Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Author:Jewell Parker Rhodes
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: JUV029020
ISBN: 9780316088411
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-08-15T21:00:00+00:00

The sun is three o’clock in the sky. The hurricane, says the weatherman, will arrive this evening.

Still Sunday

I gather all the candles, matches, and flashlights we have. I put them in a box in Mama Ya-Ya’s room. I drag extra blankets from the linen closet and put them there, too.

Mama Ya-Ya has not left the bed today. I can tell she’s trying to dream, unlock the storm’s mystery. She looks terrible. She’s worn the same flowery housedress for two days.

“Pastor Williams stopped by,” she says. “I knew he’d come by—always does when there’s trouble.”

I gather my nerve and ask, “How come we never visit my momma’s grave?”

“No need for that. You see her here every day.”

I wince.

Mama Ya-Ya pats the bed. “Come here, precious.”

I sit on the edge of the bed. I breathe her scent in deeply.

“You know dirt don’t hold the dead.”

“I know.”

“Come, let me hold you.”

I lay down and Mama Ya-Ya holds me. Spot lays his paws across our legs.

“Your momma loves you. She’s so in love with you, she’s never left.”

“But she’s not at rest.”

“No. She’s still trying to birth you. Wants to make sure you can survive on your own.”

“Doesn’t make sense.”

“It will.” Mama Ya-Ya squeezes me. “It will.”

I lift onto my elbow and look at Mama Ya-Ya. She looks right back at me.

“You know something,” I say.

“Yes, I know something. But it’s not mine to tell, it’s yours to figure out.”

I feel irritated.

I get up. The sun is now low in the sky. I close my eyes. I can smell wet. Damp, rotting, salty wet. Katrina is coming.

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