Not many people wan hear bout’ haunting. They doh wan hear bout ghosts and angry dead babies coming back to take you in ground that warm yet somehow cold. No, nobody wan hear that. People wan hear happy story. Story bout creeping baby an approved visa. Good school results an husbands who stop lime by stand-pipe an decide fuh tek a lil wuk by the hospital wa now building up the road; the is what people want hear.
But God get a funny way of wukking, way he don’t always give you the things you want and does send thing you ain’ want as if you name Job an not gonna crack under pressure.
When the family move in, God din make the ghost show heself right away, he let them get comfortable first. God real know how to play boy. He let them know what real bed and rooma for two feel like an wa it was to wake up and see the sun outta one own window an smile down at neighbours you didn’t know an wasn’t too keen on knowing. But you smiling still ’cause they is not tenement yard neighbour, but real ones like you does see in them white people movie way them does bake cake an welcome one ’nother.
Them first few morning, everything go easier an night come suh fast an done that again you waking to sunlight, albeit a little hot an bothersome now an neighbour who still smile, but not as bright as before. Is them small, small thing you don’t notice that does bring it sudden pon you eventually. One day you sit down good good after you fuss wok trying to teach one sixth of you coal head chile numbers while you chip Ochre to make stew. The next day you pon you own table, trying to understand you own numbers after one your wuk geh cut down while the stew stay burning in the kitchen. An won’t you believe it, daaz the time the ghost choose fuh appear an cloak the house.
The neighbour them din know when the ghost come, all them sense was a change, one different from the change them feel when the empty plot turn into a upstairs downstairs house fulla dutty faces. They din understand it but ain’ pay too much mind, after all, it might just be that the people finally showing them nature.
The fuss night the ghost come, the mother din know what going on. She pick up the camphor an hold it tight to she chest, staring at the wall the thing come out from an wonder if she come from till Berbice river Ebini wa geh Caiman, toil in West Coast backdam with snake fuh come here an dead from fright. She look at the space the ghost flit through on the wall an decide that nobody or nothing gone kill she in she own house an went back to sleep.
If she been tell somebody after the first night, maybe things woulda turn out different but when the rain come next morning, trapping everybody until the next day, she decide not to worry nobody bout duh.
But won’t you know it, that next night, it din even wait fuh she sleep, if anything, she feel like if it energy drawing the sleep outta she. Putting the book with the numbers down, she close she eye jus fuh feel the entire place start shake an jump up fuh find the ghost deh closer than it been lass night. Not knowing what else to do, she start dash Psalms, muddask**ts an so-an-so’s at it but it just stay there by the wall, floating as if it ain’ had no other place to be in the world but right here. Then one sudden, he hand reach out, long an white as if trying to grab and that was when she scream because hovering was one thing but grabbing was a whole other story.
The next morning when she wake, she stay in she bed staring at the wall, memory creating faint white lines and curves that want she go pack she bags, children an mangy pup, leave the house an hot tail it back to the yard she come from down the coast.
Then all a sudden she realise, she know this ghost, she know it from long an it finally come fuh she like it been try fuh come fuh she granny when crops was low an the produce boat hardly used to pass ’round.
“White devil outta here, in the name of Jesus, outta here!” round and round the room she granny been run shouting, “out, out, out!”
It did come back three more night an meet up with more “outs” an “crasses” but when the fourth day come ’round and the boat lazily made its way to the riverfront where granny stan’ up with she parcels, the ghost never come back deh, tho one time she went in the bathroom an see a white man an woman bathing but when she tell she granny, she tell her wasn’t the same one.
Years after, when them move to the West Coast, it come for she mother, but this time it din tek chase. Fuss it used to come in the night alone, hovering over she bed while Psalms shot up at it, still hovering when tired mouth form small ‘o’ an fall asleep. Then all a sudden, it start come day too an everyday it come, it look bigger like if it was just feeding offa de house, daz when we know how serious it serious.
The morning when de two small truck had come to fetch way all dem thing to another smaller yard, they look back to the house an see de ghost deh, hovering big big an smiling. The was when mommy been know that thing evil, before she just thought was a nuisance but that was when she knew what was it real intention. After that day, mommy real change boy. She would siddun pon a bucket outside an stare out at de road not saying nothing. Anybody dare interrupt she was quick to get a slap or cuff if they went in short distance an if they wasn’t, them was sure to get a sound tongue thrashing whether them big or small. The is where she would spend she days, eating on the bucket, staring out on the bucket, only getting up to teck a piss or shit in de outhouse that four house share an back on the bucket again. When night come, she would stroll pass hungry faces, who barely alive only ’cause them brother decide fuh tek a wuk, an go in she bed fuh dream about white man floating an grinning when she fall.
Looking back on she mother, de woman know that she cyan leh the happen to she, not she an she chirren, so early next morning she go by she pastor an seh “Pastor man, I geh this ghost in meh house I wan you come exercise.”
“Exer-Exorcise? You does only do duh to demon.”
“This thing might as well be a demon.”
But when Pastor come with his bible, water and guh fuh start talk in tongues “omalomasah,” he realise seh he know this ghost, worse yet, he know he cyan do nothin bout it so he pack up he things an seh, “My daughter, this ghost ain’ no easy one, he na gonna go easy. Hear wa you ga do, you ga come on some weekday service, mek sure you seh you prayers, offer yuh tithes an come back on Sunday an see if God answer yuh prayer.”
“But father, me doh get time to do all the, I ga wuk.”
“Well, sister, I cyan help you,” an with the, he hot tail it out the house ’cause he ain’ wan nothing get too good a look at he face ’fore it show up by he again like it did couple years back when he was still struggling to get he church.
Not knowing wa to do, she sit down pon she step outside an start cry, loud cry early morning when everybody deh to hear an when she see faces peeking up at she, she float into the house an cry some more ’cause granny always tell she to never leh people see she cry, black people cyan ’ford to look weak these days. An she continue crying ’cause she couldn’t even not do it an that was how two days pass her by. Lock up in she room crying while the bigger chirren try fuh fend fuh the young ones. But something strange was happening, the woman realise that the more she stay lock up crying, the less de ghost come about, the farther off he look whenever he did come but wa she din know that the ghost was just dividing he time. Tired idling with big woman wa jus crying, it flit ’cross to them chirren rooms and who was too scared to holler hide under the sheet, the thin white light piercing them even through that sheer protection. So daz how he spend he nights, then he days, flitting from room to room, looking down at curled figures.
As he move from room to room of crying mother an whimpering children, he realise that people would always make him out to be the culprit. They didn’t want to think that they had anything to do with it— anything to do with him. Laughing his thin laugh, he floated through the house with a slight smirk on his ghostly features because he didn’t even exist, not really, and the things that went on in people mind just made him laugh. He remember the last place he went it had a ole man they used to call Caesar who shout at him saying, “Satan son, come fuh bring tribulations pon nice nice people,” and try to hit he with a belna but it fly straight pass he. He didn’t know what ever happened to Caesar or Elsie or Margaret, he was not likely to see back any of them after their first haunting. In all his tedious existence it only had been twice that he ever saw one person more than once. The first time was with a woman up on the Essequibo named Lornette. When Lornette realise she couldn’t get him out the first time, she decide she won’t go down without a fight an take a big piece of wood and just start lashing, window, toilet, wall, everything that she could see get lash. It wasn’t long after that she left the house in a rage, but the next time he saw her she was calmer. Even when he showed himself that first night when she was looking at the bills, she din cuss or throw things at him, all she said was “not this time,” an he never see her again. The second one was a man up in Corentyne name Anil who inherit he mother house an all she debts with it an who think that sitting an smoking whole day would somehow make he problems go away. When time come for him to move out the house, it was like he din even know he getting put out, ’cause he just smiling an gaffing all the time. The ghost didn’t really care ’bout people, that was not his job, that was not what he was required to do. He was required to be their scapegoat, the one they threw their fears and failures at because they refused to believe they could have done something so, but he had really liked Anil that when he saw him a second time it was like he din even wan go. When he show himself, Anil shake he head and went back to smoking and reading his book. Couple weeks pass, then he see he pick himself up and he din had to go back again.
Just like Anil, he liked this woman and he thought that she would have been able to chase him at first but listening to her soft sobs and the whispering of her children, he knew that she wouldn’t last long. When the day come for her to leave, he stayed about to see them off as they fetched their things unto the waiting vehicles outside and felt the vile hatred aimed at him. As the first truck with the mother pulled off, she looked back to see the ghost hovering on the verandah smiling. All of a sudden she let out one long shriek and as the truck disappeared around the corner, the neighbours could still hear her piercing cries, “Yuh see? Yuh see how he smiling?”
