The Dark-Thirty- Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack

Author:Patricia McKissack
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780307770233
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2010-11-09T21:00:00+00:00

The Conjure Brother

Until recently, most rural Southern towns had a resident conjure woman who sold her knowledge of the powers of roots and herbs for donations of food or clothing. Though some people laughed at the conjure woman’s spells and potions, others swore by her ability to change luck or cure an ailment. Every now and then a conjure woman came along whose powers transcended those of the ordinary “root doctors.” There was no limit to what she could do.

Josie was tired of being the only child in the Hudson family. Her friends JoBeth and Arthur Lee had lots of brothers and sisters between them. Josie wanted a brother.

“I’m the girl in the family,” she reasoned. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a boy? Then I could be the sister and he could be the brother. What do you think?” Josie asked her mother.

Mama always had a ready answer. “I forgot to let the stork know we moved from Kennerly Street to Harrison Avenue last year,” she said, taking plates down from the cabinet. Josie set the table. Mama smiled, then winked playfully. “So you see, he doesn’t know where to bring a baby.”

Josie knew better. Arthur Lee had told her and JoBeth how babies came into the world. “When your mother and father want a new baby, first your mama has to get fat,” he’d said confidently. “She eats and eats until it looks like she’s going to pop. But she doesn’t. She goes to the hospital to lose the weight. Then they get to choose a baby. That’s how it works.”

Weeks passed and Mama stayed skinny. “She chews on celery,” Josie told Arthur Lee and Jo-Beth at the sandbox. “I’ll never get a brother.”

“Well, my mama is big as a refrigerator,” said Arthur Lee. “They say she’ll be going to the hospital soon. If she brings home another baby boy, you can have him. I got four brothers, and that’s enough!”

JoBeth added, “I saw in a magazine that you can adopt a baby in a faraway country for pennies a day.”

No, Josie decided. “I want a brother that’s the same as me.”

“You don’t always get what you want,” Arthur Lee said. “Look at me.”

“When my mother goes to the hospital, I’m going along to make sure they choose a brother.”

Summer was passing quickly, and Mama was as thin as ever, snacking on carrot sticks. How could she get fat that way? Just when Josie was about to give up hope, she overheard Miz Annie and Miz Charlene talking about a conjure woman who had just moved to town.

“Reckon she could do something to change this streak of bad luck I been having?” Miz Annie asked.

Miz Charlene answered, “Yes, honey. I bet she could. She fixed me a salve that really helped my arthritis. And didn’t charge me but a dozen eggs.”

Their talk gave Josie an idea. Maybe the conjure woman could fix her up with a brother! That night Josie went to sleep thinking about what she and her new brother were going to do.

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