“Mama you think he will tell me the story again?”
“I think he will if you ask him too.”
“Ok I will ask him.”
An hour later the little girl looked out the window hearing the unmistakable sound of the rocks and dirt being crushed under the tires of father’s new car. Momma called it a “Bel Air.” Momma told her that daddy bought it with the money he saved. She remembered momma telling her that it was the first time he ever did anything for himself. She would sit behind the big steering wheel and turn it left and right while daddy would wash it; long she promised not to tough the big stick on the side. She made sure she never did
“Ah Mon petite fille come give yo grand daddy a big hug and kiss no.”
The old man whisked the little girl and her white dress and her two big poofy braids into the air as if he was twenty years younger. He spun her high blocking the sun; kissed her; and landed her to the ground.
“Come on in dad. You like that ride?”
“Oh yeah, that was real smooth, like we rode on air.”
Inside Momma brought grandpa a cup of tea in what she called “The good China” She only ever used if for special guests. Grandpa said he did not like her using it just for him but you could tell that he did.
“Grandpa tell me the story again please.”
“Ah Mon petite cher, you like the scary stories don’t you.” He said as he lifted her on his knee tickling her neck along the way.
“Well Cher long ago before your father or even your grandpa was born; way back in Africa just when the white men had started to come and take us away there was a young and powerful medicine man. The young medicine man was so powerful that he was known all through out many kingdoms. Well Cher; one day the most powerful king of the most powerful kingdom sent for him. The king asked the medicine man to heal his only son and his only daughter. You know Cher back then men where allowed to have many different wives and the king had the most but he only ever had the one son and one daughter.
The medicine man came and used all of his herbs….
“Like grand mere use to?”
“Ye Cher just like your grand mere. He used all his herbs and his other medicine but nothing worked. He then decided to use his powerful magic but that did not work either; they still were ill. He thought that if his herbs and magic were not working then maybe it was the spirits. He then told the king that he had to commune with the Great Spirit keeper of the dead and see if it was truly their time to pass into his realm. Well Cher the king and the medicine man went far outside the village to a place where the jungle touched the dessert; the dessert touched the sea; and the mountains met with the flats. There was a small hut and they went inside. The medicine man built a magic fire from very secret herbs and very secret magic and he began to talk to The Great Spirit keeper of the dead. The Great Spirit keeper of the dead told the medicine man that it was their time to pass into his house and there was nothing that could be done. The Great Spirit told the medicine man that this was the order of things since the beginning of time and would be till the end. Oh I tell you Cher the king did not like this at all. He told the medicine man that he wanted to speak to the Great Spirit of all. Now you see cher that was forbidden. The Great Spirit of All was old, very very old; and liked to sleep. He did not like to be bothered by anybody man or spirit. The medicine man told the King this but the king oh got real mad then. The King He said
“How dare you speak to me in such a way! I am the king of kings in this land and every land that I see therefore I am liken to a god. The Great Spirit of all will listen to me because when I speak it is his voice that comes out of my mouth. If you do not talk to the Great Spirit of all on my behalf then I will take you into the jungle and burry you up to your neck and leave you there for all the wild and unknown to get you.”
Cher I tell you the medicine man was scared. The medicine man told the king that he would try but it might take all of his power and even then it still might not work. The Great Spirit of all being so old and being asleep would be cranky you know like how I bet your daddy is when his car gets dirty.”
The little girl and her mother laughed
“The medicine man used up all his magic and herbs. He bathed himself in blood and dirt and for two days and two nights he talked to every spirit in the spirit world. They all told him to stop what he was doing. They told him that it was forbidden to even try to talk to “The old one” that’s what the other spirits called The Great Spirit of All but he couldn’t stop you know the king would have him killed. Finally on the third morning there was a great thunder that could be heard everywhere Cher and a flash of lightning that crossed the sky in the day. The sun turned black and the morning blue sky turned to the black of night. The water Cher turned to fire and trees turned to dessert, everything went opposite. They said even some of the people that had just passed rose up out of the ground. A big booming voice from the sky spoke to the medicine man and said
“Child of earth and air why do you seek me when you know that it is forbidden?”
“Forgive me Great Spirit of all things; creator of all things but…”
“Just then the king interrupted the medicine man and said to the sky.”
“It is I, your direct child; King of Kings and lord of all that my eye may lay rest upon. I seek you. My heirs are to enter into the house of the dead and I command that you intercede.”
The medicine man knew that this was bad the king talking to the Great Spirit like this; like he was his equal. The medicine man knew that this was very bad indeed. The Great Spirit said
“Your greatness is not. Your kingdom is because I am that gave it to you. You are because I am that made all. Your children of earth and air shall be with you no longer because I have planned it so.”
The king grew enraged and said
“It was I who tamed the land and drove all the beasts away so my people could have a safe home. It was I who defeated and defended the peoples across the land and made those we vanquished our servants. It is I who demand that you heal my heirs and not let them pass into the house of the dead until the produce heirs of their own. I demand this for I am King”
“I tell you the earth shook and the black sky now turned to fire and the solid earth turned to flowing lava. The Great Spirit said
“Who are you child of earth and air to make demands of me? Can you child of earth and air create earth or air? Can you create another sun and cause it to rise and set? I look at you with my eye and see your smallness yet your eyes can not even comprehend that you might see. If I did speak to you with what you call a voice in my own words this world you stand upon; the place you call the spirit world; and all other worlds would be destroyed and created all over again countless times. My plan is final and it is my will that is will.”
“I tell you Cher the King was so mad that he turned his back on the spirit and tried to walk away. When he did his feet turned into roots like that big ole tree you have in your yard. The spirit said to the King.
“You have shown your ungratefulness for all that I have given you. I shall take away your kingdom. You shall become a servant to a most strange and cruel master in a land across what you call the sea. Your body shall not die until it experiences every pain and cruelty that your strange masters can inflict and that is known to what you call time.”
The sky went back to blue; the dessert back to trees and all was normal again. One of the Kings solders fell threw the hut opening bleeding from a hole in his side. He said that the village had been attack by strange “white”men that carried sticks of thunder and smoke. The sticks of thunder and smoke made rocks pass threw even the toughest warrior’s shield. These “White” men burned the village to the ground and captured everyone that was still alive and put them on big ships in the sea. Before the solder died he told the medicine man and the king that they were on their way. As he closed his eyes the “White” men grabbed the King and the medicine man chained them and took them to the ship.
Now the medicine man was angry Cher.”
“Because he was taken too?”
“That’s right Mon Cher. He felt why should he have to suffer when all he did was what the king asked him to do? He felt it was wrong because if he had not done what the king said he would have killed him. This is when the spirit called “the bad one” came. This spirit was no joke Cher. He would make people go crazy just for fun and turn good men bad and bad men worse. The bad one said to the medicine man
“It’s not fair. Why should you suffer? You just did what the king asked. See, the great one is not so great to let you suffer. If you agree to serve me, let me abide in your soul I will give you more power; greater power than you could imagine; I will make your life not end until the end of all.”
“Be quiet.” The medicine man said to the bad one. “You can only create and tell lies your only power is the power that people give to you.”
The bad one went away but Cher the next day on the ship they beat him and poked at him with hot metal sticks. These strange men spoke weird languages to him. When it was time for them to eat they fed them scraps that not even growler out back would eat. They did horrible things to everyone and if you looked too sick they would just toss you over the side of the ship. If a woman had a baby with her they took the baby and threw it overboard. I tell you cher it was a very bad time.
All night the medicine man argued with the bad one screaming and saying no, no, no to his offer till one of the ships men came down and said to the medicine man
“So you like to scream and yell do you, Ill make an example of you for the rest of these monkeys to see.” The man took out his knife and put it too the cheek of the medicine man. He then cut from where his lip stopped all the way to his ear. The medicine man screamed in pain and the man said “You still won’t shut up.” So he did the same thing to the other side. The medicine man in more pain screamed louder to which the man said “Maybe if I cut out your tongue that will quiet you. He reached in the medicine mans mouth and pulled out his tongue. He took his knife and began to slowly cut at the side of the tip. In the middle of cutting it looked as if the medicine man’s teeth began to grow. The shipman continued to cut but then stopped when the medicine man’s eyes turned black and his hair caught fire. The medicine man broke free from his chains and ate the ship man. He also ate anybody who got blood on them. The next day the medicine man was chained again. He thought it was a dream but he felt like his magic was returning and more powerful than before. He also noticed that all of the villagers would not come near him. He also smelled a new scent. It smelt something like when he would go see the metal smiths of the other villages but different and this time it was coming from the people Cher. In fact it was the people; and it made him hungry. He had once been to a village where his cousin was the medicine man and who served the bad one. There the people ate the people they captured and this was the same smell. That night the bad one came and told him that he accepted him into his soul he now had the power to seek revenge on the king, on the villagers, on all who crossed his path.
At first the medicine man did not do anything. He did not want to believe it was true but with each night his hunger grew worse and worse. Then one night the ship men moved him from the others; thinking he was sick to another part of the ship. This part of the ship is where they had the king chained. They had the King on one wall and the medicine man was chained to the other. When the ship men were gone the medicine man changed and ate the king. That was not all. The medicine man was so hungry that he ate everyone that he could capture that night. By the time the night was almost over the only person that was left was the captain of the ship and by morning he was gone too.”
“What happen then grand pa?”
“Oh well they say that the ship she washed up on one of those island where they have other grand mere’s and have other Mon Petite Cher’s” He said as he again tickled her neck
The raven that had been in windowsill let out a loud “kaw” scaring the mother, the daughter, and the father although he would have never admitted to it. The little girl wrapped her arms around her grandfather and squeezed tight.
“Oh Cher I thought you liked the scary story.” He said stroking her hair.
The raven let out another loud “kaw” as it flew off into the setting sun blending in with the shadows of the willow trees and the darkness of the approaching horizon.
©Christopher F. Brown 2009
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