Mrs. Marcella

Caribbean Folktale

Mrs. Marla Marcelle was a strange, little, old lady. No more than 5 feet tall, she could be misconstrued as timid, but her bold, strong eyes and powerful voice confirmed otherwise. Mrs. Marcelle could seldom be found without her fashionable hats, white gloves and colourful chains. She was indeed very kind and sweet, but she had some odd habits. For some unknown reason, Marla had a fear of cokeyea brooms, and she refused to venture outdoors before the sunset. This meant that Marla’s children and grandchildren did all her shopping, grocery, market and otherwise.

There was even an incident which made the entire neighbourhood speculate that Marla was a supernatural being. A bag of rice and salt fell and spilled all over the kitchen floor; without hesitation, 65-year-old Marla ran Olympic-style and hid in the garage, until the mess was cleaned up. She insisted that she only ran in fear because she felt as though grains of rice and salt in such a large amount would instantly raise her sugar and blood pressure levels. Her relatives laughed and thought that Marla was just being silly but when the village found out what happened, a Catholic Priest was immediately summoned by the villagers to the Marcelle residence.

Of course, that did not end well. Marla Marcelle, herself, took up her finest cutlass and used the flat side of it to smack the Priest on his behind several times, and at the very same time sprayed him with a can of Bop. I don’t have to tell you how fast he sprinted out of there. Marla then proceeded to call the Police and report that she had been attacked by a good-for-nothing Catholic Priest and would have put a restraining order in place, if she had only taken the time to find out the Priest’s name.

Marla’s actions convinced the village that she was up to no good, but they were too afraid to investigate further. After all, how did a 65-year-old woman still look like she did 30 years ago? Marla credited it to her wonderful genes, and in a way she was right. She was also blessed with the gift of youth that had been passed down to her, as part of her reward for being a Guardian of the very village that feared her.

Many, many Moons ago, long before the invention of streetlights and a reliable power supply, it was not unusual for villagers to get lost at night on their way back

home from the sugar cane plantations. Many of these villagers often found themselves in harm’s way. However, one night as a kindred spirit flew past and saw someone in distress, she felt the need to intervene. She gathered all the energy in her soul and became a large ball of fire. Humans are curious creatures, so naturally, the lost man followed her and found his way safely back to the path that led him home.

The spirit became attached to the lives of the villagers and decided to live among them, as a fellow Human Being. She also vowed to protect them from malicious spirits. She was a wise spirit and knew that she must never reveal herself to any Human. Of course, as the years went by, she fell in love with one of the men she closely protected. It was then that she started a family and passed on her gift to generations to come.

Most Humans do not understand the way of the Soucouyant and make up untruths about them; “facts” such as Soucouyants drink blood to survive or they are malicious creatures. Fear often propels these lies. However, if you ever met Mrs. Marcelle, you would know that she is the kindest, sweetest person you could ever meet. In addition to ensuring that you are always safe in her presence, she will offer you homemade coconut bake, pholourie, roti, callaloo and cou cou, just to name a few.

The moral of this story is, don’t judge a Soucouyant unless you talk to one while eating her sada roti and bujol.