PublishAmerica

Baltimore

                                      by

                       ALBERT WILLIAMS

© 2005 by Albert Williams.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by

any means without the prior written permission of the

publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief

passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine

or journal.

First printing

At the specific preference of the author, PublishAmerica

allowed this work to remain exactly as the author intended,

verbatim, without editorial input.

ISBN: 1-4241-0680-X

PUBLISHED BY PUBLISHAMERICA, LLLP

www.publishamerica.com

Baltimore

Dedicated to

my son, Isaiah Williams

in whom I am well pleased

ACKNOWLDEGMENTS

First it would be remiss of me to not to acknowledge

the Creator who bestowed on me the gift of creativity.

Also, to the facilitators of the journalism/short story

writing course of Harcourt Learning Direct, for teaching

me the craft of fiction writing.

To the editor and staff of PublishAmerica for

underwriting all the expenses associated with the

project.

To Paul, Laura and Tfff of Bognor Housing Trust for

support.

To close friends, Andre Joseph, Jacqueline Royer, Ian

Jackson, Harry Sealy, Erica Joseph and Carole Robinson

who always knew that I had more in me than was at first

visible.

My Son, Isaiah; Father, Victor; brothers, Franklin and

Davidson; sisters, Deborah, Elizabeth and Jennifer and

their families. You are always in my thoughts.

And most of all thank you to all those readers who

have read my work throughout the years, and to so many

other persons that if I would to name them all, the

manuscript would be considerabe.

Sincerely

Albert Williams

Bognor Regis

August 2005.

CONTENTS

Goddess 9

Haunted Heritage 41

I’ve seen it all before 68

Baby in the middle 76

Dear sister 84

Nature Guide 91

Recipe for murder 99

The little lamb 109

The storm 116

A Christmas story 128

G O D D E S S

11

-1-

life

we

must once hold

realms to

the

prelude of death

preferences we

should

hold none

12

-2-

when love

is

true

it is

blacker

than

midnight

13

-3-

among the trees you are the greenest

between the flowers you are the prettiest

among the poems you are the sweetest

between the songs you are the loveliest

among the rocks, the one I lean on

between the sunset, the day I long for

among the birds the one who flies highest

between the stars the one that sparkles

14

-4-

how lonesome you are in that

warm blue ecstasy

warmer than a first

kiss on valentines .

this crescent curve

the joy of my days, your sweet

respite more desirable

than the sun at its zenith

15

-5-

oh, pretty little flower

little tender rose

how resplendent you are

in this broken vase

for my true love

where she may give

you water

that when she sees you

smiling she remembers

how heaven really is

16

-6-

in the re-awakening

we discover ourselves

besides the face

upon her raft in the ocean

drawn into the bossom

of the watery earth

until

my twilight zone

17

-7-

for the joy that she brings to me

for the attractiveness that attracts me

for that cute little smile

for that queenly bearing

for her understanding

for her elegance

for the love that flows

for the intelligence

for her delightful nose

for the etiquette

i’ll always be true to her

18

-8-

she’s a flower that blooms

every hour

my blazing anthurium

her tassels flicker

violet and amber

against my verdure stem

summer zephyrs chills

our trembling attire

leaving trails onwards

19

-9-

here

she

comes

swaying

upon

a melody

so

gracefully

finally

we

join

in

rev

el

r

20

-10-

kneeling before her presence

my altar of flesh

together we offer this innocence

21

-11-

my fountain, my beloved

her heart an open book

our light illuminates our dream world

overlooking scott’s head

she reads our favorite poems

22

-12-

then

we fell free from fear

that this sudden descent

would end

in an

emerald pool

that our day

dreams

are made of

23

-13-

and

then

time

was

swept

from under our feet

where nature once reigned

green and

supreme

kissed

our hungry eyes

on

moon-less nights

mountains stand stripped

tawny

as

mahogany

rivers

now dry as sticks

24

-14-

that morning we woke

to another day as if it

was creation morning

the

sun shone shining golden

just for us

we felt its ebullience

for the first time

25

-15-

waves

breaking

on

her

face

clouds

floating

in

my

eyes

26

-16-

records and novels

cups and saucers

streams bubbling

over rocks, to the

arms of my beloved

27

-17-

listen!

how she tells of

mankind

why the moon goes round

the earth

because jah made little girls

from spring

but little boys from surf

28

-18-

we thought to boast of

our special friend

ever so sweet. Sweeter

to us than our skin

ever so sweet

nearer to us than

our shadow

ever so close

we thought to boast of

our special friend

29

-19-

in

perfect solitude

the self

dives

into

the self

this peace, this serenity

blessed are

you

children of God.

30

-20-

she requesting

poems of friendship

speaking the

language of the kingdom of love

I with wistful face

yet

brighter than bright

meander through

little poems

31

-21-

behind the rain-forest

lies a genuine soul trading

counterfeits for sweet little lies

such honesty from a captive spirit

an imprisoned spirit

an imprisoned self yearning to release

from this human jungle

mortal biped chained to a lamp post

squatting in shafts of immortal light

we witness victims of their own deceits

32

-22-

the heart that knows depths of love

may never be deceived

no matter what befalls the heart

it softly onwards proceeds

beneath the reefs, through rugged rocks

beset by sudden storms and gales

for only they who truly love

may survive these joyful pains

33

-23-

some crave experience

plunged into death-traps

only

the sagacious escape

some

fabricate alibis

encountering maxims in

crushed hearts

waiting endlessly

to release the law

to set the life-blood

free

34

-24-

can one purchase friendship

save it for a rainy day

do friendships forgive and forget

endure all things without regret?

35

-25-

i’m all alone

just i and I

maybe

because that fate

has alighted on me

i

wonder

what goes on in

your juvenile mind

for indeed

i

know

you are all alone

too

36

-26-

my loving respect that’s all

i want to give

forget your troubles tonight

it’s price is high above justice

forget your riches tonight

place your bodies right next to mine

forget your privacy tonight

come let’s build a home together

forget your loneliness tonight

37

-27-

i beloved and i

listen to the power of

the wind’s triumphant

serenade

as we linger

for the final climax

we kiss

then

turn our

backs on yesterday

38

-28-

without her

i can do nothing

without her

my spirit is weak

without her

a fish out of water is safer than me

without her

i am a lost continent

without her

days are kilometers of sand

without her

evenings grow colder

without her

this life is a snare

39

-29-

the

burden with

youth

is

that we hardly perceive

until enlightenment dawns

40

-30-

i

man

born of woman

a

sugar apple

invented from the steak of

an angel’s breast

wings

of one bird soaring

heaven-ward

a

single hand

stretches forth

touching

the

sacred

HAUNTED

HERITAGE

43

Chapter one

The ginger bread fretwork was still as she

remembered; it ran along each window frame like a

green iguana. As a child her father had recounted to her

the story of how the two story wooden building had

become family property, purchased by her aunt, an

obscure novelist, from a white plantation owner who left

the island in quite a hurry following the abolition of

slavery and the subsequent emancipation of the slaves.

When Margaret trunk and her husband arrived, they’d

let themselves in through the front door.

“Leah!” Margaret called out in the open space.

“Maybe she not at home,” coughed her husband.

“At least she knew that we were coming,” she replied.

Margaret to took Phillip by the hand and slowly took him

to the kitchen where they found Leah turned towards the

44

sink in the deft preparation of a huge Mountain Chicken

that still kicked in frequent spasms as she patiently

removed the entrails. She was about seventy-five, of

African descent and was probably deaf.

“There you are, “ Margaret said.

Leah spun around dropping the calabash of dissected

frog. “ Oh I didn’t mean to scare you!” Margaret

apologized as she stooped to retrieve the delicacy.”

“What did you say? Speak up I’m short of hearing, you

know.” Leah said, and then focused her attention on

Phillip who up until now had not said anything other

than gasp at the quivering wild life.

“And who is that?” Leah asked eyeing him with a

mixture of hostility and curiosity.

“Eh, eh, I find you something else, in my father’s own

house, I think you must have forgotten something, don’t

you.”

At this Leah sucked hard on her teeth, then said, “You

know that…”

“That what…that I’m not welcome here!” Margaret

screamed.

“That’s it, “Phillip said at last,”I told you to let the old

maid have the old house. You have everything you could

hope for in England. “Phillip was all reddish in the face

45

and he twitched his nose continually. “I’m on the next

plane back to England.” Phillip was obviously mad with

rage.

“So you didn’t even want to see your father before he

died.” Leah’s dark face registered an utter dislike for

Margaret and her English husband.

“Leah” said Margaret as she stepped towards her.

“Don’t touch me “she said in patois, your just another

ungrateful child, seventeen years and not even a visit,

just leave me alone “she said as she reverted to English to

the relief of Phillip. “Just leave me alone,” Leah cried

between the sobs.

For a moment Margaret felt as if the ground had

melted beneath her feet. The realization struck her that

coming home was not off to a very good start.

46

Chapter two

The evening was hot and sticky, not even a wisp of air

filtered through the building. Margaret tossed and

turned, settling down to a good night’s sleep after a long

tiring sea journey was proving to be extremely difficult.

In the stillness, however, it wasn’t only the incessant

drone of the mosquitoes that kept Margaret awake.

“Phillip,” She whispered as she pushed against her

husband’s arm.

“Phillip,” she said again this time a little louder. Phillip

slowly stirred from the depths of sleep.

“What is it honey?” he asked.

“Listen, can’t you hear it?”

“I can’t hear a thing except for those blasted bugs. It

must be the spirit of the West Indies getting to you.”

47

“I swear, as if I heard some one using…”

“Aw you’re just imagining things. “ The husband said

turning on his side like a great whale. He finally

convinced his wife that it perhaps a nightmare that she

had experienced and soon she had drifted off into a flat

black land with no features.

Hours later the sun rose with blinding heat, golden

beams shot through the dining room flooding it with it’s

warmth and wry humor. It was a Tuesday, just turned

7:30 am. Margaret, Phillip and Leah were sitting in the

dinning room discussing the events of the past evening.

Leah expressed shock to learn of tapping on the roof.

She said that she had lived in the house for 36 years and

she had never heard any tapping.

“Well, last night I heard tapping as if someone was

using a typewriter,”

“Tap tapping on the roof, uh!” Phillip said

exasperated. “Perhaps it’s the after effects of losing a

loved on,” He offered.

“That’s strange,” Margaret mused.

“I honestly think you should see a doctor.” Phillip

coughed slightly.

“Honey, do you think I’m losing my mind?”

48

“No, not at all, but darling you seem to be so restless

these last few days. You perspire profusely at nights, and

talk to yourself quite a bit. Some times it frightens me.”

“True!” exclaimed Leah.

“She scares me out of my wits,” Phillip said laughing.

Margaret listened unbelievingly, and was even begin

to brush it off as a bad experience. Perhaps it was the long

two-month journey at sea that had taken it’s toll on her,

“yes maybe it is,” she reasoned to her self.

Meanwhile, Leah had excused herself and had gone to

the kitchen. She returned minutes later carrying a

wooden tray; “ I’ve prepared some thing for all

you…Margaret, I sure you have eaten this in a long

time.’’ She carried in a tray with two large enamel cups

loaded with steaming cocoa tea, the strong pungent

aroma of vanilla very evident. “If you want the rest of the

breakfast, then don’t just sit there,” she said glaring at

Phillip as if he was a school child.

Phillip not quite sure what he should do, nevertheless

obeyed and stomped over to the kitchen. He returned

shortly carrying a large wooden tray, this time laden

with slices of roast breadfruit and smoked herring.

“What’s this?” Phillip asked baffled not sure what he had

been so rudely asked to bring in.

“It’s a traditional recipe,” replied His wife.

49

“You Dominicans are always coming up with new

ways to surprise me,” he replied. Smoked herring never

heard of it “

“Anyway,” butted in the maid, “the lawyer coming

this afternoon to read the will.”

“Of course, the will…yes the will,” responded

Margaret. “Why don’t we go for a walk in the village,

Phillip? By the time we come back we will be all ready to

receive this lawyer.”

“Good idea let’s get some fresh air,” he said as he

brushed the tip of his long white nose with an equally

long index finger. He took his wife by the hand and

without another look at Leah stepped out into the

Tuesday morning.

The warm currents of the salty Atlantic wafted in from

the bay as the couple strode past a dozen or so fishermen;

some preparing their nets and boats for another day’s

expedition, others were hauling in the canoes filled with

flying fish. They followed the rough unpaved road and

soon arrived at the government school. The couple

paused for about an hour watching a group of girls

playing netball on the adjoining hard court.

“Phillip, I think we better hurry back home, we’ve an

appointment, remember.”

“Of course,” Phillip said.

50

Margaret seemed to be in high spirits as she

approached the family home. “ It was my father who

taught me how to feed the chickens, and how to plant

vegetables in the back yard,” she reminisced. Just then

Margaret stumbled and seemed to be fainting.

“Is something wrong?” Phillip asked. But Margaret

only groaned as she fell to the ground foaming at the

mouth, as her body jerked and writhed. “Leah! Leah!” he

shouted. The maid had been at the kitchen window and

saw Margaret fall. “Call a doctor Margaret must be

suffering some sort of size sure.

“But we doh have a phone!”

“Then do something quick!”

“Leah hobbled out of the house as fast as she could,

then down the street, across the market square where she

met Otis, a bus driver who transported her to Dr.

Alston’s home somewhere among the maze of cluttered

houses that made up the landscape of the town.

51

Chapter Three

“Let me see now,” the doctor was a short-bearded

man with a shining bronze head and a tuft for a

mustache. His brown-colored suit had an odor as if it had

not been dry-cleaned for years. Dr Alston was reading

the gauge of his blood-pressure reading apparatus. “ You

seem to be in fair condition,” he nodding to Phillip with

an air of professionalism.

“My wife was fine up until we returned to this Godforsaken

place!” Phillip said.

“God forsaken, Lord no! “Exclaimed the doctor

raising his eyebrows in a comical manner. “We are ninety

percent Catholic, and we adore the saints.” He said and

broke into a long discourse on the hagiography of the

Catholic saints, even reciting a list of the saints one for

each day of the week. “Are you a Catholic?” he asked

Phillip suddenly.

52

“I never cared much for church, but I believe in God,

but now tell me about my wife!” Phillip said raising his

voice a decibel or two in irritation.

“I think Mrs. Trunk should be given a lot of rest at this

time” said the doctor.”

“Yes Doc.”Phillip replied. He was stroking Margaret’s

head ever so gently as she gradually came round.

“Ooh!” She said

“It’s alright honey, I’m right here.” Phillip assured her,

as he helped her to sit upright. He explained the events of

the last two hours to her as she listened feebly.

“I feel…I feel…as if I’ve visited…,”she muttered.

Margaret seemed to have difficulty speaking,”as if…a

strange place.” She squinted her eyes now her gaze fixed

on her husband Phillip. “There was this lady in a white

dress…what if it is not done?”

“If what is not done?” asked the doctor.

“I think my wife needs the rest that you spoke of,

doctor,” Phillip whispered.

“I think so too,” replied the doctor Alston.

Leah at this tine was administering some pungent

smelling alcolado to Margaret’s forehead as the doctor

and Phillip withdrew from the room. Doctor Alston had

53

a worried look on his face, “ your wife may be suffering

a serious nervous breakdown…I think that she should

see a psychiatrist.”

“Are you saying that my wife is a nut?”

“I’m not going that far, but…”

“This whole thing is stranger than fiction,”Phillip said

with exasperation.

“You know, it’s a common problem with returned

nationals from England, they seem to lose it,” he said

pointing to his temples. At the suggestions a peal of

laughter broke out from behind the row of hibiscus trees

that lined the flower garden lawn. An old man leaning on

stick, two schoolgirls and another middle-aged woman

clutching a bag of groceries who was fortunate to be

passing by as the incident were happening. However,

they quickly disappeared when the stony glance of both

the doctor and Phillip beamed in their direction. In the

distance you could hear the two schoolgirls giggling.

“What are they laughing?”Phillip thought to himself,

he shook his head at the doctor who eyed Phillip

sympathetically.

54

Chapter Four

The appointment with the lawyer was postponed for

the following day although the doctor advised that

Margaret was not well enough to give attention to such a

matter. However, Phillip later agreed it and Leah that

Margaret needed this to be over as soon as possible.

Mrs. James and her husband arrived at 10 Long Lane,

at exactly 3 pm according to plan. Margaret was still

recovering from the odd incident yesterday when the

couple arrived, announced by a loud rapping on the

door.

“All right, I coming, I coming,” Leah shouted over the

banging as she cussed under her breath.

Mrs. James and her husband made a stately entrance.

It was obvious that they had been made accustom to

being treated with a certain amount of awe. Without

55

invitation they proceeded to make themselves comfortable

on the only two armchairs in sight. “The purpose of my

visit as you are all aware,” she began, “ is to make known

the final wishes of Stedman Ezekiel, as expressed in this

the last will and testimony signed on the 15th of May 1969

and sealed with my own seal.”

She smiled slightly as if she had offered a scrumptious

lunch. “Firstly, I must inform you that his entire estate

will go towards his only and closest of kin Margaret on

one condition.”

“One condition?” Margaret asked weakly.

“Yes, Mrs. Trunk, that you retain the services of Leah,

who in his own words ‘has served the family well for

over forty years.’ “

A deep silence fell on the room, and for a moment it

seemed as if the world had stopped turning.<