Don't Wake Papa

Don't Wake Papa

Entry #1 for the Fantasy+ Contest!

ID: 1324554 Title: Invalid Item  Description: This item number is not valid. By: Not Available.

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I hear their voices through the walls. I want to scream at them "Run! Run away now! Before he wakes up!" but they cannot hear me screaming. I tried to leave once. Dressed only in my nightgown my bare feet padded quickly down the hall to reach for the front door but a dark shadow loomed in front and I could not pass. I heard a voice call from upstairs, "Who's there?" and one of the oil lamps crashed to the floor, lighting on fire. I ran all the way back to my hiding place and cowered in the darkness. They left after that, I heard their whispered muttering through the walls.

"Evil still breeds here."
"Mmhmm, haunted I tells ya. Them slaves won't stop jabbering about it."
"The blood of innocents. It's so sad."
"Board the place up. It's not safe for anyone to live here."

The very next day men came and covered all the windows and bolted all the doors. I'll never be able to escape and he still hunts me. I have a safe hiding place where he cannot find me, but I know he's there looking for me, trying to find me so he can hurt me. Please don't let him hurt me.

***

A woman came once, her skin was dark as night and there was a funny feel to her; an odd sort of light shimmered around her. I wanted to crawl out of my hiding spot and go to her but was afraid of what Papa might do if I did. She came with men who whispered behind her back. She didn't hear them but I did.

"Crazy old broad."
"Shh... she'll hear you and put a curse on you."
"Oh shuddup - i don't believe in none of that voodoo stuff."

The woman's voice seemed to fill the house and called to me, I wanted to run to her, to hide behind her skirts. She'd keep me safe. She wasn't speaking to me though, she was speaking to Papa. "Jonathan Boudreaux I call you out. Breach the gap and speak to us. We mean you no harm."

The men didn't feel it, didn't feel Papa awaken, but I did and that woman did. The men just sniggered behind their hands and made crude jokes under their breaths. The woman started to chant in some strange language. Papa didn't like it. It made him angry. I tried to warn her, I screamed and hollered but Papa was already on his way. I stayed curled up in my hiding place, afraid of what Papa would do if he saw me. I heard the men start screaming and hollering, and then the front door slammed shut. 3 days later they found the colored woman hanging by her neck from the same tree my Mama died under. They never found the men. Papa's getting stronger.

***

No one has come to the house for a very long time. Papa hasn't found me yet but he will every so often call me. I can hear him, walking up and down the hall, calling my name, pretending to be nice. I don't move from my hiding spot. Some nights I can hear him wailing for my Mama, but I know Mama has gone on to a better place. I stopped thinking that I would ever get away. Then she came.

I don't know her name but she has hair the color of fire and is as tall as a giant. She glows brighter than the colored woman that came before. I like her already. I don't want her to be hurt by Papa. She has men with her as well but they don't make fun of her. I like them too. I can hear them talking through the walls. They are talking about staying and getting rid of the evil, of getting rid of Papa. They don't know how strong Papa is. I scream to warn her, to warn them all, not to wake Papa up. The men don't hear me, but I know she does. I hear her speak to me without opening her mouth, "It's okay little one, I hear you." They make their beds and play with little black boxes that they claim will see ghosts. I laugh at them. She smiles.

When they go to bed she stays awake and I slowly crawl out of my hiding spot to see her closer. She is humming a song I know from somewhere but don't remember. She has a pen and piece of paper. I lean closer to her and she starts to write on the paper: Papa killed me. She jumps and the pen drops to the floor. I jump with her and turn to run back to my hiding spot. She calls to me and tells me to stop. I do. She asks me to come back and tell her more. I do. I tell her everything and she writes it all down. I tell her how my Mama was white as snow but really half colored, but my Papa loved her anyways. I tell her how my Papa killed all my brothers and sisters because they weren't lily white when they were born and how when I was born with porcelain skin he was happy for a time. Papa didn't stay happy for long. She cries as I tell her how Papa went crazy and started to beat on Mama, how he made her cry, how he would sneak into my room at night and do things that no father should do to his daughter. I tell her that my Papa is evil and tell her to leave. To run away before he awakens and tries to hurt her.

She asks me if I know where I am buried. I don't understand the question and instead tell her about my safe hiding place. She asks me to show her. I take her upstairs and down the hall to the closet. She opens the door and looks inside but doesn't understand. I try to explain but she still doesn't understand. I get frustrated and stomp my foot on the floor. The sound is hollow. She moves through me and knocks on the floorboards of the closet. Hollow. She understands now and wants to get tools to open the floor up. I start to go with her but then I feel it. Papa is awake. I scream at her to get out but she doesn't move. Papa is coming, the house shakes with his power. The men wake up and run upstairs but they can't see him like she can, they can't see the looming shadow standing there. They can feel it though and they curse under their breaths and ask each other, "What is that?"

"It's evil." She answers.

I run back to my hiding spot and watch, terrified of what my Papa will do to her. She is special though. She knows magic words like the colored woman before, but these words are stronger and actually frighten Papa. She orders him back. He doesn't move. She takes a step forward towards him and says something again. Papa takes a step back. She orders him to cease haunting the living and go to the hell he deserves to burn in. That makes Papa angry and he rushes towards her but hits an invisible wall and cannot touch her. She chants a spell and throws a dark pungent powder at him. Papa flees. He is not gone for good though. I know he will be back. He is still getting stronger.

She tells me that she will get rid of him and I believe her. They move quickly, knowing that Papa will return stronger the next time. She argues with the men that the house must be burned down. The men argue that they still need more research. She tells them they have only a short time to pack their things before she sets the house on fire and goes back upstairs, back to my hiding spot. She has a crowbar in her hand and pries the floorboards loose. I hover behind her and try and see what it is she is looking for. I clap my hands as she pulls out my favorite china doll, Marie, though the doll is very dirty. She next pulls out a bone, the kind I think a dog would like to chew on. She's crying again. I don't understand why and ask her, but she will not tell me.

She takes Marie in her hand and runs back down the hall, then down the stairs. She calls for the boys to get moving and disappears out the front door. I'm afraid to leave. She returns with canisters and starts spilling gas all over the house. The men leave the house, upset at all their research being ruined. Papa is stirring. He wants to stop her. He knows what she is doing. I shout for her to hurry and she does. Emptying the gas canisters she steps out the front door and lights a match. She calls for me to join her and I do, crossing the threshold to step outside next to her. She drops the match and the gas lights up quickly. She stumbles away from the house, still clinging to my Marie. I follow her. The house burns up quickly as we watch and I cling to her. She feels so warm. I ask her if she'll take care of Marie for me and she says she will. I finally feel safe and she tells me I can go and join my Mama now. I can hear my Mama calling for me in the distance. Papa's evil is finally gone.