Echoes in the Bayou

by Dukes, Ursula

  Ava savored a sip of wine and sat back in her chair. "We really need to start looking for answers," she said to Magnus. "And I’ve got to start staging the house, I mean you hired me to do a job for you and so far all I’ve managed to do is stir up some very odd and very scary spirits."

  Magnus had finished his beer and directed the waitress to bring him another.

  "We’ll start looking tonight when we get back to the house."

  "Okay… but what about the staging? I mean let’s face it Magnus, the house will never sell the way it is. I mean don’t get me wrong it’s a beautiful house, it really is. But not a lot of people can afford such a big house, so what I want to do is make it as comfortable and cozy as possible."

  Magnus could listen to her talk all day long; just the sound of her voice was reassuring and melodic but he didn’t dare tell her that, not yet anyway, it was too soon.

  "Ava I think it’s safe to say that the staging can wait. You and I have much more important things to do than worry about what color to paint the entranceway."

  She knew that he was right; there was no way she’d be able to concentrate on decorating with ghosts running around the place. But that led her to wonder about Gavin, he was still her boss. What would he say if she was forced to postpone the job? She knew him well enough to know that he would probably tell her that she wasn’t there to ghost hunt. That she was there to do a job. She needed to prove to Gavin that she could handle a big job like this one, hell she needed to prove it to herself.

  "Magnus I don’t understand what’s going on, not one bit. I mean I came here to help you make your house look like a home and so far all I’ve managed to do was get attacked by a ghost, and kissed by my employer." She looked at him. Did he see heat in her eyes just then? Was it heat of desire or anger? He couldn’t tell.

  Lowering her head and leaning over the table, she continued. "And let’s not forget the living history exhibit that unfolded in the bedroom, I mean what’s next? Are we going to find skeletons under the floorboards? Oh and I bet there are some more ghosts in the attic," she whispered as the waitress brought over their food. One look at the steaming bowl of seafood gumbo set before her and that was enough to squelch the supernatural out of her mind, for the moment anyway.

  It wasn’t until the first bite that she had realized just how hungry she was and by the looks of things so was Magnus. The two barely spoke while they devoured their food. Just as he was about to speak again, the vibration went off on his cell phone. Looking at it, he excused himself and stepped outside. Ava took advantage of his short absence and tried putting her thoughts in order.

  What the hell are you doing Ava? She asked herself. I mean you’ve been here what? A day and already you’re feeling a strong connection to this guy, and you know nothing about him! Granted being accosted by a ghost can bring people closer but damn, you just got dumped for Christ’s sake; give yourself some time to heal. In some weird way, being at that house and spending time with Magnus was definitely helping her to heal. So far she had not given Gavin or Melanie a second thought and that was what she wanted. Magnus was nothing like Gavin, there was such gentleness to him, and that was something that Gavin would never possess.

  When Magnus returned to the table he informed her that he’d just gotten off the phone with her boss, Gavin. "He tells me that you haven’t been answering your cell. He wants to know how everything is going," Magnus said.

  Ava wasn’t expecting to hear from Gavin, at least not this soon. "I haven’t been answering my cell because I have been a bit preoccupied," she said matter of factly.

  "And…I’ve only been here a little over twenty four hours, what the hell does he think I can accomplish in one goddamn day?" She asked out loud.

  "What did you tell him?" She probed.

  Magnus could see the look in her eyes had changed. They were no longer calm, she was angry but he didn’t know why. "I told him that things were going great and that he sent the perfect person for the job Ava," he said with a smile. "He told me to tell you to give him a call; he needs to know what’s going on. And, I don’t know what this next part is about but he said that he really needs to speak with you. He said it was important."

  Magnus looked at her inquisitively. Ava knew that he was fishing for answers but she wasn’t about to give him one. Talking about ghosts was one thing, but sharing a part of her life that she wanted nothing more than to forget was another.

  Ava sighed with a huff, what the hell could Gavin want to talk to me about? She thought to herself. Could there be trouble in paradise? Well if there is, it serves them both right and I want no part of it.

  "Magnus, I'm sure it’s nothing that you need to be concerned about. Next time he calls please don’t take any personal messages from him, keep things strictly business alright? He’s my boss but he’s not my keeper."

  "I'm sorry Ava, I just thought that…"

  "What did you think Magnus? That I would just come out and tell you all of my business? Or are you trying to find out if there’s something going on between my boss and I? Magnus please don’t presume to know me because you don’t and I'm tired of every one thinking that I am just so goddamn passive and predictable, my boss included. You know one of these days I just might surprise everybody and do something so unbelievable it’ll blow everyone’s fucking mind," she cursed.

  He looked at her stern like and staidly. "You're right Ava I don’t know you, you’ve just made that quite obvious. Forgive me for making the assumption, it won’t happen again," he barked.

  "Check please." He then motioned to the waitress.

  The drive back to the plantation was an uncomfortable one to say the least. Neither spoke to the other as they pulled into the driveway. Ava got out, slammed the car door and stomped up the stairs to her room. She didn’t like a person assuming that they knew everything about her. That’s exactly how Gavin treated me, she told herself. Besides, she argued with herself. I didn’t come here for any other reason than to do my job, and ghost or no ghost, that’s exactly what I'm going to do.

  Before he could open his bedroom door, Ava stomped up behind him. She told him that she was there to do a job and then she reminded him that he was the one who had called the office in need of help. "Well help has arrived and like it or not, I plan to see this thing through. Now I'm not saying that I won’t help you with your search for documentation on this place, but I'm telling you that I plan on showing both you and Gavin that I can get the job done. Now if you’re not willing to abide by those rules you tell me now and I’ll pack my bags and be gone within the hour, it’s your choice."

  There was nothing he wanted more than for her to stay; he could tell by the tone in her voice that she meant every word. "Ava, I can live with that," he said, his voice soft. "I just wish you would tell me what I said that’s got you so upset?"

  "Magnus, just please can we not talk about it right now? If you don’t mind I’d like to get to work, and get some measurements down so if you have something else to do please don’t let me keep you." She had become all business now and he wondered why.

  "That’s fine Ava; you seem to have everything under control so I think I’ll step out for a bit. I need to get some supplies," he said and headed back down the stairs and out the door.

  He was angry but he tried to fight it, he even managed to get into the car without slamming the door. It wasn’t until he’d made it to the main road that he punched the dashboard. What the hell made her switch it off like that? He wondered. It was quite obvious to him that the phone call from her boss Gavin had gotten her riled up. Clearly the two had something going on and now it was over. And one of them doesn’t want it to be, he thought to himself. Now all I’ve got to do is figure out which one.

  As she set about the house in search of any documentation about the history of the plantation, someone was out in the bayou making sure no harm would come to her. Earlier, when the two had gone out, Sinta had managed to place gris-gris all around the property, the gris-gris
would not allow anyone who meant Ava harm inside the house. But since the spirit of John DuPonte was already in the house, she had to find a way to get invited inside so that she could talk to the young woman and find out everything there was to know about her. She hoped and prayed that the young woman inside the big house would accept the idea of reincarnation.

  For Ava, the best solution to rid herself of her anger was to throw herself into her work, once she searched in her bags and found the measuring tape, she went about her task. She was going to take various measurements for window treatments and new doors. The first night that she had arrived, she noticed that the kitchen housed a large pantry. The only thing missing was a door. "I’ll start there," she said with determination. She knew that Magnus had left angry and she only hoped that when he returned he would be thinking more clearly and would see things her way.

  She didn’t feel as if she owned him an explanation. I'm not here to get romantically involved anyway, she told herself. Okay then, so what’s with the hand holding, hugging and kissing? Her conscience demanded an answer. People do strange things when they are under duress, she argued back.

  By the time she had reached the pantry, Ava was in a full on argument with herself. Not only was she mad at herself for being vulnerable during their paranormal episodes, but she was also angry because she liked kissing him, and she liked holding him in her arms. Why for once can’t you put your stubborn, yet bruised feelings aside? Stop doubting them, go with them and see where they take you! Her intuition implored. "Besides, didn’t you say earlier that you were going to do the unpredictable thing? Well wouldn’t following your heart in this particular situation be quite unpredictable?" She asked, out loud. "Not every man is going to treat me like Gavin did. And like I said, my intuition seems to work on everyone but me," she murmured and took out her measuring tape.

  In all of her frustration, she wasn’t paying attention to the warped wooden shelves in the pantry that housed an overabundance of canned jams and vegetables. As she hooked the end of the measuring tape onto the old wooden board it gave way taking the contents of the shelf with it. "Shit!" She cursed. Ava bent down and began picking up the larger pieces of glass. When the mess had been swept up, she examined the wall that was behind the broken shelf, an old rusted latch had been affixed to it and immediately her curiosity was peaked.

  Without bothering to wait for Magnus to return, she hastily began removing all of the items from the other shelves. When the entire pantry had been emptied, she began work on trying to open the old latch. After several failed attempts using a hammer, she decided to get a bit more resourceful. Using a rag soaked with olive oil, she lubricated the latch and using a butter knife slid the latch up. It made a clicking sound before easily giving way.

  When she opened the door, a sudden burst of impossibly cold air blew out bringing dust and cobwebs with it. She stood in the doorway for a minute and began having second thoughts. Maybe I should wait for Magnus. After about three minutes of debating with herself, she decided to go in. When she crossed the threshold and entered the tiny room she was not met with fear, but quite the opposite; an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over her. A tarnished metal bed frame stood in the corner of the room and a decaying old mattress, rolled up and tied with twine sat on top of it. A small wooden crate that was covered in cobwebs stood at the base of the bed frame.

  As she moved closer to the bed frame, she stepped on a loose floorboard. "This just keeps getting better and better," she whispered cynically. As she stood in the room looking for something to lift the rotted floor board with she laughed at herself when she saw that she was still holding the butter knife. She had been gripping it so tight in fact that her fingers had begun to ache. There was no denying that she was frightened, at that moment she hated Magnus for leaving her alone in the house.

  Her own words echoed through her head. I'm here to do a job and I’ll also help with finding any documentation…

  Sliding the butter knife under the board, she found that it too lifted quite easily. As she stuck the knife down into the dark hole she stopped when it scraped upon something hard. "Probably a rock," she mumbled. "Or with my luck, it's a goddamn skull."

  "Here goes nothing," she said and reached into the hole. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized that the shape of the object she was touching seemed to be square. "Thank god," she said and gripped the object. As she was pulling the brown square out of the hole, a large spider scurried across her hand.

  She screamed and inadvertently threw the object, it landed on the floor along with most of the dirt that had been buried on top of it. "Get a grip Ava, geez." She scolded herself.

  Once she regained her composure she crawled over to the small object and realized that it was a book, a journal to be exact. As she picked it up and examined it, she brushed away what dirt that was left and noticed that years of mildew had caused some of the binding to wear away.

  She carefully opened the delicate book and sat with her back against the wall and began reading what was to be the most personal and intimate details of the life of a slave girl named Celeste. Because of the wear and tear, several of the pages had rotted away. But that didn’t stop Ava from feeling an extreme connection to the young woman. After reading several entries, she was able to discern that her mother had left her the small diary and it was to be given to her a few months shy of her sixteenth birthday. Even though she was a slave in the big house, Celeste was treated quite harshly, especially by her mistress, Amelia Montieu. And even more so after Amelia had caught her son, Will smiling at the young woman. Ava immediately got the sense that something was not right. The journal entries alone told nothing of her wanting to run away, what they frequently spoke of was her seemingly undying love for Will.

  She marveled at the fact that even after all these years, the handwriting was so incredibly legible, it was as if the diary was waiting to be found, waiting to be uncovered. "Waiting for me?" Ava half questioned out loud.

  Now wanting to wait any longer, she decided to leave the tiny room and call Magnus and tell him of her discovery. Just then, the door leading to the pantry was slammed shut and locked from the outside.

  A putrid smell invaded the small room and she found herself trying to fend off her invisible attacker. The diary that she had kept a firm grip on was ripped from her hands and thrown across the room; a sharp slap stung her face. Ava blindly reached out and swung violently into the air but she couldn’t meet her target, it was an unseen force and it was bearing down on her. She could feel the heat of hot breath against her skin and the smell of stale brandy filled the air.

  Her eyes were wide open but she couldn’t see a thing and then with a swoop, she was knocked onto the floor while her shirt was violently ripped from her body. The entity began kneading her breasts and as she fought harder, she could feel her legs being forced open. "No!" She screamed out loud. "Nooo!" She pushed out in front of her. A heaviness came over her entire body and just as she was about to scream again, she felt her head being lifted and pounded back onto the hard rotted floor knocking her unconscious.

  Chapter Eight

  When she came too, Ava was out of the pantry and lying on a sofa in the sitting room. Through the blurriness, she could see someone leaning over her. At first she thought it was Magnus, but as her vision cleared she saw that it was an elderly woman. The woman wore a tattered old dress with a matching head scarf. Instead of being afraid of the old woman; she was bewildered, "What happened?" Ava asked and tried to get up.

  "No, the old woman objected." You's need to rest miss, took a mighty bad fall back in dat pantry and I does bring you out," she said. Ava knew immediately that this woman, whoever she was, was no longer of this world; there was an air about her. Besides being helpful, the woman seemed to emulate wisdom and knowledge. "But how did you get me out?" She questioned her. "There’s no way you could have carried me," Ava said as she eyed the seemingly frail woman.

  Sinta let out a low howl. "Hee, hee, you's b
e surprised at what this ole lady can do," she winked at her. "When I find you, you ain't have no shirt miss so I found that and put it on you." She pointed to an old tee shirt of Magnus's.

  When Magnus pulled up in the driveway he'd gotten the sense that something had gone wrong, he had gotten the feeling earlier when he was out but he’d simply blamed it on his anger. Now when he arrived home, the feeling overtook him and he raced into the house. Calling out her name, he found Ava in the sitting room and sitting next to her was a strange black woman, he immediately went to her. "Ava, oh my god what happened?" He asked looking between them both. "And who the hell are you?" He asked the strange woman.

  "Ava did this woman hurt you? I'm calling the police," he barked and reached for the phone.

  Ava reached out and stopped him. "Magnus no you don’t understand, this woman helped me. While you were gone I found a hidden room." Magnus looked at her as if she’d gone crazy.

  "And no, I'm not crazy. There’s a hidden room behind the pantry and inside I uncovered a diary, Celeste’s diary." Ava couldn’t hide her excitement; finally they were going to get some much needed answers. And despite the throbbing in her head, she was going to be alright.

  "Ava that’s great but who are you?" He asked Sinta. "And more importantly how the hell did you get into my house?" He was confused now but for some reason he could tell that the old woman meant them no harm. "Ava I think I better take you to the hospital," he said.

  Ava shook her head no. "Magnus I don’t think you heard me, I said I found a hidden room and in that room I found that diary," she said pointing to the small journal.

  "Yes I heard you, but that’s not what’s important right now," he said with concern in his voice. "Ava you hit your head, you could have a concussion. Please let me take you to the hospital and get you checked out."