La Diablesse

I tried late one evening.

"Jesse, can you change me into another kind of spirit?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked with a puzzled look.

"For instance, can I become like La Diablesse?"

"Why?" Jesse asked. "She has one good leg and one cow’s leg."

"It’s part of my plan to do away with Massa," I said.

Jesse agreed to change me, too readily I thought. It made me a bit uneasy, but why should I complain?

Every Saturday night Massa went to the Islander Inn and got drunk. I was waiting for him the next Saturday, fully decked out in a long calico dress that hid my cloven hoof. La Diablesse is always beautiful, and several men came up to me. Finally Massa walked in, and his eyes were immediately drawn to me. I knew that with his looks he would be afraid to approach such a beautiful woman, so I went up to him first.

"Good evening, sir," I said in my most cultured voice. "May I join you?"

"Of-of course," Massa stuttered, looking bewildered. "Might I buy you a drink?"

"Yes, please, a glass of wine," I answered. I sipped that one glass of wine all night, while spinning a yarn about how I was from New Orleans, and was only visiting the islands for a few weeks. Massa got deeply interested, and deeply drunk in the bargain.

"You must show me what your beaches are like," I gushed. "I would love to see one by moonlight."

"Oh, I can take you there now," Massa slurred, leering at my figure.

"Yes, let’s go," I replied, letting him take my arm. We walked for miles, Massa chattering mindlessly and not seeming to notice the distance. I was choosing my cliff carefully. After an hour or so I found a steep one with the waves crashing thunderously on the rocks below. Perfect. I got behind Massa and gave a mighty shove. I heard a thin wail and then nothing.

I thought I would rejoice after that, but I did not. I just felt wretched, and I could not understand why. Jesse came and found me sobbing and dabbing my eyes with the calico dress. I could not meet his eyes.

"So how do you feel now?" he asked.

"Wretched," I replied.

There’s something I must tell you," Jesse said. "We trapped you for awhile to test you, see how much anger you held against your killer. We do that to all murder victims."

"What – so you mean…" I gasped.

Jesse looked at me sadly. "You cannot go to the Other World until you learn to forgive. I must leave you here for the time being."

"What about him?" I said, gesturing down the cliff.

"Oh, he’ll be all right," Jesse replied. "His angel guide caught him and laid him safely on the beach near here. Tomorrow he’ll wake up with a massive headache and swear not to drink so much again.

"What about Hera?" I wailed as Jesse turned to go.

"Leave the living to fight their own battles," he said and left.

I haunted the cliff after that, not wanting to go back to the plantation that had brought me so much trouble. My cow’s leg became human after about a week, but without Jesse I was lonely. I hoped he would come back soon, even if he came with another test. I decided to use my time wisely and try to learn the forgiveness thing, because I was decidedly unhappy with my existence and myself. If Jesse ever came back, I was determined to leave with him, no matter what.