Chapter 1

The Bedroom

    Before the moon has even set, La Guiablesse begins her familiar routine. After stretching languidly in her high bed, she rises, lifts the mosquito net with a nonchalant gesture, climbs down using her ti’ban, and stirs the embers beneath the ashes of the small fire kept under her bed, used to keep mosquitoes away.

To leave her hut and make her way to her morning bath, she opens each of the louvered shutters that separate her bedroom from the rest of the dwelling.

Chapter 3

The Occult Room Pt. 1

    After her bath, La Guiablesse takes a moment to settle beneath her gallery, in her dodine, to smoke her pipe, savoring it deeply, drawing each breath in fully. She lays her bath towel over the single armrest of her Creole rocking chair and carefully chops dried tobacco leaves, which she places into her delicate wooden pipe.

She reaches for one of the bottles from her collection of essential oils and perfumes, letting a drop fall onto a few of the clay blocks forming the wall before her. The mingled scents of vetiver, castor oil, tobacco, roucou, and sugar now fill her senses.

As she exhales the smoke, her small hoof taps rhythmically against the rocky ground. She feels as though she is being blessed by Vaval himself, as the rising sun gently warms part of her face. Then, a cool breeze brushes against her skin, weaving through the surrounding trees as if whispering words of love. The atmosphere lulls her into a soft trance.

This enchanting scene, her garden framed in wood, transports her into a parallel world.

Chapter 4

The Kitchen Pt. 1

    The day finally begins. Before attending to her daily tasks, La Guiablesse heads into her kitchen, takes down her hanging silver pot, and pours out yesterday’s water into the garden with an effortless gesture. She then refills it with fresh drinking water from her lavandé basin.

Once again, this is water collected during rainy days through a cascading storage system. From the gutters, the water flows into a large stone wall that runs around the entire hut through the garden. Large jars are connected to it, each overflowing into the next until the water reaches the basin.

La Guiablesse enjoys drinking various infusions throughout the day, starting early in the morning. She steps into her garden to gather gwozèy péyi, brizé, and à-tous-maux, which she infuses in hot water, accompanied by a sugar apple and a delicious starfruit—all arranged on a wooden tray.

Chapter 5

The Bathroom Pt. 2

    Her morning is devoted to tending her Eden, but not only that. La Guiablesse is equally concerned with her beauty ritual. For this afternoon, in all her splendor, she will wander through the fields once more, seeking to lure an innocent soul into her lair.

It is in her bathing room that she takes the time to conceal her ugliness and transform into another woman entirely. Standing over her basin, she rinses her face, cleans her mouth, and applies a range of wondrous oils to her body, her face, her hair…

She then slips into her finest attire, carefully hung from the timber frame. Her outfit consists of a white cotton petticoat layered with a satin black skirt. Above, a white lace titane reveals her smooth, golden shoulders.

Her long, sun-kissed hair is held in place with an arrangement of pins, all crowned by an elaborate headdress with a single pointed tip, signaling that her heart is available, at least in the eyes of her future victims.

 

Chapter 6

The Kitchen Pt. 2

    Before setting off on the “hunt,” La Guiablesse prepares her meal. In the kitchen, the canari simmers over the large fire, ploc-ploc, releasing a rich scent of chili. From her suspended pantry, she retrieves yams, which she cuts into pieces.

Fruits, vegetables, and spices hang here and there, ready to be “picked” and tossed into the large canari. Some of the fresh ingredients are stored in a desert fridge set behind the traditional garden. This central feature allows La Guiablesse to cook her stew over logs placed beneath it.

Once the meal is ready, she settles by the large nearby tray and eats slowly, with restraint, to avoid being overwhelmed by the midday heat when she steps outside.

 

Chapter 7

The Occult Room Pt. 2

    Upon returning, she hangs her broom along one of the hut’s columns and places the cutlass, taken from her victim, among her collection. It is time for her to call upon the occult world.

She grabs her worn tarot deck and begins to shuffle it vigorously as she sits on her stool beside a small guéridon table. The room is spellbinding, the curtain and the suspended amulets sway gently, creating a supernatural atmosphere filled with magic, spirits, demons, and tribal deities.

Chapter 8 

The Game Room

    Toward the end of the afternoon, two of La Guiablesse’s closest companions, Papadjab and Kokozombi, her carnival accomplices, come to visit their old friend. They place their bakoua hats on the hat stand column and settle around the game table.

They meet daily to share the latest gossip while playing dominoes. A true makrel at heart, their hostess takes great pleasure in listening to these stories, but also in telling her own, as she is known for her talent as a storyteller.

Her listeners are captivated by her words, sometimes diabolical, yet at times surprisingly wise. She offers them a large glass of tafia before sending them both off completely drunk.

Chapitre 9

The Fromager Tree
     
As evening falls, Tit Pocame, the little boy from the neighborhood, takes advantage of his godmother turning her back to slip away and visit La Guiablesse. She does not approve of her godson visiting her neighbor, known for her ill omens. Tit Pocame is a beautiful young boy, his hair forming a thousand tiny coils.

Barefoot, he makes his way to the hut of his favorite storyteller. Together, they settle beneath the great fromager tree, around a generous fire crackling with fragrant woods, gaïac, sandalwood, mahogany, cinnamon wood, and green ebony. Facing her, she places a ti’ban on which Tit Pocame can sit for the duration of the tale.

The majestic tree above them, the fire, and the rhythm of the drum she sets between her legs invite the spirits to join in the telling of these folktales. Placing her old bakoua hat beside the serin, she begins:

“Bonbonne fois! Trois fois bel conte…” (once upon a time…)
La Guiablesse: Yékrik!
Tit Pocame: Yékrak!

Tit Pocame shivers, laughs, fidgets, claps, and sings along with La Guiablesse.

During the story, the storyteller calls out:
“La cou dô?”
Tit Pocame: “Non, la cou dô pa!”

And the tale continues, more vibrant than ever.