Written for OLWG# 239
She tried to get help from Mama Tambara, and she tried to get help from Babalawo Esupofo to no avail. She studied the local versions of Candomblé, Curanderismo, Espiritismo, Macumba and Santería. She found no answers.
When she found Caillou Botanica about ten miles upriver towards Baton Rouge, she knew for sure that those city witches were no damn good. Country witches had the answers she had been seeking. At Caillou, she learned the red candle magic she needed to lure Josue back to her bed. She could also source the materials she needed. She bought three slim red tapered candles, a length of red yarn, rose oil, yarrow oil, and lavender oil. She already had clippings from Josue’s hair and fingernails. She had a cigarette butt he had smoked and crushed out. She knew that this would work.
She began by cleaning the parlour and closing the windows. She poured her oils in the tub and bathed in candlelight. When she returned to the parlour, she covered the mirrors with pink towels and placed a spray of honeysuckle blossoms on the table. The Botanica had advised that an apple or a glass of red wine would help. She had an apple, but not the wine, so she recited the incantations as she lit the three candles and burned both ends of the red yarn, which she looped three times around her wrist and tied off as a bracelet.
Naked, she lay on the davenport, closed her eyes and slept. The candles had to remain undisturbed. They should not be allowed to go out prematurely. She dreamed of Josue and hoped that he would come back soon.
This week’s prompts were:
- dirt under his nails and smoke in his lungs
- city witches
- a thousand blackbirds
tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice 