Of Mind or Matter by Sreejit Poole

Author:Sreejit Poole [Poole, Sreejit]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-05-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

One Sunday afternoon, about a month removed from my first conversation with the Tree Woman, Elizabeth told me she and Issa were going for a visit and asked me if I wanted to come. Elizabeth, of course, saw Daisy everyday, but as Issa was coming, they had decided to make an afternoon picnic of it. Although a little apprehensive at the thought of seeing the Tree Woman in the daytime, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to be around Elizabeth so I readily consented. We all met in front of the school, everyone sporting unusually big smiles; they were ready for a fun afternoon, while I was merely trying to conceal my tension.

Issa seemed especially excited, almost giddy. I wondered what sort of relationship Issa had with Grandma Daisy. I knew she had defended her vehemently against her father, the night of the dinner party, but I didn’t know how much of that was to prove her point and how much was coming from a sincere love for Daisy. Whatever Issa said though, was always said with great conviction, so I suspected only the sincerest of intentions from her.

“How long have you been coming to see Daisy?” I asked her.

“Since I was in the womb, actually. My mom used to come here everyday while she was pregnant with me. She said that Daisy used to sing to me while my mom would rest her head on Daisy’s lap. I guess she would just make up these songs about the nature of the world and how everyone is always looking to cheat his neighbor to get ahead of him in life. You know, real baby talk.”

“What kind of tunes were they?” I inquired.

“Oh, mostly kind of blues chants, or hymns and things. She doesn’t sing to me anymore though, so I’m just going on what my mom used to say. But my mom said they were so mesmerizing. That they cut deep into the nature of the world and would always cause her to cry, but would cause me to calm down inside, as I guess I used to move around a lot.”

“So Daisy is really like family for you then?”

“Oh yeah. Grandma Daisy is even the one that gave me the name Issa. My father was, of course, completely against that, as he never cared anything for her. Not that he doesn’t like her, but he thinks she’s a bit crazy and says that she has no business showing the way to the rest of us. He just can’t see what we see in her. I think he’s a little jealous and wishes that we’d ask advice from him for a change. But when you have someone like Daisy who holds the world in her hands, why should you waste time with someone who is merely guessing at it?”

“Sounds reasonable enough,” I said.

“Indeed.”

“Okay, you guys, let’s get going,” said Elizabeth. “I told her that we’d be coming today so she’ll be expecting us.”

“You told her that I was coming too?” I asked, as Elizabeth had only asked me hours ago.

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