The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Author:Kimberley Griffiths Little [Little, Griffiths, Kimberley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-545-38841-2
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2011-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

“I GOT MORE SCARED THE LONGER YOU WERE IN there,” Jeannie said, holding T-Baby while I poled home. “Didn’t know whether she’d put a spell on you or drowned you in the swamp out her back door.”

The rain had stopped, but a puddle of rainwater on the pirogue seat was seeping through the old patch in my jeans. Mamma always said I was hard on my clothes. Maybe I’d have to break down and dig out those new jeans with the store-bought creases from my dresser.

I thought about what I’d just done. I’d visited the traiteur all by myself. Faye and Crickett, or my cousin Thibodaux, could never have done that. I almost couldn’t believe it myself.

“So what happened?” Jeannie demanded.

It didn’t seem like there were words to explain what had happened inside Miz Allemond’s house or about the healing spell she’d given me. “She was nice.”

Jeannie looked at me like I’d gone crazy. “Nice?”

“Yep, she was. And she gave me a healing to do.”

“What is it? Besides a potato for warts, I never heard or seen nothing else.”

“Well, it’s sort of—sort of private.”

Jeannie’s face fell and I knew she felt left out, but I wanted to keep all the words Miz Allemond had told me inside my heart and think about them. Think about planting my mustard seed of faith inside my soul so I could have faith that the healing spell and God could bring Mamma back to us. An idea filled my head, just as the sun came out from behind the rain clouds. I think those mustard seeds of faith could help me grow into a better, more loving daughter and sister. I had an inkling that’s what Miz Allemond was trying to tell me.

“It if works, I’ll tell you all about it. Promise. Cross my heart.”

Jeannie folded her arms across her chest. “Cross your heart, hope to die? Stick a needle in your eye?”

I laughed, realizing I felt better. What if I hadn’t gone inside the traiteur’s house? What if I’d given up and gone home? I’d still be stuck where I was two hours ago. But now I had a plan.

“Hey, look at this, Livie,” Jeannie said, picking up a broken tooth from T-Baby that had fallen to the bottom of the pirogue.

“I guess baby alligators need the tooth fairy to come visit, too.”

“My daddy says alligator teeth are good luck.”

I tucked the tiny white tooth, sharp and pointed on one end, into my pocket. I’d keep it safe until I figured out what to use it for. One thing I did know, I could use all the good luck I could get!

When we got back to the cypress cove, I slid T-Baby back under the elephant ears. He swam in happy circles; his beady eyes rising to the surface to peek at me as I untangled the strings of Spanish moss Miz Allemond had given me.

“I’ll make a necklace, too,” Jeannie said, although she had no idea what it would be for.

I laid the moss across my knees and began to braid the strands into a necklace.

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