Midnight Robber

The novel Midnight Robber contains three "spines" that are "folk" tales, written by me but inspired by existing folk tales. Here's an excerpt from the very first one I wrote that eventually grew into the full novel:

It had a nice evening breeze blowing soft through the trees beside the path. Is the same song the breeze used to sing in the trees on Toussaint planet, when Tan-Tan was a little gal pickney. Walking along, she almost forget she was a exile on New Half Way Tree with a curse on she head from the douen: every time she take from somebody, she had was to give back twice as much to a next somebody. But she couldn't really forget the curse, nuh? All like how she just take a life, she was going to have to save two more, just to even up. Tan-Tan could hear the whispering of the douen starting up in she head again:

It ain't have no magic in do-feh-do. If you take one, you mus' give back two.

Tan-Tan sigh and keep walking. Up ahead, she spy a form in the dark, someone hurrying to get home; a woman in long skirts. She was walking fast-fast, she shoulders all scrunch up together. She looking from side to side into the bush every minute, as though she could see trouble before it reach, oui? A tree-frog shout "Breck-eck!" into the night, and the woman jump like jumbie on she tail, and start to make haste even faster. Tan-Tan see a chance to do somebody good, and quiet down some of the whispering in she head. She shout:

"Evening, Sister: is home you going?" The woman cry out, "Lawd ha'mercy!" and whip around to see who coming up behind she.

Tan-Tan say, "Don't frighten, Lady, don't frighten. I just going over the mountain, past Resurrection Town to Juncanoo. I going to spend some time with my old grannie; she ain't too strong any more, oui." As Tan-Tan get closer, she could see the woman shoulders relax, but she voice still tremble when she reply, " Thanks God, you is a honest woman. Bounty hunters tell we Tan-Tan round the place, and I frighten to walk this lonely road by myself so late at night. I stay too late in the market. I 'fraid Tan-Tan hold me and cut me throat like hog!"

Tan-Tan smile. "Is alright, Lady, I could walk a little way with you to keep you company. Is where you going?"