"Sybil." ""Scrape the skin from the back of a hairless animal."" "Wickedness." "Sybil." "Ma?" "Ma!" "I don't want to know where you got that book, Sybil, or what you paid for it." "But I want to know if you've been using it!" "It won't burn!" "I know what that means!" "It tells me where that book was written!" "Sybil, what's wrong?" "!" "Oh, poor girl." "Who did it?" "Annie Lee." "Claims l stole her husband's soul." "Claims l made him love me." "Did you?" "Annie Lee always hated me." "I didn't go after Annie Lee's husband;" "he come after me." "I know you, Sybil." "Did it out of mischief." "You don't care anything about Annie Lee's husband." "You just want to make trouble." "Well, I'm gonna be punished for it, Ma." "I'll be dead by midnight." "Hush." "I need to sleep, Ma." "Sybil, where's that black book?" "Sybil." "Sybil!" "Sybil!" "Sybil, I went down to the Pages' and their boy's going for the doctor." "Oh!" "What on earth are you doing?" "Passing the time till I die." "That one's for Annie Lee, and this one's for her husband." "You're a wicked girl." "You could die, girl." "You should be making your peace with God, not laying a curse on your enemies." "I'm warning you, Sybil." "This is a terrible way to leave this earth." "I said I was gonna die, Ma, but I didn't say anything about leaving this earth." "Ma, who was that?" "That was Leroy, the Pages' boy." "He said the doctor was in Babylon today, probably wouldn't get here till in the morning." "It'll be too late." "Leroy said something else." "What'd he say, Ma?" "He said Annie Lee was dead." "Well, that was sudden." "Eugene shot her." "After he found out she stabbed you." "You did it, didn't you?" "With that candle." "I didn't do nothing, Ma." ""Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," ""l will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." ""Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." ""Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."" "Sybil?" "Can you hear me?" "You are an evil daughter." "You caused me nothing but pain and trouble since the day you were born." "But I have loved you." "I've loved you like you was one of Jehovah's angels." "I've loved you against my will and my inclination." "And I loved you when I knew you was in league with the things that gave you that black book." "I won't weep now... 'cause you never did one thing to deserve my tears." "So you do love me." "I do." "I love you, too, Ma." "And I don't want to leave you." "But you know and I know you'll be dead in the morning." "Maybe." "But that don't mean I have to leave you." "I don't want to hear this!" "I got a last wish, Ma." "I want you to do something for me." "I'll pray for your soul." "Something else." "I'll know when I'm about to die, Ma." "And I'll tell you." "And when that time comes, I want you to tie a cloth over my mouth." "Why?" "'Cause that's how the soul leaves the body, Ma." "You know that." "Then, when I'm dead, you pull the cloth and put a jar over my mouth, and you catch what comes out my mouth." "And don't let it out of that jar." "Otherwise, I can't come back." "What do you mean, "come back"?" "Before dawn, I'll come back and get whatever's in that jar." "Will you do it?" "No." "You have to!" "It's your only daughter's dying wish." "Hurry, Ma!" "Please, Ma!" "Please, do it!" "I don't have much time!" "Stuff my mouth." "Ma, I'm dying!" "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh." "Tighter!" "Tighter, Ma!" "Yes, all right, all right." "There." "Poor girl." "I didn't punch any holes in the top of that jar, but you're still alive." "You're not a moth at all." "You're something else." "That's cheating God." "May even be cheating the Devil." "Darling, if you came back, you'd just cause more trouble." "You're dead." "If you don't lie still, you'll be an evil, evil thing." "I can't let you do it." "So you're the only one that can open it." ""Circle the day of death with blood." ""Surround the body with water." ""These are the barriers used to prevent the dead from recapturing their souls."" "My poor baby said she was coming back for you." "She has to get you back in her mouth before dawn, doesn't she?" "Or she can't come back." "Well, I just found out how to stop her." "Be still just a little while longer, my darlin'." "Don't get up just yet." "Morning's a long way away, honey." "You got plenty of time." "Just a few minutes more, darlin'." "Not yet, baby." "It's not time to get up yet." "Ma'll tell you when." "Just one more thing." "Ma..." "Ma!" "Who's that calling?" "Sybil." "Sybil's dead." "Ma, help me. I'm confused." "I'm not surprised, darlin'." "You died earlier this evening." "I can't be dead, Ma." "I can smell the pines." "What you smell is the pine boards of your coffin, darlin'." "But I'm not in my coffin, Ma." "Coffins are confining, and I just sat up straight." "I'm in my old bed, Ma." "That's as may be, but you're still dead, girl." "Did you save what came out my mouth, Ma?" "It's here." "Looks like a moth." "I'll come for it." "Why can't I get to you, Ma?" "Because you're dead." "The dead don't want to cross water." "You must be wrong, Ma." "This isn't water; it's milk." "What's this on the dresser, Ma?" "A barrette." "Belonged to my daughter." "I broke it when she died." "Has her name on it." "Sybil?" "That must be you." "But I'm not dead yet." "Yes, you are." "See the clock?" "I stopped the clock when you died." "See the calendar?" "With my own blood, I circled the day that you died." "I wouldn't do that if you weren't dead." "I need my soul back, Mama." "What's this?" "What's what?" "What does it feel like?" "Feels like... sand." "It's the earth piled above your coffin." "No!" "Yes." "is there much of it?" "I don't know, I can't see." "Why don't you count the sand, Sybil?" "Count the grains." "You can't come in till I know how deep you're buried." "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... 11,208... 11,209... 11,210..." "You tricked me!" "You should've let me come back for my soul, Ma." "Not all my tricks were written down in that book." "Sleep tight, Ma."