      *     *     *     *    *

Mali pulled out the flash drive from inside her blouse. For a moment she remembered this morning when Ajamu had placed it there. She recalled that scary heart racing feeling to be so close to him. Well that was behind her now. She had basically told him to drop dead. And he had said not a word. Just walked her back to the house and driven off into the night. Good, who needs that kind of aggravation anyway, thought Mali.

When the flash drive opened up she realized that there was another folder entitled ‘Lyrics’. So Ajamu wrote lyrics? She was tempted to open it up, but decided to be the better woman. Not tonight, anyway. Tonight she needed to find out if Mass Simon was for real. Was there something there that could help Auntie Karla?

She scrolled down the pages, how far had she read this morning? Mali found the last sentence, where Annie had been speaking of the salts. That’s right! thought Mali, with Precious gone and Auntie Reeya sleeping, I should be able to clean up the place. But first, let me see what else is here.

 There was an entry by Ajamu stating that several pages were completely unreadable. And then another of Annie’s entries:

‘I owe my life to Mother Eliza. She tells me I was close to death when she found me. I was scarcely breathing, unarousable. Master Thaddeus was gone, so she called for Levi. He it was told her that he knew of no salts, he had sent no cure for my listlessness. Then it was she knew that the salts were evil, crafted by Sara to take my life. Mother Eliza knew of only one remedy for me, she took the segra seeds growing by the kitchen and boiled the leaves down. First she bathed me with it. And the harsh aroma stirred me from my deep sleep. From the seeds she made a concoction with spirits strong. This she poured into my mouth, and with that a vile retching emptied my belly of all the poison within.’

Segra seed! This is it! This is what Mass Simon said I would find! Mali was thrilled. All she had to do was get some segra seed. What the hell was segra seed? And where would she get some? And how would she get Auntie Reeya to believe it would work? Enough for now, thought Mali, I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

She went back to Annie’s tale. Strange that Ajamu had not thought of this when Karla got sick. But who knows when he had last read this. If it wasn’t for Mass Simon, she would not even have known to look for it. There wasn’t much more to be read.

‘Levi, the name I must not say, the name I soon will shout to the skies! He tells me that his people plan to burn down the place. I am to run away with him to the hills. Sara he has banished to her family at Corwen. He tells me he cannot stand to see her. Master Thaddeus may live or he may die. I care not. He does not deserve to live. The cruelty he has perpetrated on these people is beyond the act of any Christian man. My parents are dead now. No-one will worry if they do not hear from me again. I will bury this journal behind the kitchen in hopes that one day someone will read my tale.’

That was it. There were no more words transcribed. Mali could not believe it. What a story! This would make a great historical novel! Didn’t Auntie Reeya write novels? So Ajamu had not told her about it because…?

“Mali, look, your Auntie is up again already!”

Just in time Mali heard Miss Jenna’s warning, snatched out the flash drive and closed down the computer. Auntie Reeya heard the sound of Jenna’s voice and went out to the verandah. “How are you feeling? You look much better. You want to go up and see Karla now?”

“Not yet my dear. I think Mali has to do some work before I go up there.”

Mali heard the comment and smiled. She did not have to wonder about Miss Jenna after all. It was clear this woman was on her side. Now how was she going to get a chance to look up segra seeds on the internet if Auntie Reeya would not go to sleep?

She wandered around the den, looking at books once more. For some reason she thought she had seen a book about native plants and flowers of Jamaica. One thing you could say for Shaka, the bookshelves were well organized. She found a book on plants and knew she was in the right area. Her eyes were drawn to an ancient looking book entitled ‘Dictionary of Jamaican English’. She flipped open the pages and found an entry for antidote. Here she saw information about the segra seeds, that it was given when poisoning was suspected.

“Mali, you not going to bed?” Auntie Reeya’s voice called.

“Just finding a book to read Auntie,” Mali called back.

“Mali, come here a minute please.”

Mali walked out to join them on the verandah. “Auntie Reeya…”she said, just as her aunt was saying, “Mali…”

“No, let me go first,” said Reeya. “I owe you an apology. I overreacted probably because I am so damn tired, sleep deprived, and worried. I know you are a good girl,” she saw Mali’s face and hastily corrected herself, “I mean young lady, and you have not complained once since you got here, even though this is no kind of vacation for you. I treated you exactly the way I counsel mothers not to treat their daughters.”

“That’s ok Auntie, I shouldn’t have shouted at you like that.”

After a tentative hug, Mali said goodnight, and went off to bed with her research material, wondering how she was going to get Ajamu to find the antidote for her.

*     *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *

Halfway through a very restless night Mali awoke to a very loud whisper.

“Get up girl, get up! Now is the time!”

“Who is it?” she asked, in the dim light she could not see anyone in her room. It had sounded like Mass Simon, but how could he have gotten into the house? Mali lit the candle beside her bed and tried to look beyond the long shadows it cast. The room was empty. There was no sound in the house, everyone seemed to be asleep. This was her chance!

First she crept up to the top of the house and removed the ugly mask off the wall. This was being disappeared right now. She placed it in her book bag. There was no sound from within Karla’s room. Mali didn’t dare to peek in; Natalie would want to know what she was doing.

She went downstairs to the bathroom. She found the canister with the bad smelling salts and put that in her book bag too. Feeling as if Mass Simon was watching over her, she made her way downstairs. She felt the need to get these things as far away from Karla as possible. She took the key from the hook and unlocked the kitchen door. The moon was three quarters full and high in the sky. Somewhere around here there had to be a shovel. As she walked past the cars she heard a voice, and almost peed herself!

“Young lady what are you doing?”

“Ajamu, what the hell you doing outside here?”

“That is what I am asking you. But since I am not supposed to ask you any questions, or act like no big brother, I will answer you. I didn’t feel like going home after I went to check on Shaka, so I decided to come back here. When I reach everyone had gone to bed, so I decided to catch a snooze out here in the truck. Until I see this crazy chile, I am sorry, young lady, sneaking around outside the house in the middle of the night.”

“Ajamu have you been drinking?”

“What? A man can’t have a beer?”

Mali shook her head. “Listen, I need you to help me, and don’t question what I am about to tell you. First we need to bury these things. I am sure this is what is sickening Auntie Karla. Second, in the morning we have to go and find something name Segra seeds. That is what Mother Eliza gave Annie to drink and it cured her.”

“Mali, look like I need to ask if it is you that been drinking!”

“Ajamu I cannot explain how I know this. I just know it. Somebody told me that when I saw it I would know it. And as soon as I read this I just knew it. You have to trust me.”

“Girl, you wouldn’t know.”

Mali was opening the truck door to make Ajamu help her get rid of the hateful stuff. She missed the look in his eye as clambered out and took the bag from her. But when he caught her hand and pulled her close to him, she couldn’t help but look him dead in the eye. And just like that she felt the thudding of her heart in her throat once more.

“You sure you don’t want to be a child any more young Mali?” And without even thinking she let him bend to kiss her. Felt his soft lips on hers, felt his tongue tease her as he pulled her close against his body. This was nothing she was expecting and everything she had ever wanted a kiss to be. Then suddenly he let her go, and she tried not to collapse in shock at his feet.

“Come, let’s go bury whatever the hell this is. And then you need to go back to your bed and stop making people crazy.”

“Yes Ajamu,” said Mali meekly. Jamila, you are not going to believe this shit!