The Relative

Permission from subject participation:

“Yes, I give permission for this work to be included in possible publications.”

[All following participants agree to this].

:This interview was conducted by Emma Gene, the interviewee is Octavia Jackson, a medical professional, grandmother to Emma.

Question 1: Where were you born Ms. Jackson?

Answer: “Paris, Texas.”

Question 2: Where did you live the majority of your lifetime?

Answer: “Lafayette, Louisiana.”

Question 3: Where would you say your family is from?

Answer: “Eufaula, Oklahoma.”

Question 4: How old are you?

Answer: “I was born December 1963. So, I am 60 years old.”

Question 5: Have you heard about the Rougarou?

Answer: “What’s a Rougarou? A Werewolf? Yes. I have heard of werewolves.”

Question 6: Where did you hear about it?

Answer: “I first heard about it when I was a little girl. There was a movie called “The Werewolf” and it was one of the first horror films I had watched.”

Question 7: Where can one find or encounter the Rougarou?

Answer: “I was always told you could find a rougarou in Transylvania, or some European country. At least that’s their origin.”

Question 8: What is it?

Answer: “It’s a beast, half man and half wolf. It transforms from human into this soulless animal.”

Question 9: What does it do?

Answer: “Well it kills people, of course. It has no perceptions of humanity ethics, it just goes around hunting people.”

Question 10: What does it look like?

Answer: “To describe it, a werewolf, or rougarou as you say. This creature has a dog-like or wolf-like face, it has long claws, sharp claws too on his paws. Their figure is all distorted because it’s half-man half beast, runs on all fours, and can stand on two feet. Furry in the face, and yellow piercing eyes. Sharp teeth and constant saliva drooling from all that snarling.”

Question 11: Do you have any stories about it?

Answer: “Me personally, no. Black people, we don’t tend to stick around to find out. However, I have heard it in myths and urban legends, if you ask the right people they might have a story for you.”

Question 12: Any extra thoughts or comments about the Rougarou?

Answer: “What was the purpose of the werewolf? Why was the urban legend created? Who told the story first? And why did the media feel the need to popularize it?”

Question 13: Do you believe in the Rougarou?

Answer: [Laughs] “No. It’s just an urban legend.”

Emma puts down her notebook, fixing the stray curl of her bangs, “thanks grandma.” Her grandmother, Octavia, nods, fixing her hair back into her black, bridged braid, as one of her daughters opens the back door. The grandmother could smell the turkey from outside, “now Kit, I think I smell the turkey” she says, getting up. Octavia’s second daughter, Penelope, who was stirring the Mac n cheese, single braid swinging as she looks over to the backdoor, “I’ll get it, mama” she says. Penelope looks over to Kit, “watch the pie for me. It should be in the oven for–”

“Eleven minutes,” Kit finishes, Octavia’s eldest daughter. “You do know I’m the one who taught you how to bake a pie, right?” She jests. Penelope scoffs before exiting out the backdoor to check the turkey.

Octavia watches as her granddaughter, Emma, gets up from her chair. The grandmother starts to rub her arm, as she sighs to herself. Rougarou, Octavia thinks to herself, how the word struck on sensitive nerves and horrible memories. Rougarou, the name made Octavia shiver with a bit of fear. You can’t hurt me anymore, she said to herself, you may have tried to kill us all, but I remain standing. You can’t hurt me now.

Penelope shouts from outside. “The turkey is ready!” Kit looks over to the dining table, which was just inside the kitchen. Kit removes the mess of silverware and paper towels, “Jody” Kit calls for. Jody, who was on her phone, looks up. Kit nudges her head to the backdoor, “open the door for your aunt Penelope” she told her. Jody nods, “yes ma’am.” Jody went to hold the backdoor open for her aunt.

While Penelope was holding the turkey with oven mitts due to the excessive heat. The chill of the wind hit Penelope’s back, practically blowing through her as Penelope shivers from the cold. Little light due to the backdoor bulb, Penelope turns to the door, facing the open woods of the backyard. Penelope jumps at the sight of two glowing eyes in the dark. Penelope steps closer to the backdoor, “Jody. You see that?” She asks. Jody, who was holding the backdoor, looks over to the wooded area, she makes a few puckering sounds with her lips, “here kitty kitty” she calls. The eyes grow closer, a chime of a bell, as a tabby cat with orange stripes trots forward, stopping at the back porch as he meows at them. Penelope nods, “hey Roggie,” she bids the cat. Jody tilts her head, “why does he have a bell around his neck?” she asks. Penelope shrugs, “probably giving him away,” she says, entering the house, as Jody let the door close behind her. At the last second, Roggie was gone, and there was rustling in one of the branches close to the ground. Jody looks for a moment before going back inside.

The grandmother turns the TV on to cartoons for Jody, who had turned her attention back to her phone. Octavia chuckles, turning the television to a football game. “Kit!” Octavia calls. Kit tucks her short hair behind her ears, “yeah mom” she says, peeking into the living room where Octavia turned to see her, “when is your sister getting here?” She asks. Kit scoffs, “you know Erin, she gotta make sure she got the chocolate pie, for those who don’t want pecan pie” she says, making a yuck sound. Kit didn’t particularly like pecan pie, maybe from eating it too much as a kid. Octavia grimaced, “when did I become the only person to like pecan pie?” She asks. Penelope giggles, “I like pecan pie” she pipes.

Octavia looks at Jody, “honey,” she says. Jody looks up at her grandma. “Can you call Erin for me?” She asks. Jody nods, switching her phone off a game and going to call her aunt. Emma went to look over the interview, as she went to type it on her computer. A college assignment for Thanksgiving for her Cultural Anthropology. Emma sat quietly in her grandmother’s room as she focused on typing down the interview. In the midst of waiting for the assignment to load, Emma caught a glimpse of a photo. Two young black pre-teens, twins, both with neat buns and plaid dresses. Knee high socks and black converses. The two were smiling in front of a nice house. Emma knew her grandmother had a twin, from her mother, Kit. It was only mentioned once. Anytime Emma tried to talk to her grandmother about it, all she would say was, “my sister who liked handsome misters, how you disappear when the night grows near,” and then would nod off to her own tasks as she hums to herself. Emma often wonders what happened to Grandma’s sister.

Jody ends the phone call, “Aunt Erin says she’s on her way. She had a flat tire” she states. Octavia makes a frown, “oh” she says, before fixing her face, “well that’s good. She fixed the tire.” Jody nods, turning back to her cellular game. Kit looks at the food, before sighing. “Hey sis, can you go grab me a drink from the cooler?” Kit asks, as she looks in the oven, the pie had three minutes left. Penelope went outside, “what do you want?” She asks, heading for the back door again. “Give me a grape crush” she says, Penelope leaves out the backdoor. This time greeted by three more cats, Lila, Roggie, and Tom Sr. Penelope grabs a grape pop from the cooler, “well look at y’all. I never get to see you three. Feeling social today?” She asks before heading back inside. Penelope hands Kit the pop, “you know I just saw Tom Sr. out there.” Kit opens the can, “he’s still alive?” Kit asks, “shoot, that cat has been alive since we were, what? Teenagers?” She asks. Penelope hums in confirmation, “his whiskers definitely growing to the ground.” Kit laughs, “I remember when his mama, Nina, was always checking on us when we were kids. Whether we were sleeping or on the toilet. She would watch us.” Penelope laughs, “she was a silly cat. Too bad she got attacked by a coyote.” Kit sighs, “yeah” she says in a mild sorrowful tone.

Kit thinks for a moment, “wait,” she says, furrowing her brows. “No, no. It was a wolf that attacked Nina” she says. Penelope returns the expression to her sister, “no, it was a coyote?” She counters. Kit looks at the oven, “no. Nina’s body was bitten into two parts. I don’t think a coyote could do that” she says. Penelope fixes up the salad, “coyotes are still big” she states. Kit makes a biting noise as she continues to think, “but wolves have sharper teeth.” Kit turns off the oven, she may have left the pie in there a little too long. Kit sets the pop down, “gosh, now I remember what it smelled like.” Rotten, horribly rotten that the stench stuck to your nose hairs. Not only the stench, but the sight. Kit had found Nina’s lifeless body on the front driveway, her face still in a snarl as she attacked whatever attacked her first. The pink ribbon bow that Erin had tied around her neck for a collar still in a perfect bow with blood staining it. Kit turns off the oven, puts on oven mitts and grabs the pie from the oven. “Yeah, it smelled” Penelope said, “I nearly cried my eyes out when I saw poor Nina.”

Kit places the pie on the table, “goodness. Erin hadn’t even woken up yet, we had to tell her the day after that, that Nina ran away.” Penelope fixes up the paper plates, “she was young. We couldn’t tell her Nina got attacked by a wolf. She would’ve been even more hurt” she pipes. Kit looks at her sister, “so you admit that you think it’s a wolf?” Penelope looks at her older sister, “shut up” she remarks.

Octavia looks towards the kitchen, “you talking about Nina?” She asks. “Yep,” Kit answers, looking at the green beans in one of the pots on the stove. Octavia hums, “she was a good cat. Feisty and loving.” Penelope laughs, “she scratched my arm when I was four” she shares, making her mother smile, “I did say feisty, didn’t I?”

Octavia looks at Jody, “Erin held onto Tom Sr. after she heard about her death. Never let him out of her sight when she was little. Tom is just like his mother, so very loving” she says. Jody smiles, “did you bury Nina?” Jody asks. Octavia nods, “Oh yes. She’s in the backyard, along with her two other sons, Henry and Timothy. Died the same way, cut into two” she shares. Jody cringes, “ooh. How did that happen?” She asks. Octavia thinks, “Henry went out into the street, a car ran him over going the speed of a hellcat. Timothy got attacked by a wild animal, coyote or wolf, I think. Tom Sr. is the last of Nina’s litter, and he’s hanging on. What for? I don’t know.”

Outside of the house. More cats and even kittens piled onto the back porch, herding, as they looked to the dark wooded area of the backyard. Tom Sr. on one of the lawn chairs, as his tail swings back and forth. The lightbulb above the back porch begins to flicker. Tom Sr. starts to hiss aggressively, as some of the cats’ tails began to fuzz up.

The gate to the backyard opens, as a boy appears with a blue coat on. Young, around the age of six, Roger, “mom look! All of Tom Sr. ’s family is here.” His older brother looks in behind him, “geez, I didn’t realize grandma had so many cats.” Roger slips through the gate, as his older brother, Cameron, follows behind him. One of the cats retreats from the porch and starts to rub on Roger, “hey, Sarah, remember me” he says, rubbing the back of the black, bombay cat. Cameron looks over to the other cats, who do not budge from the back porch that was covered in incandescent light. Cameron follows the gaze of the felines, as Tom Sr. keeps hissing at the dark woods of the backyard.

Erin enters through the front door of the house, “I’m here! Finally” she groans, holding a grocery bag with chocolate pie in it. Octavia smiles at seeing her youngest daughter, “hello” she greets, opening her arms. Erin hugs her mother, Octavia looks behind Erin, “where are your children?” She asks. Erin gives a muffled giggle, “probably looking at them cats” she says, looking over to Jody. Whose eyes were glued to her phone. “Hi Jody” Erin bids, Jody smiles at her, but not looking from her phone, “hi Auntie Erin.” Erin walks past her to see her two sisters in the kitchen, “sisters” she greets, placing the pie on the table. Kit and Penelope give Erin a hug before going back to their respective tasks in the kitchen. “Where the boys at?” Penelope asks. Just as Roger and Cameron came through the back door, “grandma, how many cats you got?” Roger asks. Octavia thinks to herself, before oohing to herself, “ooh boy, I lost count two years ago. Might be near 40, the way they keep having children. Maggie is pregnant by the way, again” Octavia says. Roger thinks, “the Russian blue cat, right? Um, green eyes?” Jody asks. Octavia nods, “mmhmm. She’s gonna have to come back inside, so I can make sure she gives birth properly.”

“Give me a hug, boy” Penelope says, opening her arms, Roger and Cameron hug their auntie Penelope. “It should be easy to find her, all the cats are on the porch.” Roger comments, Kit furrows her brows, “all on the porch?” She questions. Octavia looks away from the TV, overhearing that bit, her eyes falling to the floor. “Well then, bring Maggie in” she says. Roger goes back outside to retrieve Maggie, looking at the porch, as he scans the cats, “Maggie” he calls, “Maggie” he calls again. Maggie lets out a soft meow, and Roger easily finds her, “c’mon Maggie” he says, picking her up gently. “We’ll bring y’all some turkey later” Roger tells the other cats before going back inside. Tom Sr. now quiet, still wags his tail back and forth, still watches the dark woods.

Roger sets Maggie down in the warm house, where Maggie saunters her way through the house, passing by the other family members and laying underneath Octavia’s chair. “Hi Maggie” Octavia greets.

Emma comes out of her grandmother’s room, “thanks again for the interview, grandma.” Octavia smiles, “glad I could help. Goodness, an assignment about werewolves” she says dramatically. Emma laughs, “yeah. Who would’ve thought.” Emma holds up an old photo, the one she had been staring at in her grandmother’s bedroom. “I found this,” she says. Octavia looks at the picture, recognizing the photo of herself and her sister, Roxanne. Octavia’s posture straightens, “oh” she says. Emma smiles, “you never talk about your sister” Emma pries. Jody looks up from her game as she tries to look at the photo, she holds up a hand, “can I see?” She asks. Emma handed the picture to Jody. Octavia watches as the picture is passed. Jody nods, “wow, you guys really do look alike. What happened to her?” Jody asks. Octavia sighs at the question, “my sister, who liked handsome misters, how you disappear when the night grows near.” Jody furrows her brows, “did something happen to her?” Jody asks. Octavia nods, “my sister, a poor mystery, how I grow weary as the memories never grow weaker.” Emma and Jody look at their grandmother, Octavia begins to hum to herself, looking off.

Kit looks into the living room, watching as her mother hums to herself. Kit looks over to Emma and Jody, “girls? What happened?” She asks, looking back to her mother. Jody watches as her grandmother continues to hum to herself, seemingly distant. “We just wanted to know about Grandma’s sister,” Emma says, holding up the photo. Kit looks at the photo, sighing to herself, “put the photo back where you found it. Then do me a favor, and let your grandmother ride out her humming” she says. Penelope peeks her head through before going back into the kitchen.