By Neil Primus

ETHEL was a bad girl. Everyone kept out of her way. She was always ready for a confrontation. If you looked too hard at her, and she didn’t like it: Trouble!It was difficult not to look at Ethel. She was young, beautiful and very sexy. When she dressed, it left little to the imagination. She was not afraid to flaunt her assets for all to admire or gawk at.
At 22, she was one of the most attractive women in the village of Staten Field. All the men admired her; all the women disliked her. It was with the latter that most of her clashes occurred.
Early one August evening, Old Mrs. Kirk saw Ethel passing in one of the shortest skirts imaginable. If she only coughed, it would be a matter of sudden exposure. Mrs. Kirk had six children; all girls. They were married with children and living overseas. She knew how to raise good young ladies. As Ethel strutted by, Mrs. Kirk called out to her.
“Child, go home and put on some clothes before you ketch cold na!”
“Wha you sey?”
This was ample warning to shut up and mind your own business.
“Yuh showing out all yuh body. Yuh nah shame?”
Ethel lost it. She give poor Mrs. Kirk a good Guyanese busing. Mrs. Kirk heard things about herself that even she didn’t know of. She quietly withdrew, leaving Ethel to rant on. After someone shouted that they had called the police, the angry woman hustled away.
Everyone was wary of her. One wrong word and you were in for a good cuss- out. Even Pastor Cuffy was very circumspect when speaking to Ethel. Once he invited her to church, and she said in a wicked undertone:
“Dis is all the clothes I have pastor. Can I wear it?”
Well! Even the preacher, who was blacker than 10 past midnight in an eclipse, blushed, right down to his well manicured toenails. He looked away guiltily, because Ethel was wearing very little, and he knew it would be pandemonium in church if she appeared dressed like that. Even though it would increase the male membership, he would have a mini riot among his loyal ladies. No way!
Ethel had a very busy nightlife; she worked out of a Brazilian nightclub, and was one of the favourite girls. Her professional title was ‘Glamorous Escort’. The club was in the nearby town, and was frequented by most of the men in the village. Only a few had not utilized her services; most of them were married men. She kept their secret and their money. Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday’s were her busiest nights. After work, she would get a lift to the head of the village, and walked the mile-and-a-half in. Ethel lived at the very last house in the village.
The house was left her by her mom, who was deceased. She never knew her father, and had been sexually abused for years by a number of her mother’s male friends. Mom turned a blind eye, because the men were her only source of income.
Her mother died when she was 14, and Ethel stopped going to school. She had affair after affair with the men of the village, and became very unpopular with the women. When the Brazilians opened the club in the town, she got a job there.
Her walk home was usually uneventful; everyone was usually sound asleep, long before 2 or 3am in the morning. She had the road to herself, and except for a few annoying dogs, nothing bothered her. Sometimes, she would take off her high heels and walk barefoot along the dark, unlit road.
One fore–day morning, Ethel had a very strange encounter. To this day, many people have doubts about her story. She was walking along the village road on her way home on that fateful morning. The click, click sound of her heels tapped out her rate of progress. It was a casual note. In the nearby bushes, Ethel heard a rustling noise. She glanced in that direction, only to see a fat pig ambling from the undergrowth. Smiling to herself, she strolled on.
As she walked, she sensed that something was amiss. Glancing back, she saw the pig walking in her direction. This didn’t bother her one bit, and she continued on. Click! Clack! Click! She glanced back once more; the pig was drawing nearer. On she went, Click! Clack! Click! The sound was much louder now. Looking back, Ethel became worried. This animal was catching up to her. Worse, the click, clack click was not only her heels, but the pig’s hooves. It was keeping perfect time with her.
Ethel increased her pace. Click! Clack! Click! Clack! The fat pig kept pace. She stopped suddenly. The sound ceased. Sweat began to trickle down her face, back and arms. She started an ungainly run; the pig trotted closer. Ethel started to tremble. What was going on here?? Then, the old fire in her burst out, and she rounded angrily on the animal.
“Get!! Why de hell you followin’ me?”
The pig’s eyes glowed, and a smooth voice said:
“Yuh shoulda neva talk!”
Poor Ethel couldn’t believe her ears. Then, something even more incredible happened. The pig grinned at her, and skinned its teeth. To Ethel’s horror, the animal’s mouth was filled with flashing gold teeth! Then, the pig gave her a golden glow. Its body shone like the noonday sun.
“Heh! Heh! Heh! Heh!”
The smiling animal came at her at a gallop.
With that, Ethel let out a scream that would annoy a deaf man. Kicking her expensive shoes away, she took off with a sprint. The jolly pig followed, jeering her all the way.
“Heh! Heh! Heh! Heh…!”
Ethel knew that the animal was catching up with her fast. She looked around desperately. Where could she seek refuge? The only place with lights on was the church. Although she never liked going to church, it became her best choice at that moment. She scaled the fence and banged on the door. Of course, nobody was there. Then a strange thing occurred. The pig stopped on the road, and its grin became an ugly snarl.
“Ah must ketch up wid yuh some time! Yuh like walk late!”
Then, the fat pig disappeared. Ethel placed her head on her knees and wept.
The next day, people passing by were shocked to see Ethel on the church step. When dawn broke, she ventured out. She told everyone who cared to listen about her experience but many didn’t believe and only laughed at her. Only Mrs. Kirk understood. She called Ethel and spoke to her.
“That is a bad jumbie you meet up, chile. If it ketch yuh, yuh dead!”
Ethel promptly left the nightclub and got a job at the supermarket. She was home every day before dark.