Love Sick

Nadine stood next to her new red 1984 Porsche 944 keeping an eye out for anyone who may be scoping her out. She thought the island people inhabiting the Low Country were thieves and crooks but wasn't scared since she had her gun in the glove box. The gun, unfortunately, could not protect her from the mosquitos, love bugs, and all other insects that were seemingly trying to devour her that summer. Nadine didn't want to leave too soon. Not without getting what she drove all the way out to the country for. Finally, Nadine spotted her. A middle-aged dark-skinned plump woman was approaching her dressed in an indigo-colored dashiki. The woman walked slowly switching her wide hips from side to side. She had a firm grip on a tall walking stick as if she also used it as a weapon. The woman appeared to be chewing on something but Nadine couldn't see very well through her luxury sunglasses.

Nadine waved at the woman causing her Lady Datejust Rolex to move about her wrist. Nadine always wore the watch loosely for the exact purpose of letting everyone know that she had a Rolex. "Hi Ma'am! I'm Nadine. My friend Brenda sent me. You're "theee Sistah" right?" Nadine asked.

The conjure woman laughed and left an inconspicuous yet sly grin on her face while she sized Nadine up. The conjure woman walked past Nadine and up the steps to her screened-in porch, the only protection from the summer bugs.

"Yes, chile I am theeeeee Sistah. How you doing? What you come fah? How has fortune favored Brenda?" Sistah's grin grew bigger at the mention of Brenda, revealing all of her front teeth and the remains of the sugar cane she had been eating. 

"Brenda is good. She's, she's, she's going to be good. You know? She is working on getting herself back on track, you know what I mean? Sometimes it takes time to piece your life back together"

Sistah nodded in agreeance when Nadine spoke, all while imagining how Brenda's life was in shambles.

"But enough about Brenda, I'm here for me. Brenda said that you would be able to help me with love."

"Ahhhh...love is what you are here for. Tell me my sweet chile who has captured your heart? Whose heart do you want to capture?"

"Well, it's my ex-boyfriend, Chad. He recently came back into my life and is doing so much better for himself! Chad is everything I wanted in a husband. He's successful, rich, financially savvy, his body is ripped, he has no kids, owns his own home, and has surprisingly a lot of hair for a man almost 40. The problem is, although Chad and I are back on friendly terms I don't think he wants to rekindle our relationship."

"My dear, maybe this man has moved on. Have you heard of the Sankofa bird? It moves forward while looking back. You know why it looks back? The past can predict the future. Maybe your lover boy don't like the looks of y'all future" Sistah took another big bite of her sugar cane pondering if Nadine had sweet intentions or just a sour disposition.

"Our future together is going to be marvelous. It's going to be downright decadent! But anyway, Brenda said that you can help me by making Chad love me again. I don't want to be his friend. I deserve to be his WIFE! Chad put me through so much bullshit when we were together. I've earned the right to be his wife. What can you do to make him love me again?"

"Do you want him to love you out of your love for him? You must do everything in love. To include your pursuit of his love"

Nadine looked puzzled "Girl what? Don't you have a spell or a rabbit's foot or something to help me out? That's what Brenda said, you know before she completely lost her mind".

"Let's see what tha Bible say about..."

Nadine cut Sistah off "I'm not a religious person so you can save it. A bunny foot or tail is good enough for me"

Sistah chuckled to herself as she rolled her eyes at Nadine's rudeness. "Ok then chile, a potion I have just for you". The sly grin was back on Sistah's face. The radiance of her smile made Nadine feel self-assured and comfortable in her decision. "This potion chile, it's going to make Chad sick"

"Sick?" Nadine gave Sistah a confused look.

"The best kind of sick my sweet chile, lovesick. Your beloved will be yours and you will be your beloved. Just put a few drops in his food or drink. That's all you need, just a few drops"

"Perfect! How much is it?"

"How much is it worth to you chile? This the man of your dreams, right? This is who you want to be with forever, right? He your future, riiiiiiight? How much is your future?"

"Brenda said that you are steep but you're worth it. Alicia from our job said the same thing too. She's happily married now and they are expecting their second kid"

"Ahh, Alicia. Such a sweet bird. She clung to all that was good, rejected evil, and her love was sincere. That is why mercy, peace, and love came to her in abundance".

"Lady, you talk like the Riddler. You know, that villain from Batman? You talk in code and it is a little hard to follow. I hate coding, that's why I got into accounting" Nadine chuckled at her joke. Sistah looked at her stoically. "This is an authentic Rolex, so this potion better work"

"Oh, it'll work. Money back guarantee if it don't werk."

"I am going to hold you to that." 

One week later Nadine called Sistah up

"I want my money back. You said two drops of this stuff and he would love me again"

"I said a FEW drops. Not just two. Two ain't enough. A few drops in his drink or his okra stew and he will be hot for you" Sistah cackled knowing that it was only adding to Nadine's frustration.

"Ha ha, you country folk are so weird. Listen, lady, I am going to try a few more drops in his food. If nothing happens then me and my heavily armed friends will be coming to visit you to get my Rolex back. Oh, and to taste your beef stew." Nadine snidely said

"Okra stew. Not no beef. Just a few drops chile. Just a few drops. You must be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with..."

"I don't do humble and I am fresh out of patience. I'll be in touch" Nadine abruptly hung up the phone. 

Sistah's sly grin returned to her face as she began singing to herself

 "When you're on the top

​​There's no place you can really go

But down, down, down..."

That following winter Sistah was sweeping her living room when she heard someone frantically knocking on her screen door. It was Nadine. She had on a cheap looking strange disguise but Sistah was sure that it was Nadine. She looked disheveled, in a panic, with dark circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept in months.

"Whatchu want?"

"I need to talk to you! I need your help!"

Sistah burst into guttural laughter and shook her head at Nadine. "But chile, I already helped you. You got your beloved right?"

"No, no, yes but no. Not the way that I wanted. Please, just let me explain"

Sistah rolled her eyes as she lifted the latch on the screen door letting Nadine in.

"Listen, lady, this potion isn't at all what I thought it was going to be. Chad has turned into a stalker" Nadine had a whimper in her voice. A whimper that Sistah had no sympathy for. "I poured the entire bottle into his scotch so he would really love me and no one else. It worked almost instantly. Things were amazing at first but then it got out of control. Chad wanted to be with me so much that he stopped going to work. Then he would show up at my work. He would get so angry at anyone who would talk to me, like anyone, even my own family. He got me fired from my job after he threatened everyone who tried to protect me. I felt like I couldn't go anywhere to get away from him. I had no choice but to be with him. Chad isolated me from all of my loved ones. He stopped paying his bills because he was so fixated on me. The bank foreclosed on his home and he doesn't even care because he is so obsessed with me. Chad said once that I am all he thinks about, all that he dreams about, and that when he isn't with me he feels physically ill!"

"You wanted lovesick, you got lovesick."

"Dammit, lady! How much is it going to cost to break this curse? I'll pay anything"

"What God has brought together, no one can separate"

"God wouldn't create something this horrendous" 

"But you said you didn't believe" Sistah said with a smirk as she reached for her Bible. Sistah did what appeared to be a ritualistic rubbing of a well-worn Bible in her hands. A powder spewed from the book, getting all over Nadine's body from head to toe. She unconsciously inhaled the powder, letting it fill her lungs. Nadine felt relaxed. She felt a sense of peace while simultaneously feeling afraid at her loss of control over her body. Sistah shuffled through the pages like a deck of cards while letting out a low rhythmic hum. Nadine recognized the gospel tune from her childhood in Sunday school. Sistah placed the book spine down on the table in front of Nadine, allowing the pages to freely fall. Instinctively Nadine's hands opened the Bible to a particular page and her finger was drawn to a specific passage. Nadine's mouth moved mechanically against her will as she read out loud “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16).

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Your love was not sincere. Your love was of the world and the world gave you a twisted love. A twisted love that will not sleep, will not stop, and will not let you go. Now go chile. Go wonder about this world that you have created and love so dearly. Go find Brenda, she can teach you how to cope" The grin returned to Sistah's face but wider, brighter, and more sinister than it had ever been before.

Nadine sobbed to herself as she regained control of her body and got up to leave. She hung her head low and dragged her feet as if she were doing a death march to the gallows. She had no words for the hoodoo woman who had taught her such a cruel lesson. Nadine's eyes had become blurry from her continuous crying. She opened the door to her small rental car. Chad had destroyed Nadine's precious Porsche in a fit of rage. He thought Nadine loved the car more than him. Nadine continued to cry and scream in her tiny Hyundai Pony, hitting her head in frustration on the horn. At her wit's end, she began pulling at her hair with both hands while foaming at the mouth. Through her swollen eyes, she looked up and saw Chad. His hair was greasy and matted. He wore a holey shirt, cutoff shorts, and shoes so depleted he was walking on the cold ground barefooted. Chad approached the car shaking but with a look of relief in his eyes. He had been crying too. Nadine wiped her runny nose on her sleeve and unlocked the car door for Chad. Now they could cry together.