Swamp Witch

© 2026 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

In 2022 I invented a character that I fell in love with, a wise old woman who dispensed advice and sometimes a little magic, her name was Grandma Noah, and I chose to explore her roots with this story. What I discovered shocked me. I was born and raised in the north, descendants of abolitionists and veterans, and educated that my ancestor's work was done. I discovered that was not the case.

I did a lot of research or this story; I made sure that the events of the times were accurate. When a character turned on a radio on a specific date, what came out of the radio is what I recorded here. I also made sure that when someone commented on your skin color, the words he most commonly used were posted here. I didn't write this to comment on society of 1939; I wrote this to explore it.

This was written for the 2026 Literotica Halloween contest.

Swamp Witch

Every Swamp Needs a Witch

Tallulah Mae Beauchamp was born in Saint Felix, Florida in 1921. At the time, her father was a respected traffic agent with the Southern Georgia and Florida Railroad. However, the Great Depression struck Florida sooner than it struck the rest of the country. Two horrific hurricanes slammed into Florida, one in 1926 and the other in 1928, killing thousands, injuring tens of thousands, and making hundreds of thousands homeless. Then in the spring of 1929, the Mediterranean fruit fly wiped out the citrus industry. A third of the state's population was on public assistance before the Wall Street crash.

The Beauchamp family was lucky. Even though the Southern Georgia and Florida Railroad went bankrupt, Tallulah Mae's father, Gregory Beauchamp, was kept on the payroll by taking a job as a switchman in the SG&F's yard in Saint Felix, Florida. It was a huge cut in pay, but it was steady work and the family had a roof over their heads until the night he didn't come home.

Tallulah Mae's mother, Sarah Beth Beauchamp (originally Sara Beth Habersham of the Savannah Habersham's), said his death was due to an accident in a dark and rainy railroad yard. Tallulah Mae knew the truth; tramps got him. Hobos were all over Florida like ticks on a hound, and tramps were the worst of the hobos. Hobos were merely men looking for a quiet retreat from an insane world, but a tramp would kill you for your shoes just as soon as look at you. Tallulah Mae was sure that some hobo wanted her daddy's silver pocket watch and knifed him in a dark corner of the yard, then threw his body across a track, knowing that he would be hit. Following her father's death, they were evicted from their beautiful antebellum home and moved to a small shack on the Georgia side of the Saint Mary's River, the stream that divided Saint Felix in half and marked the Georgia/Florida state line.

Living in a four hundred square foot shack on the "colored side" of the Saint Mary's River was terrifying at first for Tallulah Mae and Sarah Beth, but soon they were seen by their neighbors as "just folks" doing what they could to survive, just like everyone else. They weren't "uppity" at all, unlike most white folks. Soon the boy next door, Jimmy Washington, was Tallulah Mae's best friend. He was tall, handsome, and sweet and he helped Sarah Beth and Tallulah Mae with the house. Soon the Beauchamps and the Washingtons were friends sharing dinner on Sundays.

Like anyone else in the shanty town that had an electric ice box, it was on the porch, because the little shacks they lived in just didn't have room inside for something like that. Sarah Beth Beauchamp didn't mind one whit if you stopped by to borrow a couple of eggs or a cup of milk, just so long as you replaced it when you could. Quite often Sarah Beth would hear her refrigerator open, and she would call out through the front window, "Althea? Is that you?"

"No, ma'am, it's me, Jimmy. Just returning those eggs we borrowed."

"Well, aren't you just the sweetest thing, sugar! Thank you kindly, now, you hear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Life for Tallulah Mae wasn't easy, but it was good on the Georgia side of the river. She was a straight-A student and she learned how to live without a steady income to help you along. She was one of the best catfish fishermen on the Okefenokee and she could clean and cook anything she could catch. Her chickens always took first place for size and eggs in the Crawford County fair, and Jimmy Washington said her sweet potato pie was the best he ever ate and the judges had to be crazy for not giving her a ribbon for her pie too.

Tallulah Mae went to school at the Saint Felix Normal School, which was a long walk to the Florida side of the river. She couldn't go to the nearest school because segregation was the law of the land in both Georgia and Florida and the school on her side of the river was for colored only. She had to walk to the nearest white school, which was on the Florida side of Saint Felix. On her way to school on the Florida side, she met black kids walking to school on the Georgia side, and they'd nod and say "hey" as they walked past each other every morning.

The school she attended was the Saint Felix Public High School, but above the front entrance were the words "Normal School" etched in stone. It was the original name of the large brick building, but the name had been changed years ago. To the students at Saint Felix Public High School, it clearly meant that students who attended classes at the school on the other side of the river, Crawford County High School, were not normal.

Tallulah Mae Beauchamp was a beautiful girl who was tall and slim with milky white skin. One might say she was elegant. She was the tallest girl in her school and taller than most of the boys. They made fun of her for being flat, but Tallulah Mae was happy with her firm little breasts and perky nipples. She had a narrow waist which she loved, and a round ass which she hated. She thought it made her look fat. Her mother said, "Darlin', with hips like them, you'll be havin' a whole passel of young'uns, sure as sugar."

"Mama, why do you gotta be so ornery like that?"

"Well now, that's just part of what makes you so pretty, darlin'."

Tallulah Mae was, indeed, very pretty. Her smile was enchanting, and accented by her long, thick chestnut hair and those big, beautiful hazel eyes. Some of the boys of Saint Felix were secretly crazy for her and the girls quietly envied her. Even though the dresses she wore were thirty years out of date, they were not flashy but were elegant. She was a model student, scoring top in all her grades, and she was as friendly as the day was long. Some said she was sweet enough to charm a sow out of a mud puddle. But she was alone because she lived on the black side of the river. The southern charm that her mother schooled her on made the other girls uncomfortable to be near her, and her height of five foot eleven intimidated the boys. Many suspected silently that her height was due to black ancestry.

Excitement filled the air as Halloween 1938 neared. MGM had announced that production had started of their adaptation of L. Frank Baum's highly popular novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and everyone in the Saint Felix Normal School had read the book and many had read the numerous sequels, and all were excited about the movie. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was loved by everyone, even though the story was almost forty years old. They couldn't wait for the movie! It was due to be released in August, ten months away!

"Mama, might I fix myself up like a witch for Halloween? The Halloween cotillion has a Wizard of Oz theme, and I done read every one of them books!"

Sara Beth smiled, happy to see her daughter excited about something other than studying. "Well now, I reckon you're fixin' to dress up as Glinda, the good witch of the South, ain't ya?"

"Oh no, mama. I'm fixin' to dress up as Tattypoo, the sweet ol' witch from up North."

The news that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was being turned into a movie lit a fire in the Saint Felix students and for the first time in school history, everyone was going to attend the Halloween Cotillion dressed in costume. Normally, most of the boys refuse to dress, or they simply wore a mask and a cowboy hat and claimed to be "The Lone Ranger Dressed for School." There were rumors that the MGM movie would be in color, which got everyone even more excited.

Most of the girls were planning to dress up as Dorothy, or Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. Sally Anne Donnhue planned to dress up as Princess Ozma from The Road to Oz, the fifth book in the series, because Sally Anne liked to attract attention to herself like that. To counter Sally Anne's choice, Tallulah Mae planned to dress as Tattypoo, the Good Witch of the North. Tallulah Mae chose her, because she was really Queen Orin of the Ozure Isles, which was revealed in the twenty-second book of the series, The Giant Horse of Oz. To that extent, Tallulah Mae planned to change costume halfway through the party. She would slouch when dressed as Tattypoo, hiding her height, then, when she changed to Queen Orin, she would stand tall and proud.

"Sugar, you're gonna stir up a right fuss if you go and do that."

"I can't step foot in that schoolhouse without stirrin' up a ruckus," said Tallulah Mae. "I might as well enjoy it."

"Then let's get to work."

Sarah Beth and Tallulah Mae worked on her costume for weeks getting it right. She'd be dressed as common folk, but she'd wear a witch's hat. Then at the appropriate time, she'd rip off the common folk clothing and reveal herself as the regal Queen Orin of the Ozure Isles. Halloween fell on Monday, so the big Halloween Cotillion would be held on the Friday before, October 28th. They worked right up to Thursday night, the night before the dance.

They sat at the kitchen table working with a single twenty-five-watt light bulb over the kitchen table, the radio on the kitchen counter playing The Kate Smith Hour. It was Sarah Beth's favorite show because she loved Kate's singing. "She's a fine southern girl" was what Sarah Beth described her as. Tallulah Mae loved the comics that regularly performed. Henny Youngman would spit out the laughs as fast as he could, and two young guys, Abbott and Costello, performed hilarious sketch comedy.

Before they knew it, the Major Bowes Amateur Hour was almost ready to start. "I need to change the station," said Tallulah Mae, and she carefully tuned in to nine hundred kilocycles where WJAX was broadcasting. "I was listening to that!" huffed Sarah Beth.

"Kate Smith is over, ma."

Through the hiss and crackle of static they heard, "Maxwell House Coffee presents--The Good News of Nineteen Thirty-Nine! The makers of Maxwell House Coffee welcome you to another hour of entertainment brought to you by the Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios in Hollywood. With Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice, Rita Johnson and Hanley Stafford, Tommy Barnswell, Meredith Willson and his orchestra, and tonight's special guests, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Rita Johnson, Miliza Korjus, Ralph Morgan..."

"Clark Gable this week!" gushed Tallulah Mae.

"Let's finish this up before Bing Crosby comes on at ten because that's bedtime!"

"MOM! I'm going to be eighteen in a couple of weeks!"

"You can stay up late in a couple of weeks, but for now, it's ten o'clock on a school night. Now let's try this on..."

Tallulah Mae was excited as she headed home from school the next day. Tonight would be the night! Her costume was beautiful and everyone would see her skill as a seamstress. She cut through the SG&F railroad yard on her way home because it was the fast way, and the railroad workers recognized her as Ol' Greg's daughter. "Bean-pole Greg, tallest man on the railroad," was what they called him. She waved to the workers as she stepped carefully over the tracks. The little locomotives used to shuffle cars around were noisy and smoky, so she was able to avoid them. They were called "yard goats" by her dad.

She crossed the bridge to the Georgia side of the Saint Mary's River and was in a different world. The big antebellum houses were gone; everyone had a 300- to 500-square-foot shack. Refrigerators on the front porch, washing machines with gas-powered motors in the back yard, clotheslines with laundry drying, but getting sooty from the locomotive exhaust. Chickens in many yards, and the occasional goat to keep the weeds down.

As she passed Coleburn's 5 & 10, she realized she had an extra nickel from her egg money, and Jimmy Washington was seated there at the end of the soda fountain counter. Jimmy was one of the only boys she knew that was taller than her. He was tall, sweet, and very polite. Not only was he their next-door neighbor, but she was also tutoring him in math. She walked in and stood at the counter next to Jimmy and smiled at Mr. Coleburn. "Could I get a Coca-Cola please?"

"Sho nuff," said Mister Coleburn. Mister Coleburn was an ancient black man with white hair and a wheezy laugh when he talked. He squirted some Coke syrup into the familiar bell-shaped Coca-Cola glass, narrow at the bottom and flaring toward the rim, then he added the soda water. "I put an extra dab of sweetness in for you, Tallulah Mae."

"Well, I do thank you kindly, Mister Coleburn." And she traded her nickel for the glass of cool refreshment. She turned to her neighbor and said, "Well now, how are you doin', sweet Jimmy?"

"He's just taking a quick breather then he's getting back to sweeping," said Mister Coleburn as he gave Jimmy a glass of water. There was a seat open on Jimmy's right, but Tallulah Mae didn't take it, she was white and this was a colored establishment. That's the way it was, there wasn't anything anyone could do about it, so she stood to Jimmy's left and talked about the upcoming party.

"Jimmy, I just gotta show you my costume. I'm fixin' to go as Tattypoo, kindly as can be!"

"I'd like to see you in it," said Jimmy.

"I'll stop on by whenever I head out that way."

Jimmy was as close to a boyfriend as Tallulah Mae ever had. He was handsome and polite, and she didn't pay no nevermind to the color of his skin, and he repaid that by being as kind as he could be, and he only called her "Snow White" when nobody was around.

They chatted for a couple minutes before Mister Coleburn softly scolded Tallulah Mae for keeping Jimmy from working. Then he leaned across the counter and whispered, "Tallulah Mae, you've finished your drink. This is a place for colored folks; you'll have to head elsewhere."

"But you take my money, Mister Coleburn," said a confused Tallulah Mae.

"Money is a universal color."

As that happened, six white boys from the Normal School were walking past. They played hooky and walked over to the Okefenokee Swamp to gig frogs and catch a few catfish. As they walked home, they noticed Tallulah Mae Beauchamp in a black establishment talking with the old black men, and that tall kid, Jimmy Washington. "Ah knew it," whispered Billy Joe Slack. "That girl ain't nothing but a nigger kisser."

"She might be one herself, it's why she is so damn tall," said Finn Holt. "They's all that tall."

"An' she thinks she's a-goin' to the dance tonight," sneered Nathan Forest, then he had an idea. "Let's have us some fun. Come on guys!" And they raced to the bridge to get over to the Florida side of Saint Felix.

"That's so creative!" gushed Althea Washington. Tallulah Mae and Sarah Beth Beauchamp were on the Washingtons' front porch, and they just showed Jimmy, his mom Althea, and his dad Ronald how the costume could go from a everyday, slouchy old woman to a beautiful queen.

"You're going to surprise all those stuck-up, arrogant..."

"Ron!" warned Althea.

"I'm sorry but..."

"Don't apologize, I think worse of them." Tallulah Mae shrugged. "It's my last year of schoolin' here, and I'm fixin' to make somethin' grand of myself, leavin' all of them selfish little crackers eatin' my dust, sweet as can be. Me an' momma are going to go someplace fine, like Dallas, or San Diego."

"You do that, girl! Now go enjoy the dance."

Ronald leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "If anyone gives you grief, you come tell me who they are and I'll..."

"I'll just turn around and let them stew in their own hate," said Tallulah Mae. "Bye now!"

Jimmy felt like his entire world was going to fall apart. He had to do something. He had one last chance to talk her out if it. "Tallulah Mae, wait. I'll... I'll walk you to the bridge."

"Aw, Jimmy, you don't have to. I'm not seven years old anymore."

"Tallulah Mae, let me. Please." The handsome young black man looked like he was in distress.

"If you insist." And they walked through the dark streets side by side. There were only a few streetlights on the Georgia side of Saint Felix, so their walk to the bridge was dark. It was a warm night; the Spanish moss was swaying in the gentle breeze. The sounds of children's laughter filled the air as a game of Blind Man Tag was played over on the other block. Blind Man Tag is regular tag, just played in the dark.

"Lula, please don't go."

Tallulah Mae looked at Jimmy. He hadn't called her Lula since they were little kids and their fathers worked together on the SG&F Railroad. "I done promised a few of my girlfriends I'd make an appearance."

He took her hands in his as they stopped in the dark shadow of an abandoned shed. "Lula, I have a bad feeling about this. Stay. We'll listen to Burns and Allen and eat some fresh fried gizzards."

"I won't be long," insisted Tallulah Mae. "I'll be home in time for Amos 'n' Andy."

"Please," he begged. His stomach was knotted up and he wanted to scream. "Don't..." He wanted to cry 'Don't leave me!' but he couldn't finish the sentence because her finger was pressed against his lips holding him silent. She had never touched him like that, and it felt so sweet, but he had a feeling of awful dread about this whole evening.

"Now you relax, Jimmy Washington. I promise I'll be out of there by nine-thirty." She gave him a kiss on his cheek that stirred passion in his soul, then she left. Jimmy watched her cross the bridge to the Florida side of town, and she wandered over toward the SG&F Railroad yard where she disappeared amid the box cars. Sick with worry, Jimmy walked home and went past his folks into his bedroom that he shared with three brothers.

"I ain't never gonna see her again," he whispered into his pillow. Then he burst into tears.

When Tallulah Mae got to the Normal school, Grace Talbot and Sue Anne Martin were waiting outside for her. Grace Talbot was the most plain Jane girl in the school, with frizzy blond hair that refused to follow orders, a plain, flat figure, and a face that always looked disappointed; she was a loner like Tallulah Mae, but she was sweet to Tallulah Mae and they had been friends since her daddy died and they moved to the Georgia side of the river. Sue Anne Martin was a cute little chubby girl with perfect auburn hair that she always had made up in ringlets. She was Grace's emotional opposite. While Grace often looked unhappy, Sue Anne was cheerful and sunny. Sue Anne was going to be a great mom someday, and she couldn't wait for that to happen. Of the entire population of the school, Grace and Sue Anne were the only students that would talk to her. Tallulah Mae never asked why; she just accepted their friendship warmly.

As she approached, Grace looked at Tallulah Mae with a skeptical eye. "Your costume--it's nice but..."

"This is Tattypoo, the sweet ol' witch of the north. She's kind, but frumpy. Oh, you wait, Grace. At eight o'clock I become Queen Orin of the Ozure Isles! See? A tug here and there, and this shawl becomes a royal gown!"

"Ain't that clever!" gushed Sue Anne Martin. But Grace Talbot wasn't impressed. She pulled Tallulah Mae close and whispered something awful to her.

"I heared that Billy Joe Slack and Nathan Forest have been talkin' behind yer back, sayin' some awful, mean things 'bout you. It would be best if you didn't..."

"Oh, pshaw! That's just a bunch of chatter, nothin' more. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words won't ever hurt me! Now, let's sashay on over to that cotillion and enjoy our last year of school together, sugar." And with a cheerful "Fiddle-dee-dee!" they climbed the stairs to the main entrance.

The three friends entered the Normal School and found that the gymnasium had been turned into a Halloween festival. Crepe paper streamers in orange and black streamed down the walls, hiding the cold bricks. Sheaths of corn, pumpkins, and colorful gourds filled the corners, and scarecrows, two dozen scarecrows lined the walls. There was a cowardly lion made from an old stuffed toy and a tin woodsman made from scrap steel and old boots. Each table had a Jack-o'-lantern; they were carved by the Drama Club so they had a smiling face on one side, and a frowning face on the other to represent the Greek muses Thalia and Melpomene, comedy and tragedy. Candles flickered in the Jack-o'-lanterns adding the scent of toasting pumpkin to the festivity.

A refreshment table was set up with drinks and cookies and candies of all types. "Let's go get a snack!" cried Sue Anne and she led Grace and Tallulah Mae to the refreshment stand. "Well now, we got us some punch, tea, cookies, boiled peanuts, and popcorn! Let's eat, girls!" As they selected their snacks, the food committee chair, Ruthanne Gravley, cleared her throat loudly. "Is there a problem, Ruthanne?"

Ruthanne smiled a sickening sweet smile and said, "These little treats here, they're only meant for white folks, honey child."

Grace leaned forward and hissed, "Well, bless your heart." Everyone knew that when a southern girl said, 'Bless your heart' with no modifiers, she's politely saying, "Fuck you."

"I'm sorry," said Ruthanne. "But niggers have to get their food somewhere else." She was staring directly at Tallulah Mae when she said that. "This is the law of this fair land; and should it not suit your sensibilities, you are at liberty to seek instruction from some institution of the Yankee persuasion..."

Just then, Mister Hanigan, the science teacher, stepped up and said, "Excuse me, Ruthanne, is there something troubling you, sweetheart?"

"No, Mister Hanigan. I was just conveying to these young ladies that these refreshments were intended solely for the white race."

Mister Hanigan looked at Tallulah Mae and said, "Miss Beauchamp, why don't you find yourself a spot and settle in for a right peaceful evenin'..."

"Well, I surely will, Mister Hanigan, just as soon as I can fetch my snack like all the other white students at this here white school I've been attending for the past three and a quarter years."

"Once we're certain you ain't a nigger, maybe we'll see fit to permit it. So kindly take a seat in the back and hush up, 'fore I'm obliged to ask you to leave."

Grace and Sue Anne were shocked, but Tallulah Mae just smiled and said "Well, bless your heart. When you look, you're gonna find I come from the finest white stock that Savannah, Georgia has ever produced. I come from generations of proud white folk who fought proudly alongside Bobby Lee--not some ol' Florida swamp trash who stood by and watched like cowards."

Mister Hanigan's eyes flared. Florida was not as active in participating in the War to End Northern Aggression as other states because it had the smallest population, and for that they had been called cowards and swamp trash ever since. Anger flared in Mister Hanigan and he growled, "You little nigger bitch..."

"Mister Hanigan, I'm obliged to tell you that what you just said is a sin unto the Lord. Didn't Saint Paul himself say, 'And hath He made of one blood all nations of men?' That surely tells us we are all related."

Hanigan raised his hand to hit the slender girl, but a hand grabbed his wrist. It was the principal, Doctor Fitzsimmons. "Hanigan, we simply cannot abide by a member of our faculty layin' his hands on our finest student."

Tallulah Mae heard what Doctor Fitzsimmons said and grinned. "Well, bless your heart! Just imagine that--a sweet little colored gal standin' up as your valedictorian! Sugar, you might wanna put a stop to all that hateful nonsense chatter 'fore it gets you in a heap of trouble." She leaned forward and grabbed a small paper sack of boiled peanuts and a cup of punch and with a cheerful "Fiddle-dee-dee!" she headed off toward the rear of the gymnasium.

"Tallulah Mae, what did you just say?" gasped Grace Talbot as she and Sue Anne followed. Sue Anne rightly surmised that they would not be welcome back at the snack table so she grabbed everything she could hold.

"I cannot endure the weight of false accusations. If they're fixin' to call me somethin' I ain't, it's my place to set 'em straight."

"Amen, sister!" laughed Sue Anne as she laid out the treats on the table they selected. Then she leaned over and whispered to Tallulah Mae, "Did you really kiss a nigger?"

"My next-door neighbor is Jimmy Washington; he's a sweet boy and a hell of a lot nicer than these poor, white trash swamp rats. Now, what does it matter if his skin's a shade darker? Why, he's my friend, and that's all that counts."

"But did you kiss him?" demanded Grace.

"We listen to the radio right there in my kitchen every Sunday evenin', with my mama settin' close by. Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen, and Charlie McCarthy. Sometimes our hands'll brush up against each other when we both reach for that popcorn at the same time. Satisfied?"

Finally, the Saint Felix Volunteer Fire Department Band took the stage. They were a fifteen-piece band that played more than just parades. Occasions like this brought in money, so they knew all the popular songs. They opened their set with the Tommy Dorsey hit "Music Maestro, Please," and many couples took to the floor to dance.

The band was a marching band at heart, but they shuffled their instruments around and instead of their fire department uniforms, they wore their Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes which made them look more like the swing bands that were popular with all the kids.

Sue Anne and Grace sat and watched the dancers as they moved to the rhythm of the band. They were sitting as far from the dance floor as they could, but the fellows who spent their time leaning against the wall were nowhere near them. The girls were being left alone. Nobody came up and asked any of the three girls to dance. Sue Anne and Grace were moving in their seats to the rhythm of the band and Tallulah Mae felt bad that she was the reason why nobody asked them to dance. She finished her paper cup of punch and said, "If y'all are lookin' to cut a rug, I reckon you oughta sashay on over by the band. Seems like the fellas are givin' us the slip 'cause I'm here."

"No, darlin', we came along with you," replied Grace.

"You want to dance, go dance, then come back and tell me about it."

"You sure?" asked Sue Anne.

"Go. Have fun."

Her two friends got up and moved closer to the dance floor, and soon they were dancing to Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing," with Alan Langley and Nowell Parsons.

Tallulah Mae watched her friends dance, just a little bit jealous, but soon it would be eight o'clock and the great costume judging event would occur. Her reverie was interrupted by Danny Ray Johnson who stood in front of her dressed as what she thought was a guard to the Emerald City. "Miss Tallulah Mae, would you care to dance?" He even bowed.

"I surely would." She started to rise, but then Danny Ray spat on her.

"Sorry, bitch, I don't dance with niggers." He walked away to a chorus of laughter from several boys who slapped him on the back.

"What do you expect?" came a remark from a girl's voice. Tallulah Mae looked and there was Jo Beth McCullagh, the #2 girl in line for valedictorian, her only academic competition. "When you spread your legs for niggers, they ain't a white boy in town gonna dance with you."

"I have NEVER!" But she didn't get to finish because Jo Beth poured a cup of rancid milk over her head.

"Just imagine this was from your nigger boy!" cried Jo Beth with an evil laugh.

"You... you..." Tallulah Mae sputtered, but suddenly she was being splattered by... cow shit. Several boys were flinging cow pies and shouting "WHORE! NIGGER LOVIN' WHORE!" They ruined her costume and began to aim for her face.

"No!" cried Tallulah Mae. "I never!" but the girls were screeching in laughter, while Grace and Sue Anne looked on in horror. "I'm a virgin!" she shrieked.

"Nigger fucker," shouted the boys, each time they threw a cow chip at her.

The scene attracted attention around the gymnasium and even the band noticed. One by one the band stopped playing until the conductor turned around and shouted "Hey, y'all just stop that!"

"Mind your own business, old man," shouted Billy Joe Slack. "Or are you a nigger lover too?"

The band members began to remark, "Aww, hell no, I ain't playin' for no hoodlums."

"These spoilt white kids give 'white trash' a bad name."

Remarks like that were heard throughout the band and one by one they packed up their instruments and left. "Hey, we paid you to play tonight!" shouted John Paterson, the class president but he was soon shouting at an empty stage..

Now the girls were spitting on Tallulah Mae until someone shouted "Strip her! Let's see what she gives them niggers!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" wept Tallulah Mae and she tried to leave, but her exit was blocked. She began shaking; she felt something welling up inside of her. "Don't," she wept softly as she fought against whatever was building up inside.

"I'm gonna love this," said Ruthanne Gravley and she grabbed Tallulah Mae's costume and ripped as Tallulah Mae screamed, "NOOOOO!" But Ruthanne Gravley merely tore off the outer layer of Tallulah Mae's Tattypoo costume. It revealed the costume underneath. Tallulah Mae was suddenly Queen Orin of the Ozure Isles, terrible in her anger and full of wrath.

"I SAID NO!" Her words echoed through the gymnasium. Her words had power and the foul mouthed brats of the St. Felix Normal School realized they had crossed a line that could not be uncrossed. One by one, the lids blew off the Jack-o'-lanterns and flames burst up from the pumpkins, rising five feet into the air. The students jumped back from the tables, unsure if this was a trick planned by the party committee, or if they were in danger.

Tallulah Mae seemed to glow. She was no longer the skinny, bookish student who was the butt of their jokes, she was now a powerful symbol of retribution. The students began to move toward the main exit but her majesty, Queen Orin, was blocking the main exit.

"STOP THEM!" shouted Queen Orin.

Suddenly the world went insane and the scarecrows that lined the walls revealed themselves as the Queen's Guard. With a booming shout from all the scarecrows, her scarecrow soldiers stepped forward from the walls and formed a phalanx in front of Tallulah Mae. The tin woodsman came forward to command the military action, causing the girls to scream in terror. The tin woodsman raised his axe and shouted, "PLATOON!"

"HOO!" shouted the scarecrows.

"FORWARD MARCH!" The tin woodsman carried his axe high as the scarecrows began to move toward the students. The students wanted to get out of the gym but they were focused on the main exit, and the scarecrows were blocking their path to Tallulah Mae and the exit.

"SEND THEM TO HELL!" screamed Queen Orin in the voice that shook the Ozure Isles. Suddenly all the decorations burst into flame. Bales of hay, sheaths of corn stalks, crepe paper streamers, clusters of autumn leaves, even the scarecrows flared up as the panicked students shrieked in terror. The main exit was blocked and the burning scarecrows were advancing on the students. The sound of shrieking, terrified students was soon drowned out by the roar and crackle of burning wooden folding chairs and tables.

"The firemen!" gasped Doctor Fitzsimmons and he turned to the stage, but the stage that was filled with firemen was now empty. "Extinguishers! Everyone grab an extinguisher!"

Smoke filled the school, and people screamed in terror as burning scarecrows advanced on them, driving them back away from their queen. A scarecrow threw a burning sheath of corn on the stage and soon the heavy curtains were in flames, adding to the conflagration. A group of girls who were tormenting Tallulah Mae stood huddled in the center of the gym, and through the flames they saw Queen Orin smile at them. With a bang the roof collapsed and a main sewage line from the second floor burst and emptied its foul contents on Jo Beth McCullagh, Ruthanne Gravley, Pearl Owen, Lena Siddall and several others that tortured Tallulah Mae over the years. The foul sewage reeked, but it saved the girls' lives. Soaked in urine and shit, they ran through the flames for the rear exits.

There was one fire extinguisher in the gymnasium; it was a vinegar and baking soda extinguisher. Pete Lamb pulled it off the wall, turned it upside down and for nearly thirty seconds it squirted a stream of vinegar, which wasn't nearly enough to put a dent in the inferno. Scarecrows picked up burning bales of hay and flaming sheaths of corn and began to throw them at the retreating students.

Finally, the students realized that there were rear exits and streamed out of the school, and as they did, the burning scarecrows began to carry burning hay bales throughout the building. Outside the terrified students watched as one window after another lit up in flames as the classrooms burst into flame one by one.

"Where's Tallulah Mae?" gasped Grace.

"I don't know... the scarecrows! She was behind them..." and little Sue Anne dropped to the ground weeping.

Tallulah Mae didn't remember leaving the school; she came to her right mind when she found herself running home. She remembered what her daddy told her, warning her to stay out of the rail yard, but in her madness she ran through the heart of the switching yard. Old number forty-four, an 0-6-0-yard goat, was an ancient locomotive that was dividing up a cut of cars. It would push a string of cars up to speed then, the brakeman would open the coupler and Old Number Forty-Four would stop, letting the uncoupled cars roll silently through the dark yard until they coupled onto the string of cars that sat on the classification track with a loud bang.

A single box car rolled silently through the yard, coming up behind the shocked teenager, threatening to crush the life out of her. Moments before it knocked her down and ran over her, Tallulah Mae heard the click-clack, click-clack of the wheels hitting rail joints. She realized the old wooden box car was inches from her back and she shrieked. "NO!"

With a loud, wooden, "BOOM!" the car stopped so fast the cargo inside shifted and slammed into the forward bulkhead end of the boxcar. The stop was so sudden that the rear of the box car lifted up off the wheelset then slammed back down. However the wheelset had rolled forward so when the rear of the car slammed back down, it slipped off the wheels and the back end of the boxcar came to a rest angled across two tracks. They were going to have to break out the huge wreck crane to fix that, something her daddy said was time consuming and horribly expensive.

Tallulah Mae looked in shock at the damaged car and realized she was in deeper trouble than she could imagine, and began to run. She just wanted to go home. Mom could make everything all right. Jimmy would say the right thing to make her feel better. If she ran across the railroad bridge she would be home quicker than if she took the street bridge.

A slow westbound freight was crossing the St. Mary's River, through the Georgia side of Saint Felix. The SG&F railroad tracks crossed the St. Mary's River then went straight through the great Okefenokee Swamp via a series of trestles, bridges, and viaducts, and then on to Valdosta, Georgia.

Eyes filled with tears, she made her way across the bridge, inches from falling into the river on her right, inches from hitting a moving train on her left. Her steps had to be perfect because of the open space between the ties. As she made her way across the river, sobbing harder with each step, an empty box car rolled past her and a hand reached out from the darkness inside the car and grabbed her long flowing locks.

"Ah got her, Lucius!" roared a whisky-soaked voice. "Git her arm!"

Tallulah Mae clutched the wrist of the hand that grabbed her hair, but another pair of hands grabbed her wrist, and she found herself hoisted into the empty box car. Then she heard another voice in her ear. "Sho is a nice one you found, Chester."

"No!" gasped Tallulah Mae. She fought and struggled against the filthy men. These weren't hobos, migrant workers that were riding the rails all over the United States; these were tramps, human filth using the depression as an excuse to ride the rails. Her daddy hated tramps, he called them "flea infested crime sprees." She struggled with Lucius and Chester, and from the laughter in the dark recesses of the car, she could tell that there were more.

These men were filthy, they stank, and she fought to get free. As for the bum that still held Tallulah Mae's hair, he realized she was no longer afraid, she was hornet's-nest angry. The more they pinched and grabbed at her body, the angrier she became.

"Aw, this one ain't got no titties," complained Lucius.

Who cares? Just as long as she's got a twat, we can use it," said a third voice which brought laughter from at least three more tramps.

For some reason it never occurred to Tallulah Mae what these two ruffians were after. She had all of thirty-five cents on her, and they could have it if they needed it that badly. But now the reality of what they wanted struck. "NO!" she shrieked and there was a blast of thunder, and the top and sides of the boxcar were blown off the car. Pieces of shattered lumber fell like snowflakes and Tallulah Mae's ears rang from the noise.

She never asked herself, "Did I do that?" After what happened at the school and in the rail yard, she knew she had done it. Lucius, Chester and their companions were all gone and the train was starting to pull across the Old Dixie Trestle. From the banging of the cars ahead of her, she could tell the locomotive had gone into emergency and locked up its brakes and the cars were slamming together one by one. She had to get off the remains of the box car.

The moon was starting to rise and in the moonlight she saw that there was water ten feet below. They used to jump off this trestle in the sweltering summer afternoons until the railroad dicks came and ended the fun. She took a deep breath and stepped off into space. She didn't even look; she felt that dizzying weightlessness and the wind rushing past her ears until the swamp water rose up and hit her like a hammer.

She sank like a rock under the black water until her slipper-shod feet touched something. Was it a tree trunk? No... it moved! It could only be a huge gator lurking in the depths for drowsy catfish or maybe a snapping turtle. Pushing off, she fought for the surface, her fancy gown weighing her down. She had to fight for every inch closer to the surface. She could see the moonlight trying to make its way through the black water, then finally her head broke through and she took a huge gasping breath.

She looked around for the trestle; she knew how to climb out of the swamp if she could get to the right trestle bent, the vertical trestle legs that hold the tracks. She could cling to the bent until the train moved on and she could get up to track level and... Her thought process was interrupted by something hitting her in the back of the head. Was it that old gator getting ready for a late night snack?

Terrified, she turned, still struggling to keep from being drawn under by her heavy, wet costume. She turned and saw an oar blade pointing at her nose. The oar was being held by an ancient black woman in a decrepit wooden rowboat. The old woman glared at Tallulah Mae and in a voice that was as rickety as the old boat she sat in, asked, "Are you a good witch? Or a bad witch?"

A million things popped up in Tallulah Mae's mind, the primary thought was "I just want to go home!"

The old woman looked at Tallulah Mae for a long time, then finally said, "Grab that oar girl, and git yo-self on this here boat, hear?"

Weeping, Tallulah Mae pulled herself to the boat and with surprising strength, the frail-looking woman hoisted the shattered teenager into the boat. Once Tallulah Mae was in the boat, the old black woman began to row through the black water of the swamp that was filled with debris from the box car that burst apart. In the distance she could hear the crew from the train cursing and swearing, blaming the destruction on tramps and hobos. She began to shiver and whispered, "I'm a monster."

The black woman looked at her as she rowed and said, "Listen here, sweetheart--you ain't no monster, no ma'am. You're a witch, and we gon' figure out just what kinda witch you are, right now, with me holdin' your hand through it."

The images of everything that happened raced through Tallulah Mae's mind. "Everything... the fire, the scarecrows, the hobos... I did it!"

"Oh, honey, that's exactly how it is when your inner self breaks loose the first time. You've got to learn control, you know, just like back in my day--though, my goodness, I do recall a time or two I had to remind myself of that very lesson. First, we need to know what kind of witch you are. That's the question, isn't it--whether you're a good witch or a bad witch, dear. Back in my day, we'd take a long look in the mirror and ask ourselves just that, and honey, the answer always came out in the sparkle of your deeds. So tell me, sugar, which do you aim to be?"

"I just want to go home," whispered Tallulah Mae and she slipped into unconsciousness.

On Halloween, Jimmy rowed out to see if the local swamp witch, Grandma Noah, knew anything about Tallulah Mae or anything about what happened at Normal School. Grandma Noah lived out on a teardrop-shaped island in the swamp. Her tiny shack was at the point of the island and when the water level was high, her front porch was her landing dock. Behind the shed there was a highly productive little farm where Jimmy helped with plowing every spring at the large end of the island. There was a large shed where Becky, the mule stayed. It had a roof and a wall on the west side protecting it from the winds. There was also a fresh water well pump, a tool shed, a hog shed and pen, and a hen house where chickens roamed free all over the island.

"Well darn, I don' know Miss Beauchamp," said Jimmy softly. "Grandma Noah's got eyes on ever' thang happenin' 'round these parts, sure as shootin'... she may know about Lula."

Sarah Beth sat in the rowboat and shivered. Another loss... she couldn't take it anymore. First her Gregory killed in the rail yard, then her daughter burned alive in the school fire. She nodded dumbly and softly said, "I know swamp witches. My granny..." then she went silent.

They tied up at the point of the island and walked up to the front porch where an incredibly ancient colored woman sat in her rocking chair puffing on a bone pipe and knitting. She didn't look up from the shawl she was knitting and asked, "What is it, Jimmy?"

"Grandma Noah, we done come to ask 'bout Tallulah Mae..."

"Of course, dear," and Grandma Noah put down her knitting then slowly got to her feet. " Well, my dear, come along with me-- just you, Sarah Beth, come along."

She chattered all the way into the shack, through the kitchen that looked antebellum, to the back room where Tallulah Mae lay sleeping on a tiny cot. Her beautiful gown was hung up, and it looked like it was cleaned and pressed. She was under an old quilt and sleeping deeply. Sarah Beth gasped, her baby was alive! Days of sorrow and emotional numbness ended. But before she could cry out with relief and joy, Grandma Noah pressed a finger to her lips.

"Tallulah Mae will be just as right as rain the moment she gets her some proper rest--and oh, yes, she'll learn to keep ahold of herself, that poor, precious, confused little thing."

Sara Beth Beauchamp looked sadly at Tallulah Mae and said in a hoarse whisper, "Her granny's a witch--she likely don't recollect it, seein' as how she's only been up there once before my sweet Gregory passed on."

"Granny Pritchard who lives on up yonder in the Old Walthour Swamp?"

Sarah Beth nodded as she knelt next to her sleeping daughter and touched her cheek. "Granny Pritchard was my daddy's ma."

The ancient black woman said, "It skips a generation, darlin'. But Tallulah Mae's children? There won't be none. I'm sorry, darlin'."

"I know... that's just what Granny Pritchard done told me," said Sarah Beth with a hitch in her voice as they stepped on the porch.

"Will she be okay?" asked Jimmy, who anxiously waited.

"Oh, sweetheart... Tallulah Mae is gone dear," said Grandma with an odd power to her voice. "She ain't ever gonna be seen in these parts again." Jimmy looked shattered and Sarah Beth didn't hear what Grandma told him at all. "Yer still gonna plow for me this spring, ain't ya? Y'all just come to me when the need is real, and not when your mind goes a-wandering for an excuse. And Sarah Beth, sweet child, I do believe it might be high time for you to mosey on back to family in Savannah. Go talk to Granny Pritchard, she'll ease your heartache. If anything should get tangled up down here with Tallulah Mae, Granny Pritchard will let you know. You can bet your bottom dollar on that."

"Can I go home, Miss Noah?" asked Tallulah Mae when she woke.

"I prefer Grandma Noah," said the old crone, but her voice seemed deeper than what Tallulah Mae remembered. "You ain't near old enough to address me like that."

"What? I don't understand."

"As your maternal grandmother Granny Pritchard can tell you, a proper witch can appear to look like anything she needs to look like. Grandma Noah has been living on this island since before Juan Ponce de Leon showed up on Florida's shores."

"Does that mean you're an injun?" gasped Tallulah Mae.

"No, but this ol' boy was..." and suddenly the old woman that was standing in the bedroom doorway was a middle-aged Indian, a red man to Tallulah Mae who had seen far too many Saturday afternoon matinees at the St. Felix Regal Theater. He looked like he was in his sixties and stood a little shorter than Tallulah Mae. He wore a simple leather loincloth and had a pelt decorated with beads and shells over his arm. He wore a headband that was decorated with feathers and his face had horizontal red lines on his cheeks. He started talking and what came out of his mouth was gibberish to Talullah Mae, but somehow she understood what he was saying.

He introduced himself as the medicine man for a large Oconi Indian tribe and was their spiritual leader and protector of the "land of changing shores" (Tallulah Mae guessed that was what they called the swamp). He said the swamp was a spiritual haven for the lost, and a land of subsistence for all. He called it oki fanôːki, meaning "Bubbling Water" and he told of how his tribesmen were skilled canoe builders and sailors navigating the canals of the Okefenokee. He said he became a medicine man to share the wetland, heal the broken of body and of heart, and to preserve the ancient magic.

And then she was Grandma Noah again. "I know you didn't ask for this honey child, but you don't choose to become a witch. You're either born with it, or you're not. And when you're a witch, some of us spend our days in a swamp."

"I'm a witch?" That thought was inconceivable to Tallulah Mae.

"You're quite powerful, and it's up to me to train you."

"Train me? Why?" The last thing that Tallulah Mae remembered was meeting Grace and Sue Anne and walking into the school.

"When your witchcraft matured, it was at a bad time for you and it got out of control," said Grandma Noah. She looked in the confused girl's eyes, and bit by bit, the events of that evening came back to Tallulah Mae. The anger, the flames, then running away... "This is your home now, and when I'm gone, it will be up to you to keep an eye on the Okefenokee and the folk that live here."

"I'm so ashamed--I want to just..." What Grandma Noah said suddenly sank in. "This is my home? But I'm a killer! They'll come a-huntin' for me. I put you in danger!"

"Darlin', it's the swamp what picks you, an' I guess the Okefenokee liked your style. Nothin' got hurt when you let go except that ol' ugly buildin' what shoulda come down years ago. Everyone got out safe; your scarecrow army made sure of that, chasin' them all out the rear exits and not out the front door, which was too narrow to handle the crowd. And they all feel guilty for actin' the way they did. Lan sakes! The good lord knows they'll be treating people with more respect from now on."

"So what do I do? Is there a school for me?"

"Yes ma'am, and you're in that school right now. If you're a good witch, you learn to control those powers that come welling up."

"And what if I'm a bad witch?" asked Tallulah Mae. She wished she hadn't asked that, because a sudden image came to her mind: a huge gator latched onto someone, and he began his "death roll," which ensured Ol' Man Gator that his lunch won't fight back for long. "Is that for true?"

"You know what happened at that schoolhouse," said Grandma Noah coldly. "Do you think I would allow someone who can do that to roam loose without any training? They'll be burning witches at the stake again in no time flat, missy."

"You're right," Tallulah Mae looked at her hands and sighed. Her life was inexorably changed. "I guess I truly am a good witch, or, at least, I want to be a good witch."

"That, my darling student, is the right answer. Let's git to workin'!"

The winter had been cool and refreshing, and Tallulah Mae learned numerous things, like how to make a birdhouse out of a dried-out gourd to attract purple martins. She and Grandma Noah collected wooden scraps from the boxcar that exploded under mysterious circumstances, (probably some ol' drunk hobos playin' with a stick o' dynamite), and Tallulah Mae learned how to build bat boxes from those scraps to attract tiny evening bats. She learned to keep the mule shed clean to attract barn swallows. Between the purple martins, the evening bats, and the barn swallows, mosquitoes found living was easier elsewhere, and Grandma Noah's island was free from those pests.

During the winter months when the water level was low, Tallulah Mae led Becky through shallow water to another island where they could make it to shore and go into the edge of St. Felix where a grateful farrier, Douglass Willis, was waiting to reshoe the sweet mule. Before Tallulah Mae left the island, Grandma Noah said to her, "Now honey chil', Mister Douglass's eyes might be going, so he may think you look like me. Let's fool him if we can. You just carry on like you was me and we'll let Mister Douglass think he did Grandma Noah a favor."

"Yes 'm," and it worked. Tallulah Mae talked just like Grandma Noah did about last year's corn, how the turtles spent the winter underwater, and how the cornbread was much better back in her day.

"Ain't that right, Miss Noah," said Mister Willis as he formed a shoe to fit Becky's hoof. "Seems like girls today don't know or don't want to know how to make a proper johnny cake."

"Far too much sugar," said Tallulah Mae nodding sadly. "They want to make everything too sweet." Actually Tallulah Mae was quite energetic when it came to adding sugar to her johnny cakes, but somehow she knew that's what Grandma Noah would say. As she sat waiting for Becky's new shoes, she happened to look at her hands and gasped. Those weren't her hands! They were old and tired hands, barely skin and bone, hands that worked hard for many, many decades. And the skin--it was dark brown, not the fair white that she had seen at the end of her arms all her life.

Douglass heard the gasp and said, "Something wrong, Miss Noah?"

"I just seen somethin' that purely caught me off guard... lan sakes alive, an old swamp witch like me, jumpin' like a scaredy-cat over a teeny-tiny little mouse. Mercy me, what in tarnation will folks say about that?"

"They'll say you ain't but a person like ever' one else. Here's Becky in her shiny new shoes; can I hep y'all with anything else?"

"No, and thank you kindly Mister Douglass..." She slipped a few coins into the farrier's hand.

"Aw now, Miss Noah. You know ain't no money needed between us."

"That's not for you, Douglass Willis. You take that, and get your great-granddaughter a right pretty li'l dress to wear for her first days in the Lord's sight."

"My Junebug still hasn't had the baby yet... you sayin' it's gonna be a girl?" Tallulah Mae nodded and the excited expectant great-grandfather gushed, "Can we name her after you?"

" Oh no, sugar, you best not--folks 'round here wouldn't take too kindly to that."

"Why not? What's your real name?"

"Tallulah, see what I mean?"

"I rightly do. Thank you agin', Miss Noah."

As always, when spring approached, Jimmy Washington returned to help with chores on the island. There was plowing and planting and firewood to cut. He brought a couple of gourds that had dried out so Grandma Noah could make more houses for purple martins. "Jimmy, I'd be just tickled pink fer ya to meet my niece, Hattie McFee. Hattie, sweet pea, come say howdy to Mister Washington."

They nervously shook hands, and instinctively Tallulah Mae looked at her hands and saw that her skin was the same color as Jimmy's hand, coffee brown. It was clear to Tallulah Mae that Grandma Noah had cast another spell. Nervously, "Hattie" said "S'cuse me," and fled into the shack. She took a look in the hand mirror that Grandma Noah hung on a hook and gasped. She saw a cute teenage girl peering out of the mirror at her, except this girl was colored, and she had breasts. Tallulah Mae tried to override Grandma Noah's spell to let Jimmy see her as she was, but the old girl was too wise and the illusion of Hattie McFee remained.

"Girl, don't," said Grandma Noah from the cabin door. "Oh, bless his aching heart, he ain't ready for that just yet. He's still grievin' over Tallulah Mae Beauchamp, poor thing. Let Hattie McFee sweeten his days. A new life needs a new name, and you'll be Hattie until he comes 'round to seein' that you're Tallulah Mae on his own. When that happens... you'll know what to do, and that's just how it's meant to be. Until that day, you will be Hattie McFee." The words 'on his own' had an ominous echo, and Hattie/Tallulah Mae was sure it would never happen.

"But Grandma, I miss him so much!" moaned Hattie as she studied her new self in the mirror... she spent much of her time investigating her breasts. They were large and heavy, and filled her delicate hands to overflowing.

"An' he sure does miss you somethin' fierce. Now, you can start all over again from the very beginnin'. Sugar, you can even hold hands at the Five and Dime, right there in public! You young'uns can go on and do whatever your hearts are set on, but if you tie the knot with him, there ain't gonna be any chir'un."

"No babies? Why not?"

"That there's for other witches, the ones what ain't hitched to a swamp like us."

"But my grandma!" gasped Tallulah Mae. "She's a swamp witch like you an' me!"

"She done had her babies before the swamp came a-callin' for her. I was the same age as you when the Okefenokee came for me, so I had no young'uns neither."

"But... no babies?" cried Hattie/Tallulah Mae.

Grandma Noah captured Hattie in her gaze and scolded her softly. "Young lady, you can burn a whole schoolhouse right down to ashes because of a callous word. When that labor pain hits you, Lord have mercy, it'll knock the breath right outta ya. Then what happens? You can flatten all of Saint Felix an' what will stop you? The Good Lord made us just the way we are, and He set down rules we gotta follow. It feels cruel and heartless, but it's for the best."

Tallulah Mae hadn't thought of that and she realized from the deliveries she'd seen that the mother can be seriously vexed. Grandma Noah was right; she was a danger when upset. It would be best to stay on her quiet little island and tend to her garden. But now Jimmy must think she's a fool--she ran off and left him standing outside confused. Hattie McFee stepped outside to face the handsome teen, ready to start their relationship over from the start. She walked up to Jimmy and said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't expect you to be so fine lookin' and I didn't even brush my hair."

"Me? Fine?" He looked at her and said, "I feel that there's other reasons."

Hattie smiled. Her Jimmy always knew what was going on in her mind. There's only one way to get him to change the subject, and that was to embarrass him. She leaned in close and whispered, "There's some woman things involved, I'm sure you'd be happy not to know."

As expected, Jimmy quickly changed the subject. "Are we ready to start plowing?"

"Show me how," said Hattie, with a coy smile.

Jimmy showed her how he prepared Becky with her tack and hitched up the plow; then he showed Hattie how to guide him and make sure his furrows were straight. He went on to explain that the soil on the island was rich from centuries of tree leaves falling into the swamp, turning the water black with rich nutrients. During the spring, Jimmy watered the garden with rich swap water, fertilizing the young plants. Then came the summer rains, washing the crops clean. "Then what?" asked Hattie.

"Then we can the veggies. I've been helping Grandma Noah for years. She'd say, 'Don't you go telling that Tallulah Mae, she'll think you're my boyfriend.' I never told her..."

Hattie turned quickly so he couldn't see her tears. That sweet boy was helping an ancient woman, and he kept it secret from her. Those must have been the days that Tallulah Mae couldn't find Jimmy and his mother Althea just said, "He's got work to do." He was probably on the island.

Hattie and Jimmy worked together to prepare the garden, then, when the soil was ready, came the planting. Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, okra, radishes, carrots. While waiting for that bounty to spring up, the island produced more: apples, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, plums, rhubarb, asparagus, sweet potatoes, yams.

When she first saw the island, Tallulah Mae thought all those bushes on the perimeter of the island were for privacy. Hattie discovered they were all perennial fruit-bearing plants. Every tree on the island had a job; there was no such thing as a shade tree. Jimmy showed Hattie how to prune the trees. "The apple is the worst. If you don't prune him, his fruit gets small and bitter."

"Not nice like the talking apple trees of Quadling Country?" asked Hattie.

"Huh?"

"In the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and Scarecrow stop to talk to some friendly apple trees and..." But Jimmy was looking at her strangely. "What?"

He looked like he was going to cry. "My friend Tallulah Mae loved that book. She'd try to get me to read it all the time." He was having a tough time of it. His chin quivered, his eyes teared up. He was working hard to hold the sorrow in check. Hattie was shocked. He clearly was in love with Tallulah Mae and still mourning her death.

"I do declare, Jimmy Washington! There ain't just one girl that loves that book! You fetch me a copy right quick and we'll sit on Grandma Noah's porch and read it end to end!"

"Yes 'um..."

The question "What are we going to eat?" soon became "What are we going to do with all this food?" The fruit trees were soon full to bursting and the lemons were nearly as big as the oranges, tart and delicious. Grandma Noah made the very best lemonade Hattie ever tasted. The berries were perfection--what berries the birds shared with Hattie and Grandma Noah. Grandma had no problem with the birds filling up on the early berries. "They can't eat the entire bush full of fruit, and neither can we."

Hattie and Jimmy were seen picking berries and talking softly, then on hands and knees picking the wild strawberries... always together. Every evening, they could be seen sitting on the front porch overlooking the swamp as it settled down for the night. While the swallows and bats dove and swooped, feasting on mosquitos, Hattie and Jimmy read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. As they read, both were lost in memories of days gone by.

After long days and evenings of canning and preparing jellies, jams, and preserves, Tallulah Mae would be seen rowing into town in Grandma Noah's rickety old Jon boat with baskets of fruit, vegetables, eggs, and little jars of jellies, jams, preserves, and pickled eggs that she carried over to Grover's General Store.

"So how much do you want for all of this?" asked Mister Duchene, proprietor of the store.

"Flour, sugar, salt, lamp oil, matches, pack of needles, spool of ribbon, and a tin of Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco."

"Anything else? Maybe some soap?" said Duchene. He knew he was going to make a tidy profit no matter what Grandma Noah's new assistant asked for. He just had to advertise the jams and jellies as "Colored Made in the Okefenokee" and the local folks would scoop them up no matter what he charged. If they didn't sell, he'd take them to his partner on the Florida side where they'd sell like hotcakes.

"We just made some soap. I'm-a gonna cut a few bars, wrap them in wax paper, and bring them in next time. I added pumice for scrubbing, lanolin from our sheep, and rose hips to smell nice. Interested?"

Mister Duchene chuckled. Grandma Noah found herself a pip this time. The ancient black man who looked easily as old as Grandma Noah said, "Of course, I'm interested in anything that comes out of Grandma Noah's cottage."

"I'll bring half a dozen bars next time, and I should have some more jelly."

"I can't wait. So I still owe you a dollar twenty-five..." he stopped when Hattie showed him the little notebook she carried. "Pardon, my mistake," said Mister Duchene. "Two dollars and twenty-five cents."

"Can I get the twenty five cents in nickels."

"Yes you can."

On the way back to her boat, she stopped at Coleburn's 5 & 10 where Jimmy was dusting the merchandise. "Come join me for a Coca-Cola, Jimmy Washington," and for the first time Tallulah Mae/Hattie sat at the counter.

"Pardon, miss, do I know you? You sound familiar."

"I just sound like folks. I'm new in the area, my daddy's dead and my momma... I think she ran off up Savannah way." Everything Hattie/Tallulah Mae said was true, but the story applied to a skinny white girl and not a shapely black girl. "Two Coca-Colas, please, and I promise I'll only keep Jimmy to myself until his break is over." She placed two shiny nickels on the countertop.

"Are you Hattie?" asked Mister Coleburn as Jimmy sat down next to her. When she nodded, he smiled. "Jimmy was talking about you this morning." He set the fizzy drinks in front of them and then gave Hattie a smile she recognized. "I put an extra dab of sweetness in for you, Miss Hattie."

"Oh thank you Mister Coleburn!" Now Hattie was wondering if he did that for all girls, or at least said that to all the girls. He said it to Tallulah Mae every time he got her nickel. Her heart was hammering away at a mile a minute because it was so different to sit at the counter, side by side with Jimmy. Nobody was glaring at them, and they could talk together without attracting attention. Jimmy always looked so nervous when Tallulah Mae was standing next to him; now he looks relaxed, although a bit sad. Hattie's hand covered his dark hand and she said, "Mister Coleburn, Jimmy has been so helpful to me, helping me learn my new home, and being so kind. Thank you for letting me reward him some."

"You a far sight better than his last girl," said Mister Coleburn.

"Oh?"

"Sweet girl, smart as a whip, but snow white from head to toe. She'd come in here and try to fit in, but white folk like that don't belong in here. Y'all know that. We'd humor her but..." Whatever he said next was drowned out by words of agreement from the other patrons. The words "skinny," "titless," and "dumb white bitch," filled the air.

Hattie looked at the men at the other end of the lunch counter in shock. She thought they were friends, she thought they understood. She turned to Jimmy and he didn't say a word in Tallulah Mae's defense. Hattie was overwhelmed with a feeling of misery; she didn't realize she was hated that much.

"Thank you for your time, Mister Coleburn," and she hopped off her stool and she fled.

"What's bothering her?" asked Jimmy.

"Son, if you can figure that out, please let the rest of us know," said a large man at the end of the counter, laughing.

"You better go find her," said Mister Coleburn.

Jimmy found her at the nearest edge of the swamp trying to load her packages in her boat. She saw him coming and grabbed an oar out of the boat and pointed it at him threateningly. "You stay back from me Jimmy Washington... you're just as ornery as the rest of 'em." She gestured to the bridge over the Saint Mary's River. "She purely just wanted to be your friend, and y'all talk like that after she's gone? She just wanted to be friends, and you spit on her grave. You just let me be." There was a threatening echo to her voice which terrified Jimmy. Keeping her angry eyes locked on Jimmy, she climbed in the boat, and set the oars.

"Hattie! Please, that weren't me."

"You have a funny way of showing it, Jimmy Washington." She pulled at the oars and was soon yards away from the shore. "Y'all just have friends with your buddies at Coleburns. He hated Tallulah too. You should find good company there." Hattie's heart was breaking; she truly realized she had nowhere to live now. They hated her on both sides of the damn river; no wonder Grandma lives alone. Hattie just wanted to get back to the little island where she could be alone with Grandma Noah and her chickens.

Jimmy saw a familiar fire in Hattie's eyes. It reminded him of Tallulah. "Lula?" he called out sadly.

"She's dead!" screeched Hattie as she leaned to the oars and disappeared around a bend in the canal and into the swamp.

Hattie studied herself in the hand mirror that Grandma had hanging from a nail. Her breasts were round and full, something that Tallulah Mae prayed for. Now they're here, and there's no one to share them with. No man to squeeze them and love them, and there will never be a baby to suckle at them.

She finished washing and was almost dressed when she heard Jimmy outside. "Good morning Grandma, is Hattie about?"

Grandma Noah was on the front porch puffing on her old bone pipe filled with a bowl of Sir Walter Raliegh. It was a gift from Hattie that she loved and enjoyed once or twice a week. "She's inside washing. I must warn you Jimmy Washington, she ain't had a word to say to nobody for days now. That's sure sign a storm is risin'."

Hattie heard a tap at the screen door and Jimmy calling, "Hattie? I'm a-comin' in!" She tugged her dress into place and crouched down in a corner and kept quiet. "Hattie? Come on now, I just wanna have a little chat with ya."

Jimmy entered the three room cabin. It had a main room that was mainly the kitchen, and two small rooms, one was Granny's bedroom and the other was a closet/pantry where Hattie had a cot. He looked around and she wasn't there. "I ain't seen hide nor hair of her, Granny," said Jimmy as he stepped back out on the porch.

"If she don't wanna be seen, you ain't gonna lay eyes on her, Jimmy."

"Danged if I know what went wrong. She bought me a Coke at the soda fountain, the guys were a'talkin, then she got all riled up and stomped off madder than a wet hen."

"Now, sugar, what in the world were y'all jawin' about?"

"Aw heck, just the usual. Then Mister Coleburn went and brought up Tallulah Mae, an' she done took off like a scalded dog."

"What did they say about Tallulah Mae?"

"Well, what they always say 'bout that white gal... she just don't know her place. Shoulda stayed on the Florida side where she belonged."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Well, sugar, do you reckon Hattie got her dander up 'cause you didn't stand up for somebody you hold dear?"

"Never did tell her 'bout how I felt for Tallulah Mae."

"You don't have to. The way you speak about Tallulah Mae to me and to her, why, she can see right through to the love you held for that girl. But what's gonna happen if those no-account troublemakers start runnin' their mouths about Hattie, sugar?"

"That ain't the same thing a'tall," insisted Jimmy.

"How's that any different? Just 'cause Tallulah Mae's skin's white as a Sweetbay Magnolia blossom? You fixin' to let them ol' drifter bums tromp all over her sweet memory, just 'cause she was white?"

"Well... no."

"Well now, sweetheart, Tallulah was your dearest friend through thick and thin, and you just let 'em drag her good name through the mud, no matter the shade of her skin. What's gonna happen to sweet Hattie if they up and decide she's too dark or her bosom's a bit too full? You fixin' to let 'em talk that way 'bout her too?"

"NO! It's not like that! It was Mister Coleburn! He's my boss!"

"That don't make a lick of difference, Jimmy."

"That ain't how it is at all! It was Mister Coleburn and them boys was talking trash! Why, I surely can't be tellin' my own boss to hush up--he'd have me out the door quicker than a cat can lick its ass!"

"Now, sugar, you reckon that broom of yours means more to you than Tallulah ever did? Is a quarter an hour worth stompin' all over her sweet memory? These are the things a woman mulls over when she starts feelin' that way 'bout a man. Hattie, she don't give two hoots 'bout Tallulah's skin color--no, ma'am, she looks straight into your heart. You're a man, and your duty is to stand tall for your lady. And if you lose your job standin' up for a friend, why, you just go find yourself another job, with a proud woman right there by your side."

"Well, what am I s'posed to do now?" groaned Jimmy.

"To start, you get down on your knees..."

"And beg? I can't even find her!"

"You just let me finish talkin' Jimmy Washington, hear?" She handed Jimmy a bowl and said, "Now you get on down on your knees and pick me every last one of them wild strawberries on the north side of the island, and don't you let them robins beat you to 'em. Then you go and cut me a dozen of them tender rhubarb shoots. I'll go pick the finest garden raised strawberries while you're busy. Hurry now! Hattie's got pies to bake, and we ain't got a minute to waste."

The wild strawberries were small but packed full of flavor. Hattie mixed those with large, sweet, garden raised strawberries, along with finely chopped tart rhubarb. They made a perfect combination. Then she mixed sugar and corn starch together, sprinkled that on the strawberries and rhubarb, stirred it up in a bowl and set it aside. Then she went to work on her pie crust. When the bottom crusts were ready and in the pie pans, Hattie transferred the fruit to the pie pans with a slotted spoon, leaving her with a third cup of juice in the bottom of the bowl. She put a pot on the stove and poured the juice in the pot, then added the juice of a squeezed orange and some lemon juice and reduced the mixture. When it was thick, she poured it over the fruit in the pie pans. "There's still corn starch in this juice, we need that to keep the pie filling from being runny when you slice it."

Grandma Noah watched her apprentice in awe. That girl could cook! She's going to make someone a very happy man someday. She watched in awe as Hattie made a lattice pie top and washed it with egg yolk and sprinkled sugar on it, then slid the pies into the oven.

"I had me a little chat with that fine young man of yours..." started Grandma as they sat on the porch watching the fireflies dance over the swamp.

"I know, I was sitting right there in that corner listening."

"He said he didn't lay eyes on you, sugar."

"He did, but all he saw was an old crate full of dishes."

Grandma Noah smiled. It didn't take Tallulah Mae long to master that trick. "Well, sugar, you shore handled all that bad-mouthin' from them good-for-nothin' fellers mighty fine. Why, sweet Tallulah Mae woulda knocked Coleburn's Five and Ten plum flat six months ago."

"I can't do Tallulah Mae anymore. I think I'm stuck as Hattie," said Hattie softly.

"We all find a shape that fits us comfortable," said Grandma Noah. "Maybe you were always meant to be Hattie McFee.

The next day at the county fair, Hattie McFee was presented with the blue ribbon for her strawberry rhubarb pie in front of hundreds of folks, mostly white. The Crawford County fair wasn't as uppity as the Norris County fair on the Florida side of the river, allowing white and colored folk to compete for the same ribbon.

When an apologetic Jimmy came to congratulate Hattie on her victory, she glared at Jimmy up and down then finally said, "I roasted me some chicory last night, and ground it up too. Why don't you mosey on over for a cup and a slice of that pie you helped me make to win the blue ribbon."

"Yes, ma'am," said Jimmy with a slight nervous bow.

Happy with his respect, Hattie smiled. "Yer learning."

Summer was hot and sweltering. Much of the farm work was done in the early morning and in the early evening. Hattie and Jimmy spent the rest of the day in the shade of the porch working on Jimmy's book learnin', and sometimes swimming in the river. They were making a good living with their tiny farm. The corn grew so big and so fast that an ear was a meal to itself. Hattie took a dozen ears into Grover's General Store and sold them to Mister Duchene for the unheard-of price of a half dollar cash money. "I don't know how you and Grandma Noah make such excellent crops on that tiny farm of yours Hattie," said Al Duchene. He had been the proprietor since Grover Woodbury died nearly thirty years ago.

"As Grandma says, it just takes love, and to water your crops with your own sweat."

"Now that Grandma of yours, she was a right smart woman, I tell ya. Did you ever go and hire that Jimmy Washington fella, ta hep out on the farm?"

"He's a part-timer down at our farm, suh. If you're needin' him and don't mind payin' in cash money, we can surely let him loose for ya."

"I could use a fellow to help stock shelves a few hours a day. We're willing to pay up to twenty five cents an hour."

Hattie smiled. " He's right stout and works real hard, and come next month, that minimum wage will be climbin' up to thirty cents an hour. Might as well get ahead of the game."

Al Duchene swore at FDR under his breath then said, "'round these parts we pay a quarter an hour for an honest, hard-workin' pair of hands."

Hattie put on an innocent face and said, "Well now, that's just the price you pay for a good, honest pair of hands that never learned their letters. But my Jimmy, he can read just as fine as can be, and he sure don't need nobody lookin' over his shoulder all the livelong day."

"He can read?"

"He can read just as fine as your Sunday preacher. Why, at breakfast prayers, he read to Grandma and me outta the good book--Paul's letter to them Colossians, chapter four... Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven."

Mrs. Jackson, who was listening to the entire conversation, whooped in laughter. "She done got you there, Al Duchene."

"Thirty-five cents an hour, if'n he can cipher this here list," and he handed Hattie a clipboard.

"Jimmy darlin!" called Hattie to Jimmy, who was out on the sidewalk. "Come read this list for Mister Duchene."

Jimmy entered the store nervously, wondering what Hattie was up to now. He took the clipboard and began to read the hand scrawled list. "Yes-um... Heinz baked beans, Green Giant peas, Green Giant corn, Campbells condensed chicken noodle soup, Van Camp's tomato sauce... there's no E in tomato Mister Duchene, Sweet Sue canned whole chicken... whole is spelled with a W, otherwise it's like a hole in the floor, Conagra canned..."

"Thirty-five cents," snapped Al.

Life became a little more comfortable with Jimmy bringing in money. They got a second planting on root vegetables which came along fine. At night they would sit at the kitchen table and play cards or checkers while listening to the radio. Jimmy never asked how Grandma Noah's radio worked without electricity, but it did. On Tuesday, October 24th, the night was warm and the frogs were having a competition trying to out-shout each other when Hattie turned on the radio.

"The Pepsodent Show starring Bob Hope!" soon filled Grandma Noah's cabin, much to her irritation. Soon Bob Hope's theme song, Thanks for the Memories was being played, but the singers were singing about the joys of Pepsodent toothpaste. Bob did a few minutes of comedy with Jerry Colona before breaking for a commercial. After waxing eloquent over Pepsodent toothpaste, and its active ingredient, irium, whatever that is, Bob said the words that Hattie had been aching to hear. "And now may I present one of the most charming and talented members of Hollywood's younger generation, the star of the smash hit The Wizard of Oz, MGM's singing sensation, Miss Judy Garland!"

Judy began to sing, "It Had to be You," and Hattie sighed. She just had to see the girl that could hit notes like that. She's just a year younger than Hattie, but she sounded like a woman with years of singing experience. She pulled out her little coin purse and began counting her change. "What are you doing?" asked Jimmy.

"I'm just a-checkin' to see if I've got me enough for a couple of movie tickets. There's a special matinee come Halloween, and I'm fixin' to take you to see The Wizard of Oz, sugar."

"Darlin', I'm fixin' to take you on down to see that picture show."

"Just go!" said Grandma as she slapped fifty cents on the table. "Go and let a body get some rest."

Hattie trimmed up her only dress, which had been her Queen Orin of the Ozure Isles costume. She removed the costume beads and other jewelry, and now that she had a bosom, she made changes to the neckline to let Jimmy know what could be his if he behaves like a gentleman. She shortened up the length and let out the hips because Tallulah was a tall slim girl and had no hips to speak of. Hattie then added a shawl made from the Tattypoo portion of the costume. She also stitched up and scrubbed Jimmy's britches and found him a nice shirt to wear.

It was dark when they rowed into Saint Felix. They tied off the boat and walked up main street to the Florida side of the river. Jack-o-lanterns ruled the night, every porch had at least one. The flickering candle inside of the pumpkin glowed through the eye holes, nose holes, and mouth holes. The candle scorched the lid, filling the night with the smell that only a pumpkin with a candle inside can make. This was the last hurrah for those squash; they'll all soon become pies.

Groups of laughing children ran through the streets playing pranks and begging relatives for pennies or treats, but a few boys were armed with bars of soap to mark up windows here and there. Hattie walked hand-in-hand with Jimmy, who couldn't seem to get enough out of looking at her dress. "You like this dress, Jimmy?"

"It's beautiful!" he said with a sigh. He could see her beautiful, coffee-brown cleavage that bobbled with every step, and he wondered how he was going to concentrate on the movie. "And thank you for fixing up my britches. I feel right handsome struttin' along with you on my arm. Every man in town is goin' to be jealous and wishin' they had a beauty like you at their side."

"Jimmy, stop!" she giggled. But she also wondered: why didn't he talk about Tallulah Mae like that?

"Hi Miss Hattie!" cried a ghost as several little ghosts appeared from behind a tree.

"Lan sakes, if that ghost don't sound like Ginger Ann Rowe!"

"It is! It's me Miss Hattie!" giggled the sheet covered child.

"When did y'all die and head off to heaven?" said Hattie in a teasing voice.

"We didn' die, we just ghosts," said another child.

"Alive or dead, y'all the cutest ghosts I ever seen." Hattie opened her purse and handed each child a Mary Jane, a small individually wrapped bit of molasses and peanut butter taffy.

"Thank you!" cried the ghosts as they ran off.

"I remember when Grandma Noah gave me a Mary Jane when I was as little as them," said Jimmy.

"You was a ghost then too... wearing the same ghost costume your brother wore years before," said Hattie.

"Did Grandma Noah tell you that?"

"No... maybe... I remember..." Hattie shook her head. She realized that somehow she had many of Grandma Noah's memories in her head. The idea that memories from decades before she was born were in her mind... memories of a young colored man who she loved dearly... She was quiet for the rest of their walk as those thoughts and memories danced in her head.

They saw the lights of the theater blocks before they got to the St. Felix Regal Theater, right there on Main Street. The front entrance was lit up with a hundred lightbulbs, all flashing in a sequence that invited the passerby to join in the fun. Movie posters of future attractions and Saturday serials decorated the front of the building. A line was forming up at the ticket window for the special showing and Hattie wanted to hurry and get a good seat. "Not that way, ain't you never been to the theater?" scolded Jimmy.

In her excitement, Hattie forgot that she was in a different world, transported there by the color of her skin. He led her to a side door that was illuminated with a single, dim, twenty-five watt bulb. There was a sign that read, "Coloreds Only" and a black woman sold tickets at the side door. They got their tickets and were ushered up a dark, narrow, steep staircase to the balcony. She realized that she was going to miss out on her favorite part of the movie experience, the concession stand.

As they sat down, the newsreel started. They sat near the front of the balcony, which Hattie decided was the best seat in the house. But as she snuggled with Jimmy, the horrors in Poland were put on the screen. They saw the German troops marching into Poland, the scourge of U-Boats in the North Atlantic, and the Chinese try to repel the Japanese forces in Changsha. "Don't you go running off to war to become a hero, Jimmy Washington."

"That's on the other side of the world; it won't bother none of us," whispered Jimmy.

The newsreel was followed by a Pete Smith Special about amateur radio operators. "You can be a HAM instead," said Hattie.

"Looks boring," was all that Jimmy said as the Pete Smith short droned on. Next was a cartoon, Bars and Stripes Forever, a Looney Tunes comedy about a prison where the inmates and guards were all dogs. It was a full color cartoon which surprised and delighted Hattie. Next were coming attractions, Mister Smith Goes to Washington starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur, and All the Things You Are, a musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Both looked interesting to Hattie and she mentally counted her egg money. Coming to the movies weekly with Jimmy would be a nice diversion.

Finally, at long last, Hattie McFee was transported to Oz. It started in black and white, which disappointed her, but when Dorothy landed in Oz and the color that Hattie had been promised finally appeared, she was stunned. She grasped Jimmy's arm, astonished at the beauty. In return, Jimmy handed her a box of Goobers. She returned the box to Jimmy, but the box she handed him was a box of Raisinets that she smuggled into the theater.

It was a beautiful, magnificent motion picture with many, many differences from the books. She felt the urge to write them down so she could write a letter of complaint to MGM. She was a purist when it came to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the sin of turning Dorothy's silver slippers to ruby red was just the beginning. It was entertaining but so much was wrong! When they got out of the theater she was ready to explode. "Oz is real! It's not a dreamland like in the movie!" she huffed. "And the apple trees weren't mean at all, the movie made them monsters!"

"That film was right pleasin'. It was mighty beautiful and just as fun as could be."

"Lord have mercy, there's just so much that ain't right! Her slippers was silver, not ruby red, bless her heart! And Glinda, honey, she ain't the witch of the north--she's the sweet witch of the south! Where's the Kalidahs at? And that dear little Mouse Queen in the poppy field? Where's them Hammer-Heads, and what in tarnation about..." She was silenced with a touch of Jimmy's fingertips to her lips.

"Hattie, if they made that picture show just like the book, we'd be settin' in that theater till the cows come home."

"So?"

"Hattie McFee," said Jimmy softly. He pulled her close and looked into her big beautiful eyes. "I've wanted to do this for so long." He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, and slowly he leaned in to kiss her. Hattie's heart was beating faster and faster as he got closer. She was trembling and she soon realized he was trembling too. Her breasts pressed against his chest as their lips met and she felt a searing joy coursing through her soul. His arms wrapped around her and held her tight as his tongue and hers touched and nature took over and their kiss became a passion searing through her soul.

It went on and on, the love she felt for this young man spurring her on, combined with memories of kisses in the past. Not her own memories but those of another woman, and long ago. They kissed in the dark alley behind the theater where other patrons coming out the 'colored exit' saw them and smiled as they walked past the kissing couple. Eventually their lips parted and their eyes locked. "Oh Jimmy..." she gasped. It was so beautiful! For a first kiss it was perfection. It went beyond the kiss she always dreamed about.

They walked close together, holding each other tightly until they reached the bridge over the Saint Mary's River. As soon as they reached the Georgia side, Jimmy stopped. He turned Hattie to him and said, "This was the very last spot where I ever laid eyes on my dear Tallulah Mae... When she took that bridge over to her schoolhouse, she never made her way back, and I figured my days were done... the only thing that kept me breathing was Grandma Noah."

"Oh Jimmy... honey, I'm just plum sorry you had to walk through all that heartache.."

"Everythin' changed the day I laid eyes on you, Hattie... I fell head-over-heels in love with you, so deep and true it took my breath away. Now, I ain't no wealthy white man, sweetheart, and I don't got no shiny ring to offer you just yet, but I'll scrimp and save every penny 'til I can put one on your finger, you hear?"

"What are you saying, Jimmy?"

"What I'm saying is..." He slowly got down to one knee. " Hattie McFee, Tallulah Mae Beauchamp, I done fell head-over-heels for you the very first day our paths crossed. Would you do me the honor of makin' me the happiest fella this side of the Moon and say yes to bein' my wife??"

"Tallulah Mae Beauchamp burned up in the school fire a year ago," said Hattie.

"No she didn't. I know that's you inside, Grandma Noah said a witch can look like anyone they want."

"Jimmy... that's not what she meant."

Jimmy's eyes grew sad as he looked up at her. "You're wearing the very same gown you had on that night a year back when we said our goodbyes. That dress is the Queen Orin's gown, and your little shawl's from the Tattypoo set, sugar. Watchin' you walk off still sticks in my mind somethin' fierce, like it was just yesterday."

"I'm just Hattie..."

"When I call out 'Lula,' you answer back just like you always did. I can't rightly explain it, but I know my Tallulah Mae's in there, and I love you even deeper than I did before. Sugar, please say you'll marry me--I can't bear to lose you all over again."

Hattie remembered Grandma Noah's words, "You'll be Hattie until he comes 'round to seein' that you're Tallulah Mae on his own. When that happens... you'll know what to do..." But she didn't know what to do. What could she do? She finally said, "Jimmy, if we marry, there won't be no babies. It's a fight every day to keep this under control."

"I understand, and I'll do everything I can to help."

"Honey, I just can't be Tallulah Mae no more. I can wear any face but hers, so don't you go askin' for that."

"I can see her in your eyes, and hear her in your laugh, and when I kissed you, I knew for a fact where she is."

Hattie was nearly crying by this time. Is he a fool? "We're going to live in a tiny shack on a tiny island, is that how you want to live?"

"If you're standin' right there beside me, yes indeed. I'd be as proud as a peacock at a garden party. And Halloween, why, that'll be our special day--our anniversary."

Hattie sighed and said, "Stand up Jimmy Washington, so you can marry me properly."

He rose and pulled Hattie to him and held her tightly as they kissed deeply, their tongues dancing together, their passions soaring. When their lips finally parted Hattie said, "I'm so sorry for the pain I caused, but Tallulah Mae Beauchamp is gone. You're going to marry Hattie McFee, and I'm new at being colored, so I'll need your help there too."

They walked to where the boat was tied up making plans for their future and Jimmy teased her a little bit. "I was sure you were Tallulah Mae when you didn't know how to enter the theater."

Hattie shrugged and said, "I spent most of my life on this side of the river no matter what color I was. I know how to behave in Georgia." Then she noticed the tears streaming from his eyes as he rowed the boat into the swamp canals. "What's wrong?"

"Jus' happy I guess. I shoulda knowed you'd never leave me..." As Jimmy pulled at the oars he asked, "Hattie... may I call you Hattie Mae?"

"I'd like that. Grandma Noah tol' me time an' again, a new life needs a new name. I guess becoming Hattie Mae Washington is a new life and a new name."

By the light of the moon, they made their way back to Grandma Noah's cabin. It was the only point of light in the swamp, and as they neared the cabin they could see that the light was a candlelit Jack-o'-lantern with a happy smile sitting on Grandma Noah's side table. The old witch was in her rocking chair inspecting a warm cardigan sweater that she finished knitting for Jimmy. The rains from September raised the water level in the swamp and they were able to tie off at her front porch next to a boat that Hattie had never seen before.

They could see Grandma Noah in her rocking chair closing up her knitting bag. She took one last puff from her old bone pipe and set it in the ashtray next to the pumpkin. A dim light from inside the cabin radiated from the ancient radio that played sweet classical music without electricity. "So, you're getting married, is it? I suppose it's about time. I'm-a getting tired, and you're trained up as much as I can take you. It's on Jimmy to see you keep your wits about you and stay in line, sugar."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I suppose we should get this wedding over with... what? Don't look so surprised, y'all knew you were going to elope before the night was over, now didn't ya?"

"No ma'am, I didn't," said Jimmy.

"You lie like a rug, Jimmy Washington!" snapped Grandma Noah, but there was mirth to her voice. She slowly stood and said, "I love you two like my own children, and I will miss you dearly when I'm gone. It was such a joy watching you both grow into the fine young adults you are today."

"Where are you going, Grandma?"

Grandma Noah was wobbly on her feet, and she clutched Jimmy's arm for support. "Somewhere there's a far-off land with mountains and trees, where witches are the village doctors and they get snow for every Christmas. Imagine that; a white Christmas every year. I believe my Samuel is waiting there for me, and I can't keep him waiting." She gestured Hattie closer and said, "I'm a-guessing that Jimmy figgered out who you is?"

"He knew all along, he just didn't realize that he knew," said Hattie Mae.

"He's a smart lad. You lean on him good, Hattie Mae. Share your heart with him. Us wimmin folk make a big mistake thinkin' that our men can read our hearts; then we go to hiding our feelings an' get angry when they's confused. An' Jimmy, same goes for you! She may say she knows what's goin' on in your head, when you're thinkin' of nothin' more than what's for lunch. Now hold hands."

Jimmy and Hattie Mae held hands with each other and with Grandma Noah. Grandma Noah began the ceremony in the golden glow of the Jack-o'-lantern's light. "This here ceremony gives you a couple of opportunities to break it off and walk away; but if you see it through, you're hitched together for life. It's said that people who marry through a witch's wedding are closer to each other and understand each other better than folks who marry at the church or at court. Is it magic? Or is it the magic of their love? I don't rightly know, but every time I do this ceremony, I feel the love between the bride and groom. Are y'all ready?"

Jimmy and Hattie Mae nodded, and Grandma Noah began. Her voice became soft and mysterious, the dark of the swamp grew darker, and the crickets and frogs hushed up to hear her words. "For a witch's wedding all you need is a bride, a groom, a witch, and a witness. Since you didn't bring a witness, I brought one." As she said that, the door to the cabin opened and a tall, cheerful, colored man stepped out along with a shorter, chubby, colored woman.

"Pastor Hagen? Missus Hagen?" gasped Hattie Mae, recognizing the pastor from the local Baptist church.

"I'm here to witness the ceremony and make it all legal," said Pastor Daniel. "Miss Noah and I go back many a year, hitchin' folks and helping 'em out."

Grandma Noah nodded then turned back to the young couple. "Jimmy Washington, are you getting married of your own free will? Did you cast a spell on your intended bride? Did she cast a spell on you?"

"No ma'am, she did ever' thing but drive me away with a baseball bat."

"She didn't? Maybe she forgot that option. Hattie McFee, are you getting married of your own free will? Did you cast a spell on the groom? Did he use any witchcraft on you?"

"No ma'am. I behaved myself."

"This is your last chance," said Grandma Noah. "If you have any second thoughts it's best to go now than to suffer later... no regrets? "

"Just one," said Hattie. She turned to Pastor and Missus Hagen. "I can't have no babies. Althea and Ron Washington will not have any grandchildren from Jimmy and me. They're going to hate me."

"Hattie honey, it will be fine," said Missus Hagen. She hugged the young woman then whispered in her ear, "You come talk to me, then we'll go talk with Althea. She just wants you to have a happy life. Now go to your man."

When Hattie Mae took her place next to Jimmy Grandma Noah asked, "Can we have the rings?"

"We don't have no rings yet," said Hattie.

"'course not. Al Duchene don't pay you enough," snapped Grandma Noah.

"Here," said Pastor Hagen and he pressed a small ring into Jimmy's hand as his wife handed Hattie a larger ring. "These are the same rings our grandparents wore in slavery. Wear them as a symbol of our past." Jimmy looked at the ring in his hand, it was made from woven strands of wire, made by a young man who knew that his marriage could end with a business deal, and he could be sold off to another plantation and never see his wife again.

"I would be honored to wear this ring," said Hattie as she inspected the matching wire ring that Missus Hagen gave her.

"That's fine, we're sure your grandparents understand. Now go marry that boy."

Happy that was sorted out, Grandma Noah continued. "Jimmy, as you place this ring on Hattie Mae's finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge you my love, now and forever."

Jimmy was surprised that Grandma called her Hattie Mae, but he realized he shouldn't. She knew so much more than she ever let on. He repeated her words and as he placed the wire ring on Hattie Mae's slim finger he felt something. It was like waves on a beach rolling in, tugging at him, pulling to a future with this mysterious woman that he met six months ago, yet knew his entire life.

"Hattie Mae, same vow, as you place this ring on Jimmy's finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge you my love, now and forever."

Hattie was shaking as she repeated the vow. She felt the same thing Jimmy did, waves of time tugging at her, memories filling her head, the tradition of the Okefenokee swamp witch clutching her, preparing her for office.

"The vows have been said!" cackled Grandma Noah happily. "Pastor? Your turn!"

"With the ancient vows having been said in the sight of God, before a witness, ah do declare, by the power vested in me by the Saint Felix Baptist Church and the great state of Georgia that, this couple be man and wife. Jimmy Washington, you may kiss your wife."

Hattie looked into Jimmy's joy-filled eyes and said, "Who woulda thought our second kiss would tie our marriage?"

"Me," said Grandma Noah as her student and her farmhand kissed. "Jimmy, she's still new to all this, you may have to show her what's next."

"I'm new to this also..." sputtered Jimmy, but he realized what she was saying when an old broom appeared in her hand and the witch laid it down on the porch and stepped back. "Hattie, this is the part where we jump over the broom. It's a tradition from the slave days."

"Okay," said Hattie. She nervously jumped over the broom with Jimmy. A feeling of completeness filled Hattie and she turned around and opened her hand. The broom leapt off the porch and snapped into her hand.

"It's all yours now, dear," said the old witch. "Grandma Noah is more than a name, it's a title. Wear it in health." She gave Jimmy and Hattie a kiss on the cheek, then she whispered something into Hattie's ear which made the bride gasp in delight. Then Grandma Noah stepped off the porch, and disappeared into the gathering fog.

Jimmy was shocked but Hattie seemed to be fully in command of the situation. She turned to the pastor and his wife and said, "Pastor Hagen, Missus Hagen. We want to thank you," and she pressed two silver dollars into the pastor's hand. "The fog is rolling in; y'all best be going."

"Yes, Missus Washington." Then the pastor put his hand on Hattie's shoulder and said, "I know visitors are going to stop out to see Grandma Noah, but I think the missus and I would prefer to see Hattie Washington."

"Hattie Mae Washington," corrected Hattie Mae. "A new life deserves a new name."

"Maybe you can tell us about that too." Soon the pastor and his wife rowed off into the swamp, their kerosene hurricane lantern lighting their way through the canals.

Jimmy and Hattie remained on the porch kissing. "I didn't know witches had husbands," said Jimmy.

"Of course we do--we love our husbands. We're a team. We work together. What did you expect?"

"I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I never heard of a witch's husband."

"Grandma Noah's husband's name was Samuel. She missed him dearly." There in the amber glow of the Jack-o'-lantern Hattie searched the memories that had been flooding into her head and found one she really liked. "Witches have a saying about men," she said as she stepped back from Jimmy. "We stand before God, we bow before the king, and we kneel before our husbands."

"Kneel before... I don't understand," said Jimmy, but Hattie gave him a beautiful smile as she shrugged off her purple gown and stood naked before her husband. Hattie was beyond any dream Jimmy had. Flawless mocha skin, dark brown areola, and hard erect nipples. Her waist was narrow and hips round giving her a perfect hourglass figure.

She gently pushed his hands away and said, "Let me," and she slowly sank to her knees. She unbuttoned his trousers and he slid his suspenders over his shoulders as Hattie Mae eased his pants off, freeing his erection. It was the first cock she had ever seen, but the memories that had flooded into her head revealed decades of experience. "Oh Jimmy!" she said hungrily. She started with his huge, swollen balls, gently suckling them, knowing from past Grandma Noah's that they could be aching from what several Grandma Noah's called "lovers nuts."

She sucked his balls gently, sliding her warm wet tongue over them. When she sucked a little harder, he winced in sharp agony, a sure sign of blue balls. She then began to pay attention to his big cock, so thick that when she wrapped her hand around it, her thumb as an inch short of meeting her fingertips. Cradling his aching balls she began stroking his cock while she playfully suckled the head.

Jimmy was in agony, his balls ached but her tongue and hands were beyond anything he ever felt before. He shivered as sensations he never dared to dream about coursed through his cock. Her soft warm tongue swirled over the head of his cock, her delicate hand traveled up and down his shaft and her other hand cradled his balls gently. "I'm a-gonna..." but Jimmy couldn't say it.

"Give me your love, Jimmy," she gasped. "Gimme all-a your love," and she began swallowing his cock in time with her stroking hand. With every swallow she gave a little coo of pleasure. Jimmy grasped her head as she drove him out of his mind with pleasure. With a strangled growl he came, and she didn't scream and pull back, she gently sucked every drop out of him. He shivered and shook with the sudden pleasure and he slowly sank to the porch floor.

"Did that help?" she ask as she kissed her way up his chest.

"Where did..." He didn't dare ask but he wanted to know where she suddenly developed a skill.

"Baby, I have so many memories in my mind, memories of witches happily married for decades, witches who loved sex so much..." Jimmy had heard so much in his short life, but Tallulah Mae Beauchamp saying the word "Sex" actually shocked him. She must have read his mind because as she kissed her way up his chest she said, "Sex!" with each kiss. Her hand remained around his cock which softened slightly but by the time her lip reached his, he was rock hard again.

"I have a feeling that you are going to want to try each of those memories in your head," whispered Jimmy between kisses.

"That's why I married you," said Hattie Mae with a smile. "You're so wise." She straddled his hips and crouched over him and looked nervously in his eyes. An overeager virgin with decades of memories in her head ready to plunge her pussy down on the first cock she had ever seen.

"Easy girl," said Jimmy softly. "Nice and slow."

She lowered her sodden pussy onto his cock, just the head felt huge, but that didn't stop her. She sank lower, taking more of his cock, lower and lower. The feeling of being skewered by that huge cock was just what a previous witch remembered. Jimmy reached up and cupped her breasts as she sank down on him. "You're in me!" gasped Hattie Mae.

"So good!" hissed Jimmy.

"Now Jimmy, I'm ready," she gasped. "Fuck me."

Jimmy was no longer shocked at her words; he simply rolled her over and began to fuck the woman he loved. His cock slid in and out of her wet, hot pussy while Hattie Mae grabbed his ass and urged him to fuck her faster, harder. "I'm cumming," she gasped as her fingernails dug into his back, "Cum in me!" His hard cock pounded into her, the sound of their bodies slapping together rang out over the swamp. She groaned and squealed as orgasm after orgasm wracked her body.

Jimmy buried his cock into her body, over and over, he was like a man possessed, fucking furiously. She spread her legs wide, better to take her man's full length. "Almost there!" grunted Jimmy as he pounded relentlessly into her. Suddenly he was cumming, pouring his semen into her, which set her off again and she wrapped her arms and legs around Jimmy, holding him tight as waves of release crashed over her.

Finally they lay panting side my side, the moon hid behind a dark cloud so their only light was from the flickering pumpkin. The radio in the cabin was playing dance hall music and the frogs resumed their chorus out in the swamp. Far off, poppa gator groaned loudly. "I'm going to be so sore in the morning," groaned Hattie Mae.

"I didn't know you were such a fireball," said Jimmy as they kissed. "Is it always going to be like that?"

She gave him a wicked smile, her pearly white teeth standing out in the candlelight. "Jimmy Washington, this is just the start. I have memories from other witches that will turn your hair white."

"Like what... hey!" he cried as a finger began to probe his anal sphincter.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it's kind of..." He never got to finish because her tongue shot into his mouth. Eventually they ended up in Grandma Noah's rocking chair. He sat in the chair proper, and Hattie curled up in his lap and they had a quilt pulled over them. "So what was it that Grandma Noah said to you before she left?"

Hattie Mae just smiled and said, "She said that maybe havin' a baby is possible if we try enough."

"I have a feelin' I'm going to be trying awful hard."

"Yes you are," said Hattie Mae between giggles.

EPILOGUE

"Grandma Noah!" cried the nine-year-old Karol Krigbaum, as she polled her little Jon boat toward the island. Karol was small for her age, blond and didn't have a home life. Her mother moved in with a never ending series of drunks, and Karol slept on a different couch every year.

Grandma Noah/Hattie Mae Washington/Hattie McFee/Tallulah Mae Beauchamp looked up from her knitting to see her little friend approaching 'round the bend in the canal. "What ya doin' little one?"

"I caught you some catfish Grandma Noah!" Karol held up a stringer of three catfish.

"Oh my, they look nice and fat. Put them in a bucket of well water, that'll get the mud out of their veins."

"Are you going trick-or-treating tonight Grandma Noah?" asked Karole as she sat at Grandma Noah's feet.

"No, I'm going to spend some time with old friends tonight."

"Like who?" asked the precocious little blond.

"There's an old scarecrow, a lion who's afraid of people, and a woodsman who chopped off all his arms and legs and had to replace them with metal. We're going to play checkers and listen to the radio."

"That's silly! That ol' radio of yours is broke."

"It'll play anything you want, just as long as it wants to play it too."

"Grandma Noah, don't you get lonely out here all alone?"

Grandma Noah sighed. She'd be quite happy to be lying next to her Jimmy over in Mount Calvary Cemetery, or maybe in that land of trees and mountains that her previous life told her was out there waiting, but she had so much to do still. Phil Beaudreau would be back from his tour on a submarine and he's going to have a wicked curse on him. Then Roxy will be hitching up with a man over Korea way and she'll be asking for advice... Then there's Paul. Phil and Wedge are going to have to find him, she's got to tell them where to look.

The thing about being a witch, is that you don't just remember the past, you remember what's to come also. She looked down and saw Karol looking up, expecting an answer. "Lonely? No child, no ma'am. We got plenty to do here in the swamp."

After all, Grandma Noah didn't want to scare her replacement away...