Possessed (5 page)

Lucus’s expression turned dark. He
turned his head and without a word headed into the thick maze of
oak trees that led to the old slave cemetery.

The night was only beginning and I was
already in hell.

Chapter 6

Cemetery March

The humid night air hung thickly and
enveloped us whole as we wandered farther into the maze of dense
oak trees. Long branches clawed at my wild hair as if ominously
warning me to turn back. The eerie shapes of Spanish moss and the
mournful singing of swamp animals became increasingly vivid as the
earth turned soft and wet under my feet. Strangely, the
incomparable smell of damp earth and moss was one that I was slowly
becoming addicted to and increasingly longed for.

Lucus led the way. He was silent and
solemn, as he gripped a red flashlight and juggled bottles of rum
and peppers in his arms. I stole a quick, sideways glance at his
angular profile and wondered what he was thinking. How would he
react if he knew that Louis was only a few feet behind him? Would
it make anything better? Would it ease the colossal guilt he felt
if he could somehow apologize?

Thankfully, Ivan had taken his arms off
of me and was listlessly staring at the half –hidden crescent moon.
His grey eyes were distant and gloomy. I couldn’t hear his
thoughts, but for some reason I could feel his energy. It was
vengeful, heated and consumed with a hatred that ran so deep that I
couldn’t help being frightened. The three of us were such a
miserable, pathetic bunch as we marched to the cemetery in utter
silence.

I hear you, queen. I don’t need your
pity. Pity is for suckers. Ivan’s voice was back.

As the cries of birds grew louder and
the smell of the moss stronger, I knew that we were getting closer.
Lucus stopped and shone the flashlight on a large, rusty iron gate
that was slightly ajar. Beyond it, I saw a large chapel and the
silhouettes of cross-shaped tombstones. Massive oak trees
surrounded the graves. Their long branches reached down and stroked
the stones in an almost protective and loving manner.

The fact that the iron gate was open
alarmed me. I knew that old cemetery gates that were open meant
that the dead were inviting you into their world. Had Sabrina
unwillingly entered the land of the dead? If so, who or what had
invited her there? And more importantly, what did they want from
her?

“
Lucus, is this gate always
left open?”

He shook his head. “I brought a key.
I’m not sure why it’s open.”

Here we go. Let’s see how I’m doing. Do
I even have a marked grave or was I tossed into the swamp like a
piece of trash? Do you see all those graves, queen? How much blood
was shed? How can you justify that? How can you justify loving him?
He’s a monster. You might as well start writing to a serial
murderer in prison. Why don’t you write one of them a nice little
letter with hearts, flowers, unicorns and rainbows drawn all over
it? Silly little girl with a big mouth and even bigger pathetic
crush.

Go away! I mentally screamed unable to
take Ivan’s torment for a second longer. I swear I was about to
break out in hysterical laughs and beg him to kill me already. But
then, that was the whole point of his game, and I wasn’t going to
give him that satisfaction.

“
Arelia, are you alright?”
Lucus asked, as he searched my angry face. As his eyes met mine, I
felt my rage wash away and a drug-like serenity possess
me.

“
I’m fine.” I gave him a
small, uncertain smile.

“
She just needs to loosen
up. Here, have some rum.” Ivan held out the rum bottle that was in
his hand.

I crossed my arms. “I’m fine.” Calm.
Calm, Arelia. Remember how sweet Louis saved you. He’s still in
there somewhere. He doesn’t deserve any of this either. Remember
what Gran-Ibo told you. You can’t feel something for one without
feeling for the other as well.

Lucus shook his head and kneeled in
front of the rusty iron gate. He laid the bottles of rum on the
ground and opened the jar of peppers. He opened the bottles of rum,
placed the peppers in the rum bottles and then shook them. Smart.
He knew how Papa Ghede liked his rum. He took out some coins from
his pocket and placed them beside the rum bottles.

“
You hang out at cemeteries
often?” I asked, as I watched him line up the bottles in front of
the gate.

He took a deep breath before he turned
to face me. He scratched the back of his neck and looked hopelessly
uncomfortable and sullen for a second. “Only once a week,” he
whispered. “You forgot the coins.”

I let out a small sigh and extended my
hand for him to take. As his hand fell into mine; he gave me a
tight smile. It was obvious that Lucus was still obsessed with the
ghosts that were haunting him. I didn’t know if he would ever be
free and that thought alone made me depressed and frustrated. Maybe
Ivan was right, there was no hope for either one of them. There was
no easy, cookie-cutter solution to this mess. No happy ending, only
a bitter wasteland that would stretch on for an
eternity.

That’s right, baby. Now you’re
beginning to see things my way, aren’t you? He knows he deserves
it, why can’t you admit that already and get on with your life? If
it’s money you’re after, that poor sucker Tony has quite a stash.
Give the poor dog a second chance. He ain’t so bad-looking
either.

With those happy, positive thoughts
floating around my overworked brain, I decided to step foot into
the cemetery.

Chapter 7

Partying with Papa
Ghede

Inside, I couldn’t feel the presence of
a spirit, so I assumed that I had only been flattering myself by
believing that Papa Ghede would be waiting at the slave cemetery.
“I think it’s safe to enter,” I said cautiously, as I glanced
around. “Sabrina!” I shouted. Where was she? I didn’t care if she
was really angry at me as long as she was okay.

The air inside the cemetery was
surprisingly cool and alluring. It was as if there was an actual
physical barrier between the world outside the cemetery gate and
the one inside of it.

I let go of Lucus’s hand and shouted
out Sabrina’s name again. The last thing she probably wanted to see
was us together.

A wicked wind blew through the majestic
oaks and a pile of leaves started to swirl at a mad pace. A
brilliant light flashed and the twinkling stars up above turned a
dazzling shade of deep purple against the black sky. Black and
purple were Papa Ghede’s colors. Great. That meant he was near.
What would Father Death ask of me?

“
Arelia, you look so sad,
and so do your handsome companions. Surely life can’t be that
horrible, can it?” asked a cheerful but unfamiliar voice, as the
smell of cigar smoke hit me.

I looked around the graveyard anxiously
and with an overwhelming feeling of dread. “Papa Ghede?” I called
out. I was still a bit shy talking to spirits in front of Lucus.
Even though by now the things I had said and done in front of him
were beyond explanation or logic in the realm of sanity, I couldn’t
help feeling the way I did.

“
Who else?” responded the
voice, as the smell of cigars grew thicker and the purple stars
brighter.

“
I don’t know…” After the
whole Soussan Pannan incident, I was still a bit traumatized and
didn’t want to make the same foolish mistake again. “I don’t want
any trouble. I’m looking for my friend, Sabrina; have you seen her?
Can you please help us?”

I was trying to be all calm and
collected but shivers invaded my body. I never expected that I
would be actually speaking to Father Death. To me, death had always
been such an abstract concept. One that was distant and cold. I was
almost reluctant to believe that death was actually a colorful
shepherd with a top hat, cigar, and twisted sense of humor. What
was so joyful about dying?

“
Who the hell are you
rambling to?” asked Ivan.

“
Shh.” I hushed him. I
couldn’t hear Ivan’s voice in my head, so that must have meant that
he was too engrossed in what was happening to bother entering my
head.

The spirit laughed cheerfully and the
wind grew chillier. My hair lifted off my sticky back and billowed
in the cool wind, while the overpowering smell of cigar smoke
encased me.

“
Hello, darling. You all
look like such a miserable bunch. You know Papa Ghede refuses to
help miserable people.”

I rubbed my eyes to make sure that I
was actually seeing what I thought I was. Papa Ghede appeared
before me as an extremely dark, thin, skeletal man, dressed in
black skinny jeans, a black tuxedo jacket, and a purple top hat,
cane in hand and a big old cigar in his mouth. He wore black
sunglasses with one lense missing, and his skin was so smooth that
his face appeared to be carved out of polished obsidian.

He strutted up to me and stopped inches
away from my face. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he took a deep
drag from his cigar and blew a gigantic cloud of smoke right into
my face. I let out a small cough as the smoke entered my nostrils
and throat. What was it with these spirits and blowing smoke in my
face? I scowled, but didn’t say anything. There was no way in hell
I was going to argue with Papa Ghede, unless I had a death wish (no
pun intended). So, I stood there like a star-struck idiot, mouth
slightly agape and eyes wide with gruesome wonder, fear and
outright admiration.

Papa Ghede looked me up and down and
then started to laugh. It wasn’t a small laugh, but an enormous
chuckle that vibrated through this whole body. His full lips
stretched out into a smile that covered his entire face, as he
clutched his stomach with his bony, claw-like fingers. I know I
didn’t exactly look hot, with my frizzy hair, tragically smudged
makeup and wrinkly lace dress, but was I that much of a
joke?

“
Hey, what’s so funny?” I
asked unable to keep quiet any longer.

Papa Ghede continued to laugh. He put
his bony arms around my shoulders and I could feel the laughter
radiating from his belly. He rested his head on my shoulders. “Oh
Arelia, why can’t you see the fun in anything?” he asked, as he
handed me a colorful pepper.

I took the pepper and stood silent. I
didn’t know how to respond to him or what I was supposed to do with
the pepper. “I’m sorry, but I don’t exactly see the fun in dying.”
I shrugged.

“
Of course you don’t. You
can’t even see the joy in living!” He proclaimed, as he released me
and did a mad twirl. “Look, there are purple stars in the sky!” he
said, as he pointed his cane at the sky. “And this handsome man
loves you.” He pointed his cane at Lucus. “Only if he had the nerve
to say those words.” He shook his head, as he grinned at Lucus and
threw a pepper at him.

“
What?” Lucus was confused
as a large cayenne pepper manifested out of thin air and slapped
him ruthlessly across the face.

“
And this one. Well, this
one is around to make life interesting.” He prodded Ivan’s bum with
his cane.

“
What the hell!” Ivan
reacted to Papa Ghede’s cane pokes.

“
Eat the pepper, drink some
hot rum and dance with me!” he ordered.

“
Dance with you? I don’t
have time to dance; I have to look for my friend. Please help us,”
I pleaded.

Papa Ghede started to laugh again and
shoved a pepper into my mouth. I didn’t want to offend him so I
chewed it. My body was on fire as its juices hit the pit of my
stomach.

“
Don’t you feel alive?” Papa
Ghede asked, as he watched tears stream down my face. As much as I
loved spicy food, the pepper was atrociously hot. I swore I was
about to go blind. “Wash that down with some delightful rum and
dance.” He shoved a bottle between my lips and poured some rum down
my throat.

“
Arelia, what is going on?”
Lucus wiped away the stream of tears that flowed down my
face.

“
He wants to dance,” I said
when I finally managed to speak. “We have to do what he says if we
want to find Sabrina.”

“
Oh no, you have it
completely wrong, darling: we want to dance,” said Papa Ghede. “We
want to dance.”

“
We?” I asked.

“
Yes- I can’t have a party
without including the old wife and some close, personal friends,
now can I?”

My only explanation for what happened
next was that the combination of peppers and rum must have made me
completely delusional. The sound of savage drums filled the air.
Their rhythm mesmerized me and shook me to my very core. Soon,
against my will or desire, my feet started to move. The silhouettes
of tombs became more vivid and the shadows surrounding them came to
life. Hundreds of cigar-smoking skeletons appeared from behind the
tombs and danced with unbridled rapture to the sound of the drums.
They linked arms and formed a gigantic circle that surrounded Ivan,
Lucus and I. They moved around us at a dizzying pace. A month ago,
I would have refused to believe that I was actually surrounded by
dancing, cigar-smoking skeletons, but now, I realized that me not
believing would have been idiotic.