Things took a turn from bad to worse when I became sick.
Nobody knew what brought it on. There was no money for a doctor. So, Mama was left with a few home remedies to battle this unknown enemy.
She placed a pan of fresh droppings from the hen house under my bed in case I'd come down with the cough fits. She made rabbit dung tea, boiling the horrid brew and bringing me the old white chipped tea cup to sip from about every thirty minutes.
I protested, but it wasn't like I didn't know her remedies worked.
Hadn't Mama cured me from stuttering a year ago when she smacked me in the mouth with that raw chicken gizzard?
"Now," Mama said, "you drink this. I mean it. No sass. I done made you this black thread necklace with nine knots, too. You're gonna wear it till I say take it off. You hear?"
"Yes, um."
"That's my good girl. I'm gonna be right here, honey, Rockin' 'n prayin' to the Good Lord to lay his healin' hand upon you. Mama's gonna be here all night long."
I drifted off to sleep. But it was a fitful, restless slumber full of visitors who refused to let me rest.
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Love Songs: The Wrong Note - A Collection of Short Stories
General FictionA second volume of short stories in the Love Songs collection. Many of the stories in this collection focus on the theme of love and how it sometimes goes wrong. A large collection of stories that run the gamut from humorous to tragic. 1. Love Songs...