Chapter 2 Everett #2
She places the small doll in a wooden chest upon her carved bench as she gently explains, “You and a few of your brothers are not evil because you contain your father’s spirit, though I cannot say much for the others. They are dumb hogs.”
I stare at her in bewilderment. “Baba!”
She places one finger in the air to “hush” me. “Oi! As for your brothers, you know of the dwellings and dealings they keep! I can see their spirits! I knew your mama was evil the moment she killed her twin in the womb! She has always been evil, pure evil , and you all refuse to see it, my heart.”
“Don’t you think making a sacrifice doll of her is a wee bit evil?” I state, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“It’s not a sacrifice doll, deary. Bless, you need to culture yourself more with our practices!
It is a spirit doll of her. I was asking the gods to watch her and occasionally curse her, but not sacrifice.
If I was going to sacrifice her…” Baba adds as she pulls out another doll, with long raven hair and in a purple dress, and throws it into the roaring fire.
As the fire roars, I throw my forearm to shield my face as the flames engulf the sky.
“Then I would do that!” Baba begins to speak in her Norse-gypsy chants as she waves her cane in the direction of the fire.
“Baba. Who was that?” I try to calmly ask, though I feel awful for whoever pissed off my Baba so badly as to be thrown as a sacrificial doll.
“Why do you care? You don’t believe in my crazy old antics anyway…hmm?” She huffs my way and then continues her chanting.
“I swear, woman, you are scarier than the devil himself.” I place my arms across my chest and notice the fire turns a brighter shade of red.
“I’m friends with the devil, we have tea every Tuesday, my heart.
Plus, it is a problem I have solved for you , someone you’ll want to be rid of for the future.
” Before I can interrogate her on the poor soul she condemned, she finishes her chant, then motions for me to follow her into the hut.
“Come, I tried to drop off a package to you before your mother came nagging and bitching at me.”
“So that’s why you attacked her? Because she spoke to you?” I say gruffly.
Baba inhales dramatically. “No, I attacked her because she forgets her place. She was drunkenly bitching at me like the gremlin she is. I didn’t even retort back!
You should be proud I held back this silver tongue!
” Baba points her arthritic finger at her tiny tongue perched in her mouth.
“I stood there, as she berated me, nagged, complained, then she started waving her finger toward me face, getting real bold. So, when she got close enough I snatched her grubby hair and plucked it from her skull, ever so slightly!”
“No retort back, but instead you take a fistful of hair?” I question, raising one eyebrow as we enter the lavender-and-eucalyptus-scented hut. Though small on the outside, it appears cozy yet vast on the inside with the vaulted ceiling.
“Goodness! The dramatics, Everett. It wasn’t a fistful. It was only a handful.”
“Baba, that’s the same thing.”
“No, a handful with my size hands is not as much as a fistful, which is measured within a man’s hands.” She hobbles close to me with an outstretched hand that holds a slight tremor. “Here, to keep you safe, my heart.”
I open my hand as she drops a thin golden chain, with a petite golden oval amulet etched with symbols. “It’s a protection amulet I had made for you. The gold comes straight from Jotunheim mountains and is blessed by the waters of the gods.”
I rub the amulet between my thumb and forefinger, feelings the etched ruins. “Baba, did you give my other siblings one of these?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t be daft. I only have one favorite and that’s you. Everyone knows. None of them have your heart and wit, Everett.” She turns around to begin making a pot of tea within her relic of a kettle.
There is no arguing with her; though it pisses off some of my other siblings I can’t control her thoughts and decisions, I can influence the stubborn woman to listen—at times.
“Everett.” Her voice goes soft and apprehensive. “I know you don’t believe in my antics, but they are quite true. You know this. It predicted the war, it predicted your… ”
I cut her off as she motions to my arms and body. “Baba, please don’t go there. I already relive those experiences nearly every night.”
Her eyes fall upon me, softening with such admiration.
“I know, my heart. This is something different and I need you to listen.” She waits for me to set my tea down and lock eyes with her.
“My heart. Someone is coming. They will change everything for the best. It will seem like the worst, but it will be for the best.”
I narrow my eyes at her sweet face. “Is this person going to hurt anyone?”
“Yes,” she states with such a dramatic pause it begins to slightly irritate my soul.
“Who?” I ask, raising an eyebrow and taking another small sip of tea.
“ You , and in the best of ways.” She nods in my direction with a wicked smile upon her face.