Old Hige

Chapter One: Where Are You?

“It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” ― Albus Dumbledore, (J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

At night, I saw her, the witch that ruled the darkness. She would appear from my window and creep towards my bed. I made sure my Mum closed and locked the window every night before I went to sleep, but objects, walls and glass did not stop her. My grandmother said that what I saw was Old Hige, a duppy(1) that prays on children who aren’t in God’s favour. Since I prayed every night with Grandma or Mum and left a Bible by my bed, Grandma said Old Hige could never hurt me, but she still scared me. The skin on her face wriggled, maggots burrowing beneath it. Their hatched eggs broke through her skin, crawled all over her face. I didn’t know whether the maggots were a part of her or if she was a part of them. The sight of it was always too much for me. I couldn’t stand to look at her for too long; no matter how curious I was, my eyes wouldn’t let me. At eleven, always at eleven, I escaped her, leaving my nightmare, running to my mother’s room. Old Hige never followed me. I think she’s afraid of grown-ups: they’re big and strong, and her obeah(2) doesn’t work on them, not like how it does on me, or on any kid that she visits.

When I rushed into my parent’s room, past my snoring father and to my Mum’s side of the bed, she lifted the silk sheets and welcomed me in.

‘’Did you see her again?’ Mum whispered into my ear.

I nodded my head, holding back my tears. I was a big boy now, and witches shouldn’t scare me. I wouldn’t be afraid of her if it wasn’t for her face, her rotting skin. She reminded me of when Goldie died; my parents didn’t find it in the tank until my other goldfish pecked it out of the toy castle. Maggots weren’t on Goldie, but its gold scales had still faded away, and skin turned white and grey. I didn’t understand what had happened to her until my Grandma explained to me what death was and how we looked after it happens. I didn’t ever want to look like that. I didn’t want to die.

‘Sssshhhh, you’re shaking again. It was only a dream, Old Hige does not exist. I don’t know what made mum tell you about her in the first place.’

I only ever felt safe in Mum’s arms. It’s the only way I could fall asleep. If she wasn’t with me, I couldn’t. Who would scare off Old Hige? Not Dad. He snored so loudly he wouldn’t notice if she took me. But with Mum it was different: she watched over me.

At six in the morning, everyone in our house woke up. Mum’s alarm played Bob Marley’s ‘Exodus’, and Mum and I both jumped up, but Dad wasn’t fazed and continued his loud snoring. Before Mum woke Dad, she took me to the bathroom. With it being so small, only two people in a tight squeeze could fit, Mum got me ready while she was getting ready. She didn’t trust me to do anything because our mornings were so busy. I had to shower the night before. So, all she had to do was make sure my teeth and hair were brushed and that I got dressed. She still brushed my teeth for me, even though I begged her not to, but whenever she saw me brushing them myself, she looked at me sideways.

‘You know that’s not how you brush your teeth, I don’t want you getting cavities. Let me brush it properly, I promise it won’t hurt.’

‘You always say that, but it’s not true.’

‘Huuuuh,’ she breathed deeply through her nose, she always did when I either did something wrong or when she was trying to get me to do something I didn’t want to.

‘So, are you saying I’m lying. Do you think I’m a liar?’

I looked away. I hated it when she would do this because there was no right answer. She only did it to manipulate me. She’s smarter than me, and she knew it. It wasn’t fair.

‘Look me in the eyes when I’m talking to you, Caleb.’

I looked up at her. Her narrow, brown eyes looked down on me, her short hair hanging over her face, she was in the middle of straightening it, half of it was still coiled, not as silky as the other side.

‘Do you think I would lie to you?’

Reluctantly, I murmured, ‘no, Mum.’

‘Thank you. You know I wouldn’t hurt you I think you owe me an apology Mr.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Good, now let me just quickly brush your teeth so I can get you some breakfast.’

I knew this was what she wanted. Somehow, she always got me to do what she wanted. I couldn’t wait to be big and grown so I could outsmart her.

She picked up my blue toothbrush and squirted my SpongeBob SquarePants toothpaste on it. It created a yellow and white swirl. This was going to hurt. She brushed my teeth hard: it felt like she was trying to scrub the germs away. She usually didn’t stop until my gums were bleeding a little.

‘See, look how clean your teeth are, it didn’t hurt now, did it?’

I crossed my arms. Mum knew I would be mad at her because she never let me do anything for myself, but I was eight. I was grown now. When would she stop treating me like a baby?

‘I’ll tell you what, since you were good today and got ready quickly, what if I make you pancakes for breakfast?’

I couldn’t help but smile. Mum knew how much I loved her pancakes; she made them fill the pan, and they’re always slightly gooey on the inside.

‘Can I have Nutella on it, too?’

‘Well, I don’t know can you?’

‘I mean, may I? Please, Mum? Please!’

‘Okay, okay.’

The smell of the vanilla filled the kitchen as Mum poured the batter into the pan. My mouth was drooling just thinking of the gooey middle and the golden crunchy shell. After she’d made three, she slathered a thin layer of Nutella between each layer and placed it in front of me.

‘I’m just going to finish getting dressed. By the time I finish, be ready to hit the door because we’re leaving as soon as I’m done. You hear?’

‘Ye … yu …. ugh,’ I mumbled between mouthfuls.

‘Caleb, what have I told you about talking with your mouth full?’

I swallowed the fluffy pancakes. With another piece already on my fork, I managed to quickly lookup, and to say ‘yes Mum,’ before I went back to destroying the stack of chocolate-covered clouds in front of me. Midway through, I heard the door opposite the stairs open. Grandma must have woken up.

Each step groaned as she gently pressed against them. It took her a while to get down, but once she did, she moved faster than me. Before I saw her, she placed her hand on my low-cut hair, scrunching my scalp as though there was hair there to run her fingers through and bent down to kiss me on my cheek.

‘How are you feeling baby? Did Old Hige visit you again?’

Her Jamaican accent was thick. It made it hard for me to understand her patois, so usually, I had to take a minute to think about each word. It was like she sang the words rather than spoke them, which made her voice all the more beautiful.

‘Yes, Grandma, but Old Hige didn’t touch me this time she …’

‘You see that! Isn't God good? I told you he would protect you from duppy’s and demon’s like her.’

‘Yeah, but I did leave my room. Her face …. her face is too rotten. I don’t like seeing her.’

‘That is okay baby. Duppys’ like her don’t like two things, God and parents, she can’t handle it, but your parents and I will protect you. We wont let her take you, you see.’

‘Yes, Grandma.’

After I finished my breakfast, Mum and Dad finished using the bathroom, and they both came down the stairs. I hated this time of the day, the time when Grandma and I had to say goodbye. We both looked at each other. We acted as though it would be the last time we would ever see each other, even though we both knew it would only be a few hours before school ended. We had this routine where she kissed me on the cheek, squeezed me tight and then whispered in my ear:

‘Walk good, be good, and try hard not to let the devil stop you in your tracks.’

I stopped to take in her words, even though she said this to me whenever I left the house. It’s like a prayer of protection that she made just for me, to guide and keep me safe. Only she would say something like this.

‘I will, Grandma. Bye.’

Chapter Two: Her Name is Maxine

“I’m telling you this cause you’re one of my friends. My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!” – (Dr Seuss)

When the three of us left the house, Dad split off to take the bus to the train station, while Mum and I walked through the park to school. They usually took turns on who dropped me off and who picked me up. To get to Treeforn School, we had to walk through Mererwood Park. Merewood was different from other parks. It was also a petting zoo and a home for deer, which were in a large habitat in the centre of the park. Sometimes, in the mornings on our way to school, we would see them munching on the thick weeds that grew on the green wire fence or licking at the condensation that dripped off the leaves. They were not as afraid of us in the mornings because so few people walked through this early. There were two bucks, which I’ve never seen together, always separate and around the different herds. I wanted to be like them, like the bucks; I wanted to be tall and strong. I wanted to be able to decide things for myself and have no one tell me what to do.

Once Mum and I walked through Merewood, School was directly on the other side of the road. Mum still didn’t trust me to cross roads by myself, so she walked me across and watched as I entered my school's green fence. She waved at me as she stood by the bus stop, waiting for the 237 to take her to the train station.

Because of how early I arrived at morning care, I was usually the first one there for a while, just me and Miss Maxine, the day-care leader. Miss Maxine would come at least two hours before Daniel, the other leader. Before everyone else arrived, she would always make me help her set up for the day. We would put out bowls of apples and or Rice Krispies for anyone who couldn’t eat breakfast at home. While setting up, she would play the same Reggae CD, which always started with the song, ‘Murder She Wrote’. I couldn’t help but laugh whenever that song would play. Miss Maxine would flip her orange hair all over her face and attempt to sing along. But since her voice cracked and snapped more than the Rice Krispies, she would always get me to sing along.

I know this little girl

Her name is Maxine

Her beauty is

Like a bunch of rose was more

If I ever tell you 'bout Maxine

You would a say

I don't know what I know

But…

Listening to the song, to Reggae, it made both of us happier.

After Miss Maxine had changed the CD around two or three times, the next student to come would usually be Herald.

When she saw Herald’s older brother who had dropped him off, Miss Maxine went over to talk to him, while Herald walked over to me. I tried to look away. I didn’t want to speak to him, to see him, even be seen by him. He never did like me. But for some reason, he always felt the need to be near me, always wanting to show everyone how he would never like me.

‘Why are you looking away, Mutt? I know you see me.’

I tried to walk away, but he grabbed me by my collar. ‘Look at me when I’m talking to you.’

‘Herald, Herald, let him go now,’ yelled Miss Maxine.

Miss Maxine looked back at Herald’s brother, who seemed to not care at all about what his younger brother was doing.

‘It’s situations like this why I keep having to talk to you. Herald keeps putting his hands, on other students. Which is unacceptable in any case, but he does it for no apparent reason,’ said Miss Maxine.

‘I mean, if you can’t stop him, what do you want me to do?’ replied Herald’s brother.

‘What do I want you to do? What do I… I… little boy, tell your parents so they can have a word with him, he is too much,’ Miss Maxine said; her patois always slipped out when she was mad.

‘What? I don’t understand Jamaican gibberish.’

Miss Maxine stared Herald’s brother down. I’d never seen her that mad before. She gritted her teeth and slowly, as though speaking to a toddler said, ‘Can you … Y O U, please talk to your parents about his behaviour; it’s not acceptable. If he doesn’t change, I’m going to have to ban him from coming here. He is a threat to the other children, and I won’t have it.’