The girls looked up and saw Tyler standing next to them.
I thought Id stop by and say h.e.l.lo, he said.
Kate jumped up and gave her boyfriend a hug. Hi, she said. I feel like I havent seen you in forever.
Not quite forever, said Tyler. But almost. Hi, Cooper. Hi, Annie.
Hey, said Cooper.
Annie just waved. Cooper looked at her friend. Annie had turned a funny shade of pink. Are you okay? Cooper asked her. You look flushed.
Its just really hot in here, Annie said. I think Ill walk around a little.
She stood up and walked quickly toward the front of the store. Cooper got up. I think Ill get some air too, she said. You two try to behave yourselves.
She left Kate and Tyler to catch up and went after Annie. She found her looking at a display of crystals.
Whats up? Cooper asked.
Nothing, Annie said.
Cooper folded her arms across her chest. Come on, she said. Something is going on. What is it?
What makes you think something is going on? asked Annie defensively.
Oh, I dont know, replied Cooper. Maybe because when you saw Tyler you turned the color of cotton candy.
I was just hot, insisted Annie.
Liar, said Cooper teasingly. Now, spill it. You know something, dont you?
Know something? Annie repeated, sounding genuinely surprised. Know something about what?
Tyler, said Cooper. What is it? Is he going to break up with Kate? Is that it?
What? said Annie. Why would you think something like that?
Youve been spending a lot of time with Tyler, Cooper explained. I just thought he might have said something to you. I mean, dont you think its odd that he happened to show up here tonight?
He probably just wanted to see Kate, Annie answered.
Maybe, Cooper said. But I still think you know something.
I dont, Annie said, shaking her head. I dont know anything.
Cooper looked at her for a minute. If I didnt know you better Id swear you and Tyler were having an affair, she said.
Right, Annie said. Thats exactly what were doing. Tylers come to tell Kate that its over and that hes running off with me. I didnt want to be there when it all went down, so I came out here to hide.
Look at you being all sarcastic, said Cooper. Fine. If you dont want to tell me, thats okay. Ill find out eventually. I have my ways.
Theres nothing to find out, Annie said. Really.
Annie picked up a crystal and examined it intently. Cooper wanted to interrogate her some more, but she resisted the urge. She was sure that Annie knew something about Tyler and Kate. But whatever it was, Annie wasnt ready to talk about it. That was okay, though. Cooper could wait. And eventually she would find out.
CHAPTER 5.
There it is, Annie said, pointing across the street to a store that had botanica yemaya painted in blue letters across the big gla.s.s window.
It was raining, a cold heavy rain that had begun falling in the early afternoon and hadnt let up. The streets ran with rivers of water that carried leaves and garbage to the storm drains, and there were puddles everywhere water could collect. Cooper, Kate, and Annie waited for the light to change, their hands in their pockets and their jackets pulled tightly around them.
The light switched from green to yellow to red, and the three girls crossed the street quickly, anxious to get out of the weather. Cooper pushed open the door of the botanica and they stepped inside. The interior was warm and dark and smelled like incense. A gla.s.s counter stretched across the back of the shop, and behind it were shelves filled with jars of herbs and powders. A case to the right held tall candles in many different colors. And everywhere else they looked there were statues. Some of them were statues of saints. Others were unfamiliar to the three of them.
The store was lit by soft lights and by many candles which flickered along the top of the gla.s.s counter.
They lent an air of cheerfulness to the store, especially in contrast to the storm outside, but they also made it seem mysterious. The flames cast shadows on the faces of the statues, which stared out at the girls as they stood in the store looking around at everything.
On a small table near the entrance to the store there sat what looked like a small head made out of concrete. It was about the size of an orange, and it had eyes, a nose, and a smiling mouth made out of cowrie sh.e.l.ls. Scattered on the table in front of the head were several wrapped candies in shiny cellophane wrappers, as well as an unlit cigar and a small gla.s.s filled with dark brown liquid. Kate walked over to the head and reached out to touch it.
Papa Elegba does not like to be picked up, said a voice from the back of the store.
Kate withdrew her hand quickly and turned around. Coming out from a doorway behind the gla.s.s counter was a woman. She was a little taller than Kate was. Her long black hair was braided and tied with blue and white ribbons, and she wore a loose blue dress that flowed around her. Around her neck hung several necklaces made of multicolored beads, and on her wrists were heavy copper bracelets. As she stepped forward, Kate saw that she was barefoot.
Im sorry, Kate said. I didnt mean to touch it"I mean him, she added, remembering that the woman had called the head by a name.
The woman nodded. No harm has been done, she said, smiling slightly. Can I help you? Her voice had an unusual accent to it, a soft lilt that suggested strength as well as kindness.
Were looking for Evelyn LeJardin, Kate told her. Were taking a cla.s.s at Crones Circle, and our teacher sent us here. Well, she sent me. My friends came with me.
I am Evelyn LeJardin, the woman answered. She walked to where the girls were and held out her hand. Kate took it. The woman closed her fingers around Kates in a firm grip. Welcome.
Im Kate, Kate told her. This is Cooper, and this is Annie.
Annie and Cooper each shook Evelyn LeJardins hand. She nodded to each of them in turn, then looked back to Kate. Sophia tells me that you wish to learn something about Santeria, she said.
Kate nodded. Yes, she said. Were in the Wicca study group, and weve each been a.s.signed a different path to learn about. I chose Santeria.
I see, said Evelyn. Although perhaps it is more accurate to say that Santeria chose you, no?
Kate wasnt sure how to respond. Maybe, she said, feeling stupid.
Evelyn laughed. Come, she said, waving at the three of them. We will talk back there.
She turned and padded to the rear of the store. Kate followed, with Cooper and Annie behind her.
Evelyn stepped behind the counter and the three girls stood in front of it. Now, what would you like to know? she asked Kate.
I dont know, really, Kate answered. Ive done a little reading on Santeria, so I know something about it. I guess what Im really curious about is how you got into it.
Evelyn turned and pointed to a picture that sat on a shelf behind her. Colored beads hung around it and a small white candle burned in front of it. Scattered on the shelf was an a.s.sortment of objects, including a bottle of perfume, a deck of playing cards, a china kitten, and some flowers.
That is my mother, Evelyn said, indicating the woman in the photograph. She was a priestess of Santeria. As was her mother before her and her mother before her. We lived in New Orleans, but originally my family came from the West Indies. It was there that they learned the religion.
So you were raised in it, then? Kate said.
Evelyn nodded. Yes, she replied. Myself and my sisters. My mother was quite famous in New Orleans, and many people came to her.
What did she do for them? Kate asked.
Many things, answered Evelyn. Healed their children. Divined the future. Helped them find husbands and wives.
Do you do those things, too? Cooper asked her.
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. Why? she asked. Are you looking for a husband?
Cooper laughed. No, she said.
Well, when you are you come to me, Evelyn said authoritatively. Then she looked at Kate again. Yes, we do all of those things, she said. But that is not what the religion is really about. It is about serving the orishas, the spirits who make things possible.
And what does that mean, exactly? Kate queried. From what Ive read, it seems like a lot of time is spent making the orishas happy.
It is, Evelyn said, nodding vigorously. They can be very demanding, the orishas. But very generous, too, to those who serve them well.
Who are the orishas? Annie asked. I havent read as much as Kate has, she added hastily.
The central figure in the religion is called Oloddumare, Eveleyn explained. He is what others might call G.o.d, Allah, or Yahweh. The orishas serve Oloddumare, and they are many things, Evelyn explained.
Some believe they were created by Oloddumare to serve him. Some believe that they were once humans who became G.o.ds. Others see them as the spirits of nature. Each one plays a different role in life.
Sort of like the Greeks had G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses? asked Annie.
Yes, said Evelyn. Something like that. For example, the orisha Chango is the G.o.d of thunder and lightning. The orisha Oshun is the G.o.ddess of rivers and of beauty. But they are more than just these things. They each represent a powerful human emotion. Chango represents the driving force within us.
Oshun is the personification of the force of love. My own orisha, Yemaya, represents divine motherhood, as well as oceans.
What do you mean when you say that Yemaya is your orisha? Kate asked Evelyn.
Pract.i.tioners of the religion believe that we are each a.s.signed a specific path in life, Evelyn answered.
At birth each of us is chosen by an orisha who helps us along that path. During our lifetimes we may work with all the orishas, but there will always be one who guides us and protects us above all others.
We are considered the children of that orisha.
How do you know who your orisha is? Cooper asked her.
There is a special ceremony that is done to determine that, Evelyn told her.
So, Yemaya is your orisha? said Kate.
Yes, Evelyn confirmed. I am a child of Yemaya. I am also a priestess of Yemaya, as I have been initiated into her mysteries.
The front door of the shop opened and a young woman came in, interrupting the conversation. She walked up to the counter and spoke to Evelyn in Spanish. They conversed for a few minutes and then Evelyn nodded and turned to the shelves behind her. As the girls watched, she pulled down several different jars and poured some of the contents into plastic bags. She then fetched a yellow candle and added it to the pile on the counter, along with a small bottle of a pinkish liquid. Evelyn put everything into a bag and handed it to the woman, who slid some money across the counter to her. Then she nodded at Evelyn and the girls and left the shop.
Can I ask what that was all about? Kate asked Evelyn tentatively.
She has a problem that requires fixing, Evelyn responded. I told her to perform certain rituals, and I gave her the tools she needs to do them.
Like working a spell? Annie suggested.
Something like that, Evelyn answered. Followers of the religion do not usually think of it as magic.
They ask the orishas to help them, and in return they provide the orishas with things they desire. The ritual that woman will do is meant to please the orisha Oshun. She hopes that if Oshun is pleased with her then she will offer her help in the matter at hand.
Do you consider yourself a witch? Kate asked.
Evelyn shook her head. No, she said. I know that there are similarities between what witches do and what we do, but I do not consider myself a witch. I do not think that what I do is magic, although some do call it that. Santeria means the worship of the saints, and that is what we do. We worship the orishas and, through them, Oloddumare. Perhaps we sometimes ask them to do certain favors for us, but I do not think of that as magic.
But in what I read about Santeria it says that people who follow it can make things happen by doing what seem like spells, Kate said. One of the things I remember is a ritual for getting an enemy to stop talking about you. It involved sewing up a beef tongue or something like that.
That is correct, Evelyn said. There are rituals such as that one. Again, though, the person performing such a rite would ask one of the orishas for her or his help in the matter.
This is really interesting, Kate said. It sounds like Santeria has a lot in common with Wicca, but it also sounds really different in a lot of ways. I wish I could see an actual ritual so I could understand it better.
Perhaps you can, Evelyn told her. This Sat.u.r.day I am hosting a celebration gathering. If you would like to come I would welcome you.
Kate looked at Cooper and Annie, both of whom nodded eagerly.
Wed love to, Kate told Evelyn.
It is done then, she replied.
Is there anything special we need to do? Kate asked.