Drabble - Prophecy
When it came right down to it, the obeah woman was eerie. “Downright macabre,” according to Pintel. Ragetti agreed in a fearful voice, referring to her as “the eye collector,” and hastily crossed himself and spit whenever her name was mentioned. To Gibbs, she was “HER.” Just the one word. He shuddered as he uttered it, his voice low and ominous. The ghostly trip upriver, accompanied by the silent sentinels along the banks amidst the tangle of mangroves, caused the men to shift nervously in their seats, their flesh crawling in trepidation.
To Will Turner, Tia Dalma was an enigma; poised like a sultry spider, weaving her web of spells out of the gossamer threads of a man’s thoughts. He took the obeah woman in stride, no stranger to the odd and unexpected, certainly not after spending time in Jack Sparrow’s company.
To Jack, she was a source of many things - spiritual, temporal, carnal. For the right payment, she could also provide a voudun charm, which could summon a loa for whatever a man might desire.
Tia Dalma preferred to prophesize, crouching over her runes and cards, reciting one’s future through black stained lips.
“A touch of destiny,” she pronounced, running her hand along Will’s sleeve and beckoning him closer. Was this prophecy dark or light? Boon or bane? Did she hold all the cards or was there still one trump left to play?
Jack knew the game well, having played before. He waited for the opportune moment, then showed his last card, played his last trick, cheating both devil and prophecy in the bargain.
Legends were told of that fateful day, how a ragged fleet of squabbling pirates had defeated the mighty armada. Two Captains, two ships, legends in their own right.
Both bearing a touch of destiny.
****
To Will Turner, Tia Dalma was an enigma; poised like a sultry spider, weaving her web of spells out of the gossamer threads of a man’s thoughts. He took the obeah woman in stride, no stranger to the odd and unexpected, certainly not after spending time in Jack Sparrow’s company.
To Jack, she was a source of many things - spiritual, temporal, carnal. For the right payment, she could also provide a voudun charm, which could summon a loa for whatever a man might desire.
Tia Dalma preferred to prophesize, crouching over her runes and cards, reciting one’s future through black stained lips.
“A touch of destiny,” she pronounced, running her hand along Will’s sleeve and beckoning him closer. Was this prophecy dark or light? Boon or bane? Did she hold all the cards or was there still one trump left to play?
Jack knew the game well, having played before. He waited for the opportune moment, then showed his last card, played his last trick, cheating both devil and prophecy in the bargain.
Legends were told of that fateful day, how a ragged fleet of squabbling pirates had defeated the mighty armada. Two Captains, two ships, legends in their own right.
Both bearing a touch of destiny.
****