THE PASSAGE

The Rougarou

Chapter 11

She releases my wrist, and I lay my head back into the rocker, letting my eyes close, hoping she would go away.

You're imagining all of this, Jamie. Just a figment of your imagination, that's all. The darkness, the fog, the swamp, all of this has caused your mind to imagine this. She's not real.

I focus on taking deep, slow breaths and will my mind clear of everything. After a few moments have passed, I open my eyes. The cloud cover just moments ago has given way to a beautiful moon, its light reflecting off the water. The fog has mysteriously vanished. Somewhere nearby, an owl hoots.

Slowly, I turn my head to look over my shoulder. My heart drops from my chest. I remember her now, the lady at the hospital, the one who grabbed my wrist, the man walking straight through her form.

There, in the rocker next to me, sits the dark-skinned woman. She appears to be in her thirties, thin build, and her hair up in a bun. She is wearing a black polka dot dress that was probably a popular style at the turn of the century. Between her legs rests a walking cane, her hands resting on its curve.

"Um...are you like a ... ghost?"

"Well, ghost is a scary word, child. I was always scared of ghosts when I was a little girl. And I don't mean to scare you none. So, why don't you think of me as a spirit."

"So...you mean you're like...dead?"

"Yes, child. I left the living in 1915, murdered by the townspeople, right before the big hurricane come through Frenier, not far from here."

She turns to me, and I see her eyes, lifeless.

"Okay, um, what is it you want with me?"

"Well, first off, I know that you want to know about Lou. I here to tell you about him."

"Lou?"

She looks out toward the pier as if searching for something. Then she turns towards me, covering the side of her mouth with her hand as if to tell me a secret. "The Rougarou. But he don't like that name. In French, it mean the crazy wolf, and he far from crazy. I name him Lou, which simply mean wolf."

Unable to speak, I just stare at her.

"Let me tell you a little about myself first, child. Would that be okay?"

My head slowly bobs up and down on its own.

"Well, me and my husband settled in Frenier after we get married. We was poor people, you know. My husband, he worked whatever work he could find. Me, I had two babies I stayed home with at the time. Plus, I worked our garden and took care of the pigs and chickens. We both work hard back then, but we was lucky too. And the people around us, they accept us pretty well. We try to stay to ourselves and not bother nobody, and they leave us alone, for the most part."

She looks over at me, her face showing concern. "You okay, child?"

I nod, feeling a little calmer now, even with the fact that I am having a conversation with a spirit.

Julie smiles. "Well, my husband Jim, he would provide for us however he could, you know. Sometimes he go hunting early in the morning or early evening. Some days when he didn't work, he go fishing. At night sometimes, he like to go frogging right here in this swamp. Me, I didn't care too much for hunting and fishing, but I like to go frogging with Jim. And Jim, he like me to go with him too. You know, he like to show off in front of me, how he could gig those bullfrogs. I enjoy just watching him show off. On nights when I go with him, we take the babies with us, come out here in this swamp and catch us a mess of those bullfrogs. When we get home, we watch Jim clean them, and the next night I would fry them in hog lard. Child, you talk about good now."