The Jersey Obeah Woman

The Cabin in the Woods

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The front window was clearly visible from the discreet vantage point behind the maple tree. Illumination from the candlestick revealed the two lovers inside the cabin, with dewy eyes and faces pressed close together. It was enough to make one want to vomit.

The House in the City

Teressa’s phone vibrated in the pocket of her orange silk pants, which contrasted with the vibrant colors of the rest of her ensemble, but quite nicely matched the tiny gold chains she had sewn into the hemline of her headscarf. Her large brown eyes and black hair added to the overall impression of an exotic voodoo priestess. In the beginning, she had felt like a fraud. After all, she was just a Jersey girl. But when she stepped from the home she shared with her husband David, through the door to her adjacent Wellness Studio, she embodied her alter ego, a spiritual advisor named Jadayla.

“It’s all about faith, babe,” her spiritual mentor Zekia had said when Teressa first became Jadayla. “If you want to help people, you make it easier for them to believe in you, and that includes looking the part.” Zekia’s persona was based on her grandmother, who was a bonafide Jamaican Obeah woman who taught Zekia real magic as a child. When Zekia wore her grandmother’s traditional quadrille and headpiece she felt her Mama’s spirit enter her. It was a little spooky, partly because Zekia’s Jamaican accent seemed so authentic, but also because even her facial expressions and mannerisms seemed to change.

Teressa stood at the island of the kitchen and scarfed down a bowl of cereal, needing quick sustenance to get through this first reading. Her phone vibrated again and she pulled from her pocket as she put the bowl on the floor absentmindedly, where her Golden Retriever Maxim lapped up the milk greedily. The text was from Owen, her ex-boyfriend. It read: “Once you go black,you never go back,” along with a winky-face and eggplant emoji. She was not amused by this lame, clichéd ‘joke,’ and she couldn’t imagine what she ever saw in him. She deleted the message, as she had all his recent messages, shoving the phone back in her pocket. She and Owen had dated for about six months, and they were definitely falling for each other, but when she found out he didn’t want kids, she ended it. No hard feelings.

That was almost two years ago and they hadn’t spoken until they ran into each other a few months ago in a coffee shop. They did some catching up, laughed a little, and followed up with a few texts. The texts may have been a tiny bit flirty, but it was a friendship, not an affair. There was nothing physical, nothing sexual, not ever while she was with David.

A few weeks later she found out that she and David were expecting and suddenly felt guilty, as if she were cheating. David wasn’t just her husband anymore- he was the father to her unborn child. They were a family now, something she considered sacred. She told Owen that she couldn’t continue their friendship. He took it well, saying he appreciated her honesty and admired her commitment to David.

But about a week ago, she started receiving strange text messages from Owen. A few each day turned into dozens, all unrequited, and there was a bitterness to them. He always had a great sense of humor, but these messages weren’t light-hearted. They were crass, angry, and often plain-old stupid. Every day the texts got a little crazier and a little less like Owen, and it was starting to freak her out.

She figured the best thing was to ignore him and he’d eventually get the message. But yesterday she stepped into her studio and she knew Owen had been there. Teressa had always had the unique ability to sense individual energies. especially with people she knew well. She could feel his energy everywhere. There was nothing damaged, nothing missing, but three of her Tarot decks were open, with one card sticking out from each: the ten of Swords, the Devil, and the Tower. The hairs on her arms stood on end. These cards were the worst possible omens, and it could mean nothing but a threat.

A turn of a key in a lock snapped her out of her thoughts. She heard the studio door open and Zekia’s voice, “Hello?”

“In the kitchen,” Teressa called.

Zekia entered from the hall that led to the studio. She had smooth, chocolate brown skin, long box braids, manicured fingernails, and always wore clothing that accentuated her natural curves perfectly.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Teressa said, giving her a quick hug. “You couldn’t get your husband to do it?”

“He had an open house this morning.”

“His car’s still here.”

“He must be running late I guess, but he’s currently getting the silent treatment, so I can’t ask him why.”

“Hmm, okay, well, I’m going to need the details on all that. That is, if you want my help with your crazy client. And what’s up with that new Ouija board? You know she’s just going to push it where she wants it to go.”

“So? Let her, if it helps. She’s a lonely old woman who wants to know that someone on the other side is watching out for her. But they don’t come for her. I don’t think they like her.”

“Well if people don’t like you now, why should they suddenly start liking you after you pass? Have you changed? I don’t think so.”

Teressa laughed, and then the studio doorbell rang, the sound of wind chimes.

Teressa said, “A couple of flickers. And give me a few minutes to get started.”

Zeika nodded in agreement as Teressa passed by her into the Wellness Studio. An ancient looking Ouija board was featured prominently on a table covered in a mandala cloth. An Arabian-styled, brass pendant light hung over the table and cast golden swirls on the walls. Small table lamps were covered in colorful scarves, and combined with the plush carpet and several floor pillows the room had an intimate feel.

Mrs. Danielle Bellows was plump with silver hair and diamond rings on every finger. She handed Teressa fifty dollars and said, “ Jadayla, I hope you reach someone today.”

Teressa slipped the money in her pocket and with her facke exotic accent, said, “It is up to the ancestors, Madam. I can offer the solicitation, that is all. Perhaps they will come, let us sit.” Teressa held Mrs. Bellows hands in hers and instructed her to keep her head down and eyes closed. She then said “We call upon the ancestors of Danielle Bellows, please make yourself known to those of us present. We welcome you. Now, Madam, place your fingertips very lightly on the planchette and then you may ask your question.”

Mrs. Bellows whispered, “Mother, are you there?”

The board began to move toward the D, then the A, then the N, Mrs. Bellows gasped and said, “It’s my name! Mother? Is that you?” Her hands were shaking.

“Madam, please, no need to be afraid, let her speak to you.”

The planchette then moved to the G, the E, and finally the R. ‘What the hell?’ Teressa thought.

“Oh, that isn’t my name, let’s see, D - A - N - G - E - R...danger?”

The lights flickered. Mrs. Bellows shrieked and jumped up, then said, “I think that is enough for today, thank you so much.” The lights flickered again and she bolted for the door.

Teressa sat back in her chair and sighed. That went as poorly as she could have imagined. She hated to think of scaring someone in this space. She intended this as a space for healing, for peace and comfort. She and David had converted it to her Wellness Studio when they bought the place six months ago. Little did they know then that their lives would change so soon. They had agreed to wait a couple of years to have kids, but life is full of unexpected journeys.

She had planned to tell David on his birthday, but he found the positive test in a drawer about a week ago. He accused her of hiding the pregnancy, which was technically true. He said horrible things and made vile assumptions, which she knew he didn’t mean. She would forgive him of course, but he needed time to rethink his position and to work on an apology. They would make up, no matter what, because her baby was going to grow up with two happy parents.

Zekia and Maxim entered the studio from the house side, Zekia handed Teressa a glass of water and said “Stay hydrated, you’re pregnant.”

“Worst idea ever. I don’t think she’s coming back.” She drank the water gratefully. “I knew it was a bad idea.” Zekia said, “I have to run. Are we still on for lunch?” “Can we have dinner instead?”

“Can’t. I have a dinner date.”

“Oh, do tell.”

“Nah, I will if he shows up. He’s been ghosting me for a few days, so...” She shrugged. “Okay, two o’clock for lunch then. You’re picking me up right?”

“Yes, I’ll be here at two and I’ll lock up behind me,” Zekia said as she rushed out.

Teressa locked the door, then went over to the plush rug in the corner of the room and flopped down on several floor pillows. Maxim laid right beside her, put his head on her belly, looked into her eyes adoringly and wagged his tail.

Teressa must have fallen asleep, because she woke up startled to the sound of Maxim growling at the door leading into the house. This was odd, as Maxim never growled or barked. She often said if she were being stabbed to death, Maxim would watch with his tail wagging. She glanced at the clock. Crap, she’d been asleep for over three hours! It was probably all the stress. Fighting with David, freaking out her best paying client, and pregnancy didn’t help.

But now she had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. She barely breathed as she scrutinized the room, fussing with her little dragons holding crystal balls, her Tarot posters and fairy figurines, trying to place her finger on the odd feeling, but nothing appeared to be wrong. Then she glanced sideways at the Ouija board. It looked perfectly normal - nothing sinister at all. She scrunched up her nose, and sat at the table. She was being silly. She put a few fingers on the planchette. Nothing happened. She sat up, more confidently now, and put fingers from both hands on the planchette. Still nothing. She said, “Is anyone here with me?” The planchetts skidded across the board to point to “yes”. She yanked her fingers away as if they’d been burned, jumping up and knocking over the chair.

Her phone vibrated in her pants, and she yelped. Her senses were on high alert. Maxim was now barking frantically. She forgot about her lunch date with Zekia! She was probably calling to say she was on her way. Teressa hadn’t even changed her clothes. She pulled the phone out of her pocket. It was another message from Owen.

It read, “You’re hot stuff,” accompanied by a little fire emoji. How childish, irritating, and below the man she used to know. “What the hell Owen?...hang on, didn’t I already?” She pressed the buttons on her phone. “Huh, okay, you are now blocked.”

She turned off the table lamps. Maxim’s barking was even more frantic. She frowned and opened the door to the main part of the house. It was full of smoke. Instinctively she crouched low. The barking was coming from the kitchen. Why weren’t the smoke detectors going off?

Smoke billowed out of the kitchen, rolled along the ceiling and down the hall toward her. She yanked her headscarf off and held it against her mouth and nose, then ran into the kitchen. The top half of the room was full of thick black smoke, the lower half was gray swirling smoke. Maxim was barking at the stove. Through the black smoke she could see bright, almost neon, orange flames engulfing the stovetop and the cabinets above and beside it. The flames were already touching the ceiling. A fire extinguisher wasn’t going to put out this fire. Her eyes were burning and watering. She could smell the smoke through the scarf. The heat in the room was unbearable and the hairs on her arms were getting singed.

Suddenly she realized Maxim had stopped barking. She saw him lying on the floor, his eyes glassy, unseeing. She tried to drag him with one arm, but she couldn’t budge him.

She tossed the headscarf and grabbed his back legs to drag him to the sliding door. The black smoke coiled around her throat like hands choking the life out of her. Every breath seared her lungs. Her eyes and nose watered so much she was having trouble seeing and breathing. She shook her head frantically, trying to get away from the heat, from the pain in her lungs. Every cough sucked in air that was hot like tar, sticking to her lungs, weighing them down. It was all happening too fast, and she knew she had to get out or she would die, but the smoke was engulfing her.

The room went black and then it was tipping. She knew it was her, she was tipping, it was as if she was observing herself, or knew what was happening, but was powerless to stop it. She heard David calling her name from somewhere. Was she hallucinating? He wasn’t due home for hours and he didn’t call her Teressa unless they were fighting. But they had been fighting, and she should have forgiven him. He had the right to be angry. She kept secrets from him, and now she was going to die and he would never forgive himself for the things he said.

“Teressa!” She thought of the Tarot cards left in her drawer. Disaster, ruin, suffering, the end of a relationship, torture, death.

She then heard Zekia’s voice calling from far away, in a long tunnel, it wasn’t real, it was too far away. “Please, save the baby,” she said, and then there was nothing at all.

The Hospital

SheShe woke up in the hospital. David was sleeping in a chair next to her, holding her hand.

It was evident he had been there for a while. She pulled the oxygen mask from her face. “David,” she said with a hoarse voice.

His head lifted instantly. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and looked like he would have

been captain of the high school football team. He had dark circles under his eyes. “How long - have I - been - here?” she said, coughing between words.

“Two days, don’t talk,” he said. “They had you on a respirator until this morning.”

She sat up, winced and held her head.

“Doc said you’d have a big headache when you woke up.”

She was afraid to ask, but had to know. Her voice barely above a whisper, “The baby?” He nodded, and said, “It survived.”

She nodded, tears filled her eyes, she hugged his hand against her cheek.

He said, “When I thought I might lose you, I wanted to die myself. I should never have said those things to you. I was angry and hurt. I’m sorry for being such a dumb ass..”

She said, “It doesn’t matter.” she coughed. “We’re going to be...”, she had a coughing fit. “...a happy fam...” more coughing, “...family, now. The four of us.”

He nodded, but held her hand to his mouth. “What is it?” she asked.

“Trey, It’s Maxim.” She shook her head, as if that would make it not so, but she said, “He died, didn’t he.” Then she whispered, “He barked. I wouldn’t have known about the fire until it was too late. He barked, he warned me, he saved my life.”

Teressa opened her eyes.

A nurse was pulling a blood pressure cuff off of her. She smiled atTeressa and said, “Good morning. How would you like to go home today?”

“Yes please,” Teressa said. Her phone beeped, indicating a missed message. The nurse grabbed it off the rolling cart and handed it to her, then said, “If your labs are good, you should be discharged this afternoon.”

“That’s great.”

The nurse patted her arm, then left the room.

Teressa sat up and looked at the message. It was from Owen “Meet me, or it won’t be just

the dog that dies next time.”

David entered with two cups of coffee in his hand. He said, “Good morning, sleepyhead.” She tucked the phone under her leg and said, “Good morning. Is that caffeine?”

David handed her the coffee.

“Everything good?”

“They found out the cause of the fire.”

“What was it?” Teressa said.

“Hotdogs,” David said.

“Hotdogs? That’s not possible.”

He shrugged.

“David, I ate cereal for breakfast. I didn’t cook at all. I didn’t even have coffee.”

He shrugged again and said, “Well, I’m allergic, so I know I didn’t make them.”

Just then Zekia entered the room, wearing dreadlocks, a skull facemask, high heels, a T-shirt with a big gold X across the chest, and very curvy jeans.

“Hey, Trey,” she said.

David took that as his cue and said, “I’m going to go home and take a shower.” He gave her a kiss, smiled at Zekia and left the room.

Zekia, “So, I don’t hate him now. Since he saved your life, did I tell you?”

Teressa said, “I still don’t know exactly what happened?

Zekia clapped her hands and said in a sing-song voice, “Oh, yay, I get to tell it, I get to

tell it. So, we got there about the same time. I was just turning into the driveway. David was getting out of his car. He heard me pull in and waved, which I ignored, naturally, cause he hadn’t saved you yet. By the time I got into the house, he was calling for you and smoke was all over the place. I called for you and then he shouted that you were in the kitchen. I ran to the kitchen and he already was carrying you through the sliding back doors to the back deck. He yelled to call 911, but my bag and phone were in my car. Now, get this - I almost ran back through the house - the burning house! David stopped me. By the time I came back with 911 on the phone, he was doing CPR. Babe, you weren’t breathing. Not at all, I mean you were dead and gone. Eyes rolled back, the whole nine. ” Zekia holds back tears and her chin quivers.

Teressa said, “I feel bad, I told David the dog saved my life.”

Zekia wiped her tears and said, “Whatever, girl, you almost died. You don’t have anything to feel guilty about. And he should have told you. Anyway, now you know.”

Teressa nodded and said, “Now I know.”

“When are you getting out of here?”

“I’m going home today.”

“Home? There is no way I’m letting the two of you go back there. Not until the construction is completed. You can stay with me.”

“You are sweet, “ Teressa said, “We’re going to David’s cabin. He got a few days off and we’re going to relax and enjoy some quiet. Zekia, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, ask away.”

“When you and Owen broke up, did he...do...anything odd?”

“How, odd?”

“Text you, bug you, stalk you?”

“First, he never loved me like that, also he cheated on me, so technically he was over me

before we even broke up, and we’re on good terms now, so whatever.” Zekia said. “Wait, you didn’t tell me that.” Teressa said.

“We talk.” Zekia said.

Teressa said, “You’re in a relationship?”

“Do I look like a fool?” Zekia said.

Teressa said, “I think he might be dangerous.”

“Come again?”

“He’s been texting me weird shit, and I think he was in my studio. He left me a threatening message the day before the fire. And I think he was there the day of the fire” “Say what now?” Zekia said.

“Did you cook hotdogs at my house that morning?” Teressa said.

“Hotdogs? Do you have a concussion?”

“David said someone took the batteries out of our smoke detectors before the fire, which was caused by cooking hotdogs and Owen was in my studio and might be trying to kill me.” “Girl, now I know you're crazy. Bye.” Zekia grabbed her handbag and stormed out.

The Cabin in the Woods

The cabin was rustic, very rustic. It had been in David’s family for decades, but it hadn’t been virtually abandoned for years. It had one large room for common living which included a kitchen area with a round table and four chairs, a living room area with a stone fireplace and a cozy recliner and sofa. Under the window sat a small table and two chairs, perfect for a game of chess or a romantic conversation. There was one bedroom and one bathroom. Outside were bilco doors to access a root cellar for food storage, but no one had tended a garden there in 30 years.

David had done his best to make it livable. He had repaired what he could, Scrubbed every surface. Brought clean linens for the bed and fresh towels. There was no heat, apart from the fireplace, but the fire was going strong, the logs crackling and gave off a nice heat.

Zekia had called. Teressa told her David was fishing so she offered to come and keep her company. While she waited she walked down to the edge of the lake. David was so far out she could barely see him. She started back to the cabin. She would pot some water on for spaghetti, just in case he didn’t catch anything.

As she neared the cabin she heard a phone notification. David must have dropped his phone. She searched the porch, then around the perimeter of the house.She had to wait for the next notification to zero in on the location. Eventually, she narrowed zeroed in on a pile of leaves. She kicked them aside and found bilco doors. The phone was behind the doors.

She opened the doors. The phone was laying at the bottom of the concrete steps. There was a string dangling at the bottom, so she went down, pulled the string and flooded the space with light. She picked up the phone. It was Owen’s phone.

The smell was the next thing that hit her. Rotting flesh. Owen was dead.

He was still wearing the same clothes he had on the last day she saw him. The day she met him here. The day she told him it was over. That was a week ago. He never left the cabin. He had chains around his ankles and a metal collar on his neck. She turned her head away, she cried.

What had gone on down here? There were papers and photographs and maps tacked up all over the walls.

They were printouts of texts and emails between her and Owen. The whole story, from the day after the chance meeting at the coffee shop three months ago. The first text the next day, the ones that followed. The light banter, the friendship that grew, then turned into something more. The long emails where they opened themselves up like they never had with anyone. Completely safe to be utterly vulnerable. The confessions of love. All their private thoughts and deepest feelings were pinned up, on display like smut.

There were photographs of the coffee shops and restaurants where they met and talked over glasses of wine and candlelight. Maps of places they met with x marking parks where they walked. Then many photographs of their one mistake. A night of passion, of love making of regret. AFter that they didn’t meet in person, they didn’t trust themselves. She promised to tell David that it was over. That she was in love with Owen. She was going to tell him but she had been sick for a few days and wasn’t up to it. Zekia suggested she take a pregnancy test and the results changed everything. Changed the course of love.

She asked Owen to meet her at the cabin. She knew David never used it. They met and talked by candlelight at the little table by the window. They both cried, but she was adamant. Family was everything to her, she would not sacrifice her child’s father, her family. Owen understood, he accepted that decision.

When she left him that day, he stayed behind. He wanted to take a walk before leaving. Whoever was watching them, whoever had taken a photo of that meeting, had killed him. There were only two people in this world who had something invested in this.

David and Zekia. They both had access to her studio, but David knew nothing about Tarot cards and would not know which cards to pick to make a threat. Zekia gave her a glass of water the day of the fire and she slept for three hours, was there something in that water? She was in the kitchen alone before the fire, but David may have still been upstairs.

Her head was spinning and then she had her answer.

David was standing there. His eyes were black and she knew that he was going to kills her. It was him all along. David had sent the texts. No wonder it didn’t sound like Owen.

She tried to reason with him, “David, I know what you think, I know what this looks like, but you’re wrong. We were just friends and we ended the friendship because once I got pregnant I didn’t wnat...”

“Shut up whore! Did you think I was going to let you humiliate me with your bastard child?”

“David, no, this baby is yours.”

“I saw you. I saw him touching you. He had his black hands all over you.”

“David, the baby is yours.”

“Liar.”

He reached out for her and she bolted, but he grabbed her. She screamed but there was noone to hear her. He put his hands around her throat and squeezed. She kicked him in the groin and he released her. She tried to get to the stops, but he recovered so quickly and he had her by the ankle and was dragging her down the stairs. She kicked but he didn’t feel anything. His hands were around her throat again, she couldn't breath. She was blacking out. She was thinking that the baby would die if it didn’t get air. Suddenly there was Mama, Zekia’s Jamaican Obeah grandmother and then she blacked out.

Teressa stepped into her studio. A place she had always felt safe and at peace. She thought going back would bring back bad memories, but it didn’t. She still felt it.

The Ouija Board was still sitting on the table, it was covered in dust. She sat down, blew the dust away and placed her fingers on the planchette. Is someone here?

It skidded across to yes, but she didn’t remove her fingers. She wasn’t afraid.

Who are you, she said.

O-W-E- N

She smiled and said, “I felt you, Owen. I didn’t understand then that you were trying to warn me. You’ll watch over us, both of us?”

The planchette moved to YES.

She lifted her fingers and said, “I can feel you here, I can feel your energy and your love.

She’ll feel it too. I’ll tell her about you..”

The door opened and Zedia stepped in. She was holding a baby in her arms. A dark-skinned baby. She said, “Here we go Wenny, Mommy is going to feed you.” She passed the baby to Teressa and they both smiled down at the baby.