riots at Ole Miss up in Oxford because some black boy wanted to go to school there. It makes me feel like weâre all moving forward to something bigger and better. And then Bootsie goes and paints the house yellow again, making me feel almost paralyzed. I just donât see the point in holding on to something that will one day be just dust.
Even though itâs Sunday and supposedly a day of rest, she dragged me out to the garden to get it ready for the winter. I moved slowly and complained enough that she told me I was getting in the way and to just sit and watch and learn. I explained to her that there are things called grocery stores where you can buy all sorts of vegetables and other foods, and I didnât see the point of her vegetable garden. She didnât say anything, probably because she knows Iâm right. When she went inside for a glass of sweet tea, I saw that as a chance to escape and ran to my cypress tree. It looks like it doesnât belong right there in the yard, so far from the swamp and surrounded by loblolly pines. I think thatâs why I like it so muchâit reminds me of me.
I sat down on the side of the tree that faces the swamp, where Bootsie couldnât see me from the garden. I knew sheâd send Mathilda to come look for me just as much as I knew that Mathilda wouldnât come anywhere near my cypress. She said there was a haint near the tree, a lost and lonely soul looking for something. I wanted to see it, too, to chase it and find out what it wanted. But Mathilda warned me not to. She said that you can never catch the ghosts you chase. It made me sad, the way she said it, and I wondered if she wasnât talking about haints anymore.
I waited there until dusk, falling asleep just as the porch lights came on. I dreamed I saw a wispy figure standing by the tree and I starting running toward it, but no matter how fast I ran, I couldnât catch it. I woke up sweating and panting as if Iâd been running, and I was so scared that I ran all the way to the back porch and into the house. I turned around to look out the screen door, but all I could see was the shadows of the trees and a sliver of moon in the sky.
Bootsie made me go to bed without supper for hiding when I was supposed to be in the garden, but I didnât care, because I didnât want to eat anyway. For the first time since I was a little girl, I plugged in my night-light and then lit a cigarette. I watched the glowing end get brighter with each puff, and imagined I could hear Mathilda warning me about chasing ghosts.
Chapter 10
Vivien Walker Moise
INDIAN MOUND, MISSISSI PPI
APRIL 2013
I awoke lying across my bed in the same clothes Iâd worn the night before, a bright shaft of sunlight from the uncovered window stabbing my face. My head throbbed, reminding me that Iâd passed out from exhaustion before Iâd thought to take a pill.
Cursing under my breath for forgetting to close the blinds, I rolled over so that I faced the wall and closed my eyes again. I was just about to drift off when my eyes popped open as I recalled why Iâd been so exhausted.
Chloe.
I pictured her waking up alone and frightened in a strange house, and wondering where I was.
I catapulted from the bed, my foot tangling in the sheet and making me stumble, barely catching myself before I ran into the dressing table and tumbling a few of my beauty pageant trophies. Flinging open my door, I entered the upstairs hallway that ran in a square around the main staircase. There were three bedrooms off this hall, the fourth door leading onto a short flight of steps and another hallway with two more bedrooms and another set of stairs that led down to the kitchen.
The door to the bedroom next to mine, the guest bedroom where Iâd put Chloe the night before, stood ajar. I peered inside and saw onlyan unmade bed and an open duffel bag with the contents strewn over the floor and every surface, as if a small tornado
Even though itâs Sunday and supposedly a day of rest, she dragged me out to the garden to get it ready for the winter. I moved slowly and complained enough that she told me I was getting in the way and to just sit and watch and learn. I explained to her that there are things called grocery stores where you can buy all sorts of vegetables and other foods, and I didnât see the point of her vegetable garden. She didnât say anything, probably because she knows Iâm right. When she went inside for a glass of sweet tea, I saw that as a chance to escape and ran to my cypress tree. It looks like it doesnât belong right there in the yard, so far from the swamp and surrounded by loblolly pines. I think thatâs why I like it so muchâit reminds me of me.
I sat down on the side of the tree that faces the swamp, where Bootsie couldnât see me from the garden. I knew sheâd send Mathilda to come look for me just as much as I knew that Mathilda wouldnât come anywhere near my cypress. She said there was a haint near the tree, a lost and lonely soul looking for something. I wanted to see it, too, to chase it and find out what it wanted. But Mathilda warned me not to. She said that you can never catch the ghosts you chase. It made me sad, the way she said it, and I wondered if she wasnât talking about haints anymore.
I waited there until dusk, falling asleep just as the porch lights came on. I dreamed I saw a wispy figure standing by the tree and I starting running toward it, but no matter how fast I ran, I couldnât catch it. I woke up sweating and panting as if Iâd been running, and I was so scared that I ran all the way to the back porch and into the house. I turned around to look out the screen door, but all I could see was the shadows of the trees and a sliver of moon in the sky.
Bootsie made me go to bed without supper for hiding when I was supposed to be in the garden, but I didnât care, because I didnât want to eat anyway. For the first time since I was a little girl, I plugged in my night-light and then lit a cigarette. I watched the glowing end get brighter with each puff, and imagined I could hear Mathilda warning me about chasing ghosts.
Chapter 10
Vivien Walker Moise
INDIAN MOUND, MISSISSI PPI
APRIL 2013
I awoke lying across my bed in the same clothes Iâd worn the night before, a bright shaft of sunlight from the uncovered window stabbing my face. My head throbbed, reminding me that Iâd passed out from exhaustion before Iâd thought to take a pill.
Cursing under my breath for forgetting to close the blinds, I rolled over so that I faced the wall and closed my eyes again. I was just about to drift off when my eyes popped open as I recalled why Iâd been so exhausted.
Chloe.
I pictured her waking up alone and frightened in a strange house, and wondering where I was.
I catapulted from the bed, my foot tangling in the sheet and making me stumble, barely catching myself before I ran into the dressing table and tumbling a few of my beauty pageant trophies. Flinging open my door, I entered the upstairs hallway that ran in a square around the main staircase. There were three bedrooms off this hall, the fourth door leading onto a short flight of steps and another hallway with two more bedrooms and another set of stairs that led down to the kitchen.
The door to the bedroom next to mine, the guest bedroom where Iâd put Chloe the night before, stood ajar. I peered inside and saw onlyan unmade bed and an open duffel bag with the contents strewn over the floor and every surface, as if a small tornado
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