Nalo Hopkinson: Midnight Robber

“Sadie! I coming, gal!” Tan-Tan fetch one blow to the rolling calf tail with she machète. The spikes went flying off. The beast scream and left Sadie to come after Tan-Tan. She couldn’t see it good in the night, but she could smell it. Yeasty breath, like bread dough a-spoil. Rolling calf-them does have they snout full of grinding plates, and sharp eyes, for the half-way tree jungle dark like the Blackheart man soul. Them have hard scales all over the body. When them move fast, the scales and the tail spikes does rattle. That is why the first colonists did name the animal “rolling calf”; the rattling noise remind them of the scary anansi stories they grannies tell about the Rolling Calf, a jumbie bull calf all wrap up in chains, with eyes of fire, that does chase people travelling alone at night.

The rolling calf lunge and snap at Tan-Tan. It catch she by she sleeve, and she had was to tear it free. “Ai!” She leave some of the flesh of she arm in the rolling calf jaws. Tan-Tan could hear Sadie sobbing on the ground, and praying steady steady, but she couldn’t mind that; the beast swipe she with it injured tail and send she slamming down. The fall knock out all she wind. She try to roll away, but the rolling calf grab she foot. She feel the bite of it grinding plates scraping down she leg nearly to the bone. She scream and she jerk the foot away, but she shoe leave behind in the rolling calf mouth. Don’t tell me I go dead right here tonight, Tan-Tan think. She had was to move fast; the way to kill a rolling calf was to stab up through the brain, but she only had one chance. If she miss and it trample she, she would dead anyway. The rolling calf haul back to lunge again; Tan-Tan roll to she knees under the snapping jaws. With two hands, she drive the machète upwards, praying she hit brain. She feel the machète shudder. Rolling calf blood start to spray from the wound, all over she hands, and the beast crash down right on top of she. The blow almost knock she senseless. She couldn’t move. She hear Sadie cry out, “Lady, you alright? Oh God, lady, don’t dead!”

“I ain’t dead, Sadie. Help me, nuh?”

Sadie limp over and drag Tan-Tan out, crying the whole time, and calling on God to save they life. Tan-Tan didn’t mind. She let Sadie rip up she kerchief to wipe off the rolling calf blood and bind up she foot. It feel nice to have somebody fretting over she. Sadie had was to help Tan-Tan stand up, for she still bassourdie from the blows she catch, but they couldn’t stay there. Tan-Tan drag she machète out of the carcass, and use it to pry out she shoe from the jaws. The shoe was slimy when she put it back on. Tan-Tan give Sadie a shaky smile:

“But look at the two of we, eh? My foot chew up, your bodice rip, both of we cover in bruises, and is where the hell your market basket gone to?” They find where the basket did drop when the rolling calf attack. Most of the goods was still inside, though all but three of the eggs break. They start walking again, with Tan-Tan leaning on Sadie shoulder to ease the pain in she foot (when was the last time she trust anybody so?) Sadie only carrying on about how they almost dead, but Tan-Tan let she talk; it was the voice of a friend.

By now, they was heading downhill, and them reach a fork in the path. On the right hand was the lights of Resurrection Town. On the left hand, Tan-Tan could see Basse-Terre. Tan-Tan stop and stand up by sheself, but Sadie didn’t want she to go.

“Lady,” she say, “words alone can’t thank you; you save my life this night! My home not far; you want to come? You could spend tonight with we.”

Tan-Tan was dog-tired. She couldn’t make Sadie know who she was. All she want was to be in Resurrection Town, where she could speak she name and be welcome, and rest she head for one night. “No, thank you, darling. My grannie waiting in Juncanoo, and I don’t want to leave she alone tonight.”

“Alright, I understand, but I will come and visit you while you there. Lemme give you a little something to go with, nuh? I still have some nice naseberry from the market.” Sadie reach into she basket to give Tan-Tan the fruit, but Tan-Tan decide to end the masquerade right there. She couldn’t make Sadie come looking for she. She reach up and dash she scarf from she head, and the dreadlocks tumble down she shoulders, black like eels in river water. Sadie gasp and drop the two naseberry-them. Them split open on the path. The black seeds remind Tan-Tan of the eyes of the douens; all dark with no centre. She say to Sadie:

“You could stop calling me ‘lady’: I name Tan-Tan! Go your ways in peace, darling, and let me go mine. Tell the people in Basse-Terre that is Tan-Tan save your life this night.”

“Oh, God, oh God: I going! Don’t hurt me, nice lady, Devil Lady, do…” Sadie turn and run off down the hill, looking back every minute to make sure Tan-Tan wasn’t following. Tan-Tan watch she run. She feel a sadness weighing she down; she alone in the night again. She turn down the fork towards Resurrection Town, but before she get far, the whispering start in she head again:

No obeah there in do-for-do,

If you take one, you must give back two.

“Oh, God, oonuh leave me alone, nuh? I already save one life tonight, and I tired! Let me rest a little? Please?” But the voices in she head only saying, not one, but two… Tan-Tan drop to she knees on the path, sobbing with fatigue. Two… two… two… Finally, she get up again, and limp back along the path. As she reach the carcass of the dead rolling calf, she hear something whimpering in the dark. The rolling calf baby was huddling against the mother dead body, crying for she. When it see Tan-Tan, it start to hiss and snarl.

“Oho,” Tan-Tan say to the baby, “if I leave you here, mongoose bound to eat you before morning come.” She pick up the baby. It try to snap at she, and the tail swipe she in she face.

“You little bit, but you tallawah,” Tan-Tan say with a smile. She tuck the baby under she arm, where the tail couldn’t do no harm, and start off again, humming a tune to calm the rolling calf baby. It kick and fight and scratch up Tan-Tan two arms-them, but it was company. Finally, it get tired and fall asleep, just as they reach Resurrection Town. It was almost ’fore-day morning. Tan-Tan was the only one out on the streets. She make she way towards Pearl house, with the rolling calf baby getting heavy in she tired arms. The douen voices in she head was quiet for now, but how the ass to convince Pearl to let she keep a wild animal in she clean house for the night?

A rumbling noise woke Tan-Tan. Exhausted, she peeked out from sleep, blew one of Tefa’s breast feathers out of her face. The piteous rumbling came again. Tan-Tan struggled to her knees, leaned over the side of the nest. Yes, the rolling calf pup had overnight eaten every leaf in a six-metre circle round where her leash was tethered, and was demanding breakfast. In the weeks since Tan-Tan and Tefa had been looking after the pup, she had grown quickly, now stood nearly as high as Tan-Tan’s hip. The chain that held her was stretched taut. She was leaning towards a patch of shoots that was just out of reach, mouthing her flexible beak at it and crying for help.

* Time to let she go soon.*

“You think so?”

*She nearly big enough to fend for sheself now.*

Tefa distrusted the rolling calf pup, had tried to convince Tan-Tan to release her into the bush as soon as her teeth plates had come in. But she cost them nothing to keep, beyond the initial cost of her chain. Is only leaves she wanted. They had plenty of those, oui. Hard to believe that something that looked so able to hunt and kill for its supper was a folivore, harmful only if you frightened it or threatened it. Or got in its unmindful way. Tan-Tan’s foot was still sore from where the beast had stepped on it yesterday.