Chapter 9 #2
“No one comes here to shop, chile. Issa place folks come lookin’ fah answers," she smiled.
"Do they find them?"
"They do… some leave with better questions." She pointed toward one of the windows then asked, "What do you see?"
I walked to the window so that I could get a closer look and outside was a large magnolia tree. The blooms on the tree were a deep crimson color.
"Why do the flowers on the tree look like droplets of blood instead of them being white? Is something wrong with the tree?"
"No baby,” Dessa Mae laughed, “that tree grows over a grave.”
Her expression changed and a chill went down my spine. The spot where the tree was didn’t even look like a grave at first glance.
"The old folks round here say, them magnolias bloom white when the dead rest easy. But when they bloom red…"
My stomach tightened as the bells outside started to ring softly. It was a rather warm day, no wind, no movement but the bells were jingling. I followed her eyes as she looked toward the bells then back at me.
"We say they bleedin’ cause the dead can’t rest, when the truth ain't finished."
I couldn’t lie, I knew of old wise tales because my mom used to tell plenty of them but the blooms bleeding on trees over graves where the person wasn’t resting easily was unsettling and the bells jingling didn’t help my nerves one bit.
“So, any tree with red blooms mean it’s by a grave of a soul that’s not at peace?”
“In our town, that’s exactly what it means.”
“Whose grave is that?"
“A Vale family member named Clara, is all I’ma say. Their body was laid to rest right where they were slain at. They said it was a drowning, but her body told a different story.”
Behind the shop in the distance was a river. It was so peaceful looking.
“That there is the Magnolia River…folks think it’s haunted by her spirit but it’s anything but. If you ask me, it’s the most peaceful place in town.”
Dessa Mae walked away and went over to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a book.
She thumbed through the pages, then removed a photo and walked back over to me and handed it to me.
The picture was of the town from centuries ago.
I saw the church, the downtown area, the cemetery, people and the river.
"Ya know, folks think secrets die when people do but they don’t."
"So, what would you say is the biggest secret in this town?"
"The one all us folks know but nobody willing to discuss."
“What exactly is this big secret?”
“I can’t go in tah allat. These folk love tellin’ stories bout God but them preachers not preachers.”
“You talking about the Dubois church?”
“They tell ya up at that church this town was built by dem preachers, but it was built off families…Vales first, then the Baptistes, they the ones that built that church, and lastly the Dubois’…
dem Whitmore’s wanted to be important and wound up gettin’ themselves all mixed up in it.
One by one they learnin’ they lessons from it though. ”
“So, the Baptiste, Vales, Dubois’ and Whitmore’s are the founding families here.”
“The Vales, Baptiste and Dubois… If you ask me, I wouldn’t include dem Whitmore’s as founders, they just did whatever they was told to gain power.”
“Which family has the most power?”
“The darkest ones always has the most power…dem Dubois most powerful now…but not cause they got it honestly. You know, you sho’ got yo mother’s eyes and yo’ grandmother’s bravery.
I knew them both very well. I know you been down tah the church lookin’ for answers among the dead…
what you should be searchin’ is the livin’.
And askin’ the right questions. Askin’ the right people. ”
“What should I be asking? Who should I be asking?”
“Some of the one’s you’ve already met. You think you wanna kno’ who yo’ was daddy…
what ya need tah ask was what he was gonna prove.
Yo’ mom’s best friend Vivienne…she was a Baptiste.
She and yo momma used tah come up in here all the time.
They both were bold…to others a lil to bold but they were all right to me in my book.
Vivienne’s death holds all the secrets and if you look closely, it won’t steer you wrong, baby.
Hell, it’s gon’ take you right where you need to be.
Just be careful who you askin’ bout Vivienne.
That name stirs up bout as much mess and stress and dem Whitmore’s. ”
I took a mental to search more into Vivienne, who she was and her death and to look into the Whitmore’s.
“Is being bold a bad thing around here?”
“It can be when you don’t know how to keep quiet. Yo momma knew when to hold and when to fold ‘em but Vivienne…not so much. God rest her soul.”
It sounded like Vivienne, not knowing how to be quiet, got her into some trouble.
“Do you know why my mom left, never wanting to come back? Was it because of Vivienne? Did she get into trouble? Were they both in some kind of trouble?”
“Now that’s a whole heap of questions for a lil old lady such as myself. But the more you dig, the more you’ll find and when you get to the ‘why’ you’s gonna know. There was nuttin’ left here for yo’ momma. The memories were too hard to be reminded of daily.”
“Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”
“Thank you fo’ followin’ yo’ heart and comin’. I expect to see you again…now hear.”
I could’ve stayed much longer but I knew how to read between the lines. My discernment was strong and I didn’t want to overstay my welcome especially since I was given an invite to come back, which I intended on doing.
My head was spinning from the conversation because I didn’t get a lot of answers, but I did get a lot of clues that could lead me to what I need to know. The fact that they came from someone just as old as the town, I wasn’t sure if that was bad or good. But, I didn’t get a bad vibe from Dessa Mae.
She may have been old, but she sounded pretty sane to me. What I do know is that I felt that there was much more to explore and figure out. And the first things on my list were to find out what my dad was about to prove and what and who Vivienne Baptiste was.
The biscuit Dessa Mae gave me was tasty, but it wasn’t filling enough to satisfy my hungry stricken belly.
By the time I made it to Magnolia & Pine, it was way past lunch, so I prayed that there wasn’t a bunch of people inside.
As I waked through the door, the bell above the door chimed and instantly Seraphine looked up from behind the counter with a smile spread across her face.
"Hey there suga!" She beamed, “Looks like you had a long morning.”
"Oh, if only you knew." Before I could even ask, she slid a piping hot mug of coffee over to me. "How you always know my order?"
"I just be guessin’."
It felt oddly comforting that she was so personable with me. I wondered if her business was a success because she was like that with everyone. After placing an order for lunch, Seraphine took a break when she brought my food out and we both sat at a table near the front window.
I felt so comfortable with her that I started to tell her everything.
I told her about the scholarship, showed her some of the pictures I took from my camera, I brought up how I went to the church and met Ezekiel in the archive room and saved the best for last and told her about Dessa Mae and the countryside.
At that mention of Dessa Mae’s name, Seraphine sat up straighter.
"You met old lady Dessa Mae Vale?"
"Yeah, and I must admit, I actually really like her a lot."
"What all did she tell you? Old Dessa Mae sho’ know she can tell a good story.
Most older people can but her stories hit just a pinch different.
You know, folks round here call her crazy as a Betsy bug.
They say she whispers and talks to ghosts.
The church want nothing to do with her and it’s not because she isn’t spiritual.
She’s a bit too spiritual if you ask me.
Folks think all she is, is a old, eccentric root worker that lives out in the country and that she may be, but I believe she’s much more than that. "
"I agree with you. Ion think she’s crazy but she gives all-knowing that’s for sure. She told me just a little but enough at the same time. She most definitely had a lot to say, and she has such a soft voice. She did the most talking. She told me about the river. It’s such a beautiful site."
I didn’t go into everything she said, because I was still processing it all.
"Did she tell ya it’s haunted? You don’t want to go round there at night.”
“She mentioned something like that.”
“You know you gotta take whatever she told you with a grain of salt. She far from crazy…she sharper than a tac.”
“You don’t think she’s touched?”
"No, not at all. She might be as old as the town but that doesn’t mean she’s crazy. I think she talks in riddles a bit, but you just gotta listen to her. Think bout what she says then you’ll see it be makin’ plenty of sense especially when you know."
"She told me that one of the town’s biggest secret, everyone knows what it is, but no one will talk about what it is."
An expression swept across Seraphine’s face so quickly that if I wasn’t paying attention, I wouldn’t have seen it.
"That lady will lead you to the water but won’t tell you if it’s okay to drink it… that’s why I said she talks in riddles. I’ll just say that the biggest secret is centered around power. People will sell their souls for power round here or take yours if they feel you have more power than them."
“Are you talking about the Dubois? She mentioned how they’re one of the founding families here and the most powerful.”
“They’re definitely powerful. But…they not the only ones with power.”