Don’t worry. He’ll get what he deserves. It’s in the hands of the loas now.”
Jake and Lucien quietly worked together for a couple of hours sewing burlap fabric together and stuffing it wi th different kinds of herbs Lucien boiled and dried . Jake imagined many different ways his uncle would suffer.
Chapter 11
Plotting revenge had given Jake a new optimism. Lately , he couldn’t help but think of his mother. He recalled seeing her go from a young lively woman to a sickly, bald one in only a few months. The endless visits to the hospital, constant care she required, and desperate financial situation were more than most kids could handle. He took on the role of the parent and watched her deteriorate to infant status . She didn’t just die. He had to watch her die slowly, over two years. His uncle’s lack of support never bothered him before. Pete did manage to take time out of his busy day to attend his mother’s funeral.
As Jake grew older, seeing people’s true colors became less complicated. His uncle ’s color was evil in its deepest shade. He didn’t just hate his uncle, he hated his life . Pete was every obstacle, every tragedy, every injustice Jake had ever encountered. Bondye , Papa Legba , Mami Wata , and all of the loas put together were going to give Jake the judgment he craved.
***
For the third day in a row, Henry’s mother dropped them off at Lucien’s home.
“Mrs. Novak, on Saturday s I help my neighbors with chores, handy-man type of work, errands…Some of them pay me . S ome of them don’t. Would it be okay if Henry helps, too? He might earn some money.”
“That would be nice, but I don’t want Henry taking away money that you earn.”
“Mom, I wouldn’t take any money. Just give me something to do,” Henry lobbied.
“Very well, then. He’ll come over to morrow morning. Around 10-ish? And then I’ll pick him up in the afternoon. And Jake, you’re coming to Awana’s tonight, right? If you come early, they feed you. Usually pizza. It’s free.”
“Great,” Jake replied.
“Then I’ll pick you both up around 6:00 p.m. One day I’d really like to meet your friend, Lucien.”
“Yeah, soon, Mom. Gotta go,” Henry said, cutting her off. They both dodged out of the car and waved her off. “My mom hovers. My dad gets annoyed.”
“At least you have a mom. Mine died. And your mom is really nice, and pretty too.”
“She’s okay.”
Jake was half expecting the standard ‘I’m so sorry’ plea of sympathy with a side of ‘What happened?’, but Henry seemed uninterested. Jake appreciated his eccentricities. He didn’t have to explain himself around the boy.
“Both on time. Let’s continue assembling our poppet. Jake and I didn’t finish it because we wanted to show you how it’s done. When I was a bokor in my village , I used to do this kind of thing all the time. It’s been a while.”
“How long does it take to work?” Jake asked.
“Varies. You ’ve got to pray to the loas and remind them of your reasons. Step one: Take burlap from a bag of potatoes and cut it out into a doll figure. You can use other kinds of fabric. ”
“Like a gingerbread man,” Henry observed.
“Yes. And then we stitched around the outline of the doll, leaving part of it open. Notice the material is flimsy, so I doubled it up, but you don’t’ have to do that if the cloth is real thick. Now we are going to stuff it up with some of the things you gathered yesterday and some of my own special mixture.”
“What’s in that?” Jake asked, pointing to the dried out plant clippings and ground up spices he had mixed into a bowl.
“I’ve got a little mandrake root , wolfsbane , crushed glass, ginger, and a pinch of some other special ingredients. Basically , dried up plants. Put this mix , along with the graveyard dirt and your uncle’s taglocks , inside of the doll
Jake and Lucien quietly worked together for a couple of hours sewing burlap fabric together and stuffing it wi th different kinds of herbs Lucien boiled and dried . Jake imagined many different ways his uncle would suffer.
Chapter 11
Plotting revenge had given Jake a new optimism. Lately , he couldn’t help but think of his mother. He recalled seeing her go from a young lively woman to a sickly, bald one in only a few months. The endless visits to the hospital, constant care she required, and desperate financial situation were more than most kids could handle. He took on the role of the parent and watched her deteriorate to infant status . She didn’t just die. He had to watch her die slowly, over two years. His uncle’s lack of support never bothered him before. Pete did manage to take time out of his busy day to attend his mother’s funeral.
As Jake grew older, seeing people’s true colors became less complicated. His uncle ’s color was evil in its deepest shade. He didn’t just hate his uncle, he hated his life . Pete was every obstacle, every tragedy, every injustice Jake had ever encountered. Bondye , Papa Legba , Mami Wata , and all of the loas put together were going to give Jake the judgment he craved.
***
For the third day in a row, Henry’s mother dropped them off at Lucien’s home.
“Mrs. Novak, on Saturday s I help my neighbors with chores, handy-man type of work, errands…Some of them pay me . S ome of them don’t. Would it be okay if Henry helps, too? He might earn some money.”
“That would be nice, but I don’t want Henry taking away money that you earn.”
“Mom, I wouldn’t take any money. Just give me something to do,” Henry lobbied.
“Very well, then. He’ll come over to morrow morning. Around 10-ish? And then I’ll pick him up in the afternoon. And Jake, you’re coming to Awana’s tonight, right? If you come early, they feed you. Usually pizza. It’s free.”
“Great,” Jake replied.
“Then I’ll pick you both up around 6:00 p.m. One day I’d really like to meet your friend, Lucien.”
“Yeah, soon, Mom. Gotta go,” Henry said, cutting her off. They both dodged out of the car and waved her off. “My mom hovers. My dad gets annoyed.”
“At least you have a mom. Mine died. And your mom is really nice, and pretty too.”
“She’s okay.”
Jake was half expecting the standard ‘I’m so sorry’ plea of sympathy with a side of ‘What happened?’, but Henry seemed uninterested. Jake appreciated his eccentricities. He didn’t have to explain himself around the boy.
“Both on time. Let’s continue assembling our poppet. Jake and I didn’t finish it because we wanted to show you how it’s done. When I was a bokor in my village , I used to do this kind of thing all the time. It’s been a while.”
“How long does it take to work?” Jake asked.
“Varies. You ’ve got to pray to the loas and remind them of your reasons. Step one: Take burlap from a bag of potatoes and cut it out into a doll figure. You can use other kinds of fabric. ”
“Like a gingerbread man,” Henry observed.
“Yes. And then we stitched around the outline of the doll, leaving part of it open. Notice the material is flimsy, so I doubled it up, but you don’t’ have to do that if the cloth is real thick. Now we are going to stuff it up with some of the things you gathered yesterday and some of my own special mixture.”
“What’s in that?” Jake asked, pointing to the dried out plant clippings and ground up spices he had mixed into a bowl.
“I’ve got a little mandrake root , wolfsbane , crushed glass, ginger, and a pinch of some other special ingredients. Basically , dried up plants. Put this mix , along with the graveyard dirt and your uncle’s taglocks , inside of the doll
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