Tuesday Tales: From the Word POT

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales and our gorgeous new logo, created by the immensely talented Jean Joachim. I hope the new year is treating you well. I’ll had to admit that Mother Nature seems to be playing tricks on us, but like everything else these days, things could be worse, so let’s think positive. We have a lot to be grateful for.

This week, as promised, I’m continuing with Selma’s story about her past. We are all the product of those who’ve come before us. Enjoy.

“I can understand that. We’ve come a long way in treating mental illness, just not far enough.”

Aunt Selma nodded.

“True, but sometimes what we see or think we see isn’t the whole story. I was eighteen when Delphine, Mother’s nurse, had a friend in New Orleans, a Voodoo practitioner, come to visit her. Marianne claimed to be related to Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen. The moment Delphine introduced us, Marianne commented on the power in me. At the time, I had no idea what she meant, but I’ve come to understand that both my father and I possess strong magic, as do you—if you would only open yourself to it.”

“I don’t want to argue. I’ll admit I can be a good judge of character. If that’s magic, so be it.”

“It’s a first step. Just as Marianne had sensed power in me, she sensed a dark spirit in my mother, one that seemed anchored to something nearby. Although she and Delphine searched for it, they were unable to find it. She tried to expel the spirit from my mother and used almost a whole pot of sacred oil in the process. It isn’t easy to expel a demon if you don’t know his or her name. My mother and I shared a birthday, St John’s Eve, June twenty-third, a significant day in many religions including Voodoo. Marianne thought it was possible that a dark spirit had entered the child at the moment of her birth, which coincided with her mother’s death. The Summer Solstice is the time when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Anything is possible. Marianne believed that my birth somehow changed the balance between good and evil, almost as if I had robbed her of whatever good was in her, leaving only the angry spirit in place.”

“Aunt Selma, I’m no expert, but it sounds to me as if your mother might have had multiple personality disorder, something many people considered demonic possession until we learned more about the diseases of the mind. I’m sorry you had to suffer through all of that. I’m sorry your mother did, too.

“Whatever the cause of her distress, Mother was calmer after Marianne left, spent hours with Sapphire, the parrot, so while Marianne hadn’t been able to dispel the spirit, she’d contained it.”

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.