The Enchanting Light

The year 1848

A story was told for generations and generations within the Caribbean about a monster... better yet a beast that is entranced by the moon...with his long limbs he stood there staring into the sky. Most people would say he was as tall as a coconut tree and some nights he would even appear invisible and all you would see is a long shadow leading to his unseen body... However the story goes when you see him be quiet, don't disturb or distract him from the enchanting light with the only warning is a shrill whistling sound said to send shivers down your spine ...if you do with great anger you would be attacked, mauled or even ripped to shreds. This is a story of how a boy became a man and how a man became a monster.

It all began in Guyana within 1848 at the time Afro-Guyanese had not too long gotten their freedom and the plantation owners were importing Hindu-Guyanese to work as indentured laborers. However most...if not all slaves at the time were given lands as payments for all the generations that had worked cutting cane in the hot sun day in and day out.

In a small village within region 2 on the Essequibo coast with about 10 to 15 families living there at the time. A little boy named Winston Carrington at the age of 8 he was shorter and skinnier than the other kids. Most people would say he looked as if he was sickly which was weird because his mother was the only witch doctor in the village. His mom Emma was one of the darkest women in the village with a smooth face and thick body, her hands look unkept, nails dark from dirt, and all the different concoctions she mixed...people tend to talk about how she was raped by the slave master because her son was light skin in complexion.

In those days most families would have herds of cattle. The more cattle you have the wealthier you would be considered to be however the Carrington's were considered to be poor with two cows.

Winston would often come home with blood dripping down his nose, black eyes, and other injuries. He was weak and to the other kids, not one of them... looking at him reminded them of the masters and what was done to their mothers and fathers...

Running home with tears running down his face. Emma would always take the pain away and heal any injuries that were inflicted upon her son and would always say son being angry is never the way...forgive and move on.

But forgiveness and moving on was impossible because those words that were said would keep replaying over and over in his head....your dad is a white devil......your mom was raped by a demon and your the offspring and so on.

Most nights he would climb to the top of his house and just lay there... staring at the moon. Wishing things were different but dreams are just dreams and after your eyes open you would have to face reality.

One day, Ruth and her brother Samuel were playing under a silk cotton tree, running after each other. Suddenly, Ruth stopped, looked up into the tree, and began screaming. She fell to the ground and started to grunt, scratching her face and all over her body. Samuel upon seeing this ran to his sister asking what was wrong. She looked at him with her eyes wide open, tears running down her cheeks she said in a masculine voice "where is my wife". Samuel ran in fear for his dad. Dave Whatley dropped everything and ran to his daughter's aid. She was still on the ground by the silk cotton tree looking into it screaming. Immediately Dave scooped her up into his arms and said let's take her to Emma. He looked into his daughter's eyes and said "baby it is going to be ok" with fear all over his face and in the sound of his voice.

Ruth's voice echoed within the village. Everyone came out of their homes to see what was going on. There was now a crowd following Dave on the way to the Carrington's. Emma and Winston were already outside their wooden one-bedroom home.

The house was built on blocks 5 feet off the ground and the wood seemed as if it was painted green due to the moss growing all over. On the right side of the house, there was a garden filled with various plants and a chicken shed at the back of the house which was converted into a storehouse. An extension was done to the house 2 years after Emma moved in with a long passageway leading to the storage area. The front of the yard would often flood during the rainy seasons and due to that, there's a wooden walkway four feet wide with sandbags leading to the steps onto the porch.

The only fruit tree in the yard was a guava tree which was on the front left-hand side when entering. Dave went to Emma fearfully. "Please help my baby", he said in a still voice and immediately she said "come this way", her body language was one of calmness and everyone could feel the same thing without another word being said.

Emma led the way through the front door, past the kitchen, and along the passageway that led to the storage room. She told Dave to wait outside while she prepared the area. 

Winston was asked to help with the moving of the table and the floor rug, which when pulled aside revealed a circle that was perfectly shaped into the wooden floor and on the inside a five-pointed star with every point touching the circle and an additional circle on the inside of the star with an unfamiliar emblem in it.

Winston stood at the center of the circle, astonished at the beauty of the symbol and the fact he had never known all along what was below the rug. He felt Emma's soft hand on his shoulder.

 "It's time," she said, "Stay outside pumpkin, and on your way out...let Dave in". 

Winston did as he was told, only looking back to see Emma putting a chair at the center of the emblem and hearing Ruth screaming out as if in pain.

He sat on the porch and after a while, there was only silence. He kept wondering what was going on and his curiosity felt like hunger, it was overbearing. 

“Why is it so quiet in there?” he thought… This was the first time in his life he couldn't imagine what was going on within the room he pondered.

By this time the crowd had left, so Winston went up the guava tree and climbed over to the branches that hung over the house. He gently placed his foot on the roof, sneaked slowly until he was standing on top of the storage room. Winston knew exactly where the peak hole was perfectly placed so he could see it all.

Ruth was placed in the middle of the circle with her hands and feet tied. Her eyes filled with fear. She was a mere 6-year-old girl with a light brown complexion. Everyone in the Whatley family was small in frame, her thick wool-like hair ruffled and had leaves, sand, and stems. Parts of her red dress looked as if it was soaked with blood and sweat, her small face layer with scratches from her fingernails.

Ruth’s head twitches involuntarily. Then out of her mouth came the voice of what sounded like a 50-year-old man. Winston was taken back and found it hard to blink; he pressed his eyes closer to the peephole. 

While her head twitched, her hands squeezed against her bands which dug away at her skin. Dave looked at his daughter and asked "what's wrong with her". Emma explained that Ruth was possessed by a spirit and from the looks of it, an angry one.

She took out a jar from one of the shelves that was filled with a green liquid that smelled pretty bad and rubbed it on Ruth's forehead. Almost immediately Ruth screamed out in pain and ripped the bands off her hands and pushed her father across the room, smashing his head against the wall. 

Ruth got up and started moving around the circle. However, she was unable to leave as if there was an invisible barrier that was stopping her. She turned to Emma, her eyes rolled to the back of her head with a sinister look on her face.

“So you're the one responsible,” the male voice said coming out of Ruth. she said playfully while trying to attack Emma but her hand would only reach 1 foot close no matter how hard she tried. Emma asked "what is your name?"... She walked around Emma with an evil smile on her face without saying a thing...Emma asked again very sternly "who are you and what's your name?" Ruth replied "the name that was given to me is Brentley"…" named after a white man's cat"...he laughed…"I'm going to ask you to let this little girl go!!" very sternly Emma said… Brentley began to laugh "let her go"...not until I have my revenge…" On who?!" Emma asked.

"On those white devils!!," he shouted…"every last one of them"..." but this poor innocent little girl did nothing to you"..." why make her suffer," Emma said…"suffer!!"..."Do you know what they did to me?!!!"… "killed!!..my!!..wife!!! And hung me up without food or water to suffer for days watching her body decay"..." I'll wipe every last one of those demons off the earth"... "I'll never rest as long as that filthy blood lives"...Emma took out from her pocket a white powder-like particle and blew it in Ruth's face.