BY: ABDOOL A. AZIZ
NOCTURNAL HABIT
HIS father cautioned him many times about the danger of coming home late. The words fell on deaf ears. This recalcitrant teenager would leave work at 16:30hrs stop by the cinema and take in a 17:00hrs matinee. He would remain and see a full feature at 20:00hrs. Then he would cruise home on his sports cycle, alone in the pitch black night; almost at midnight. Despite the dangers and warnings from his parents he would break the curfew. He loved to ride at nights. They called him ‘The Sheriff’.

But one night he was frightened out of his wits when a Midnight Jumbee confronted him. And it was then that ‘The Sheriff’ lost his badge.
To get to his house he must ride over a bridge, about 1,000 yards away. He stopped his bike as fear gripped him. He saw a Jumbee at the head of the bridge. He saw it rising and rising and dancing. A few days ago, a man had fallen from the bridge and had drowned. ‘The Sheriff’ quickly turned around and headed for a relative’s house.

The next night he was home by 18:00hrs. His father remarked: “Hey son, no cinema tonight?” “Nah, films old. I give up movies from now on. I’ll be in early.” His mother said: “What a change, son!” “It’s time for me to bed down early. Jumbee out there.”
“You ah the Sheriff! You frighten spirits?” asked the father jokingly.
“It’s better to be home early. This Sheriff works only in the night. No Jumbee go bruck me neck.” And so the Nite Rider rode no lonely road.

What really happened
The father, burdened by worry over his son’s behaviour, hit upon a brilliant strategy. Jumbees usually leave their graves to ‘reign’ three nights following burial. This was the third night. He got a long bamboo pole, tied a big white cloth on it. He sat by the side of the bridge knowing that his son would pass there soon. When he saw his son in the distance, he began to raise the pole. Then he dangled it and pushed it up higher. Jumbees walk on air.

Meanwhile, ‘The Sheriff’ was convinced it was the drowned man, Lilman. He wasn’t going to mess with this dead. Lilman lived a bad life. He was going to be a wicked spirit, and to crown it all, ‘The Sheriff’ had a run in with the deceased. It was years later that he learned the truth, and he was the centre of mockery. ‘The Sheriff’ lost his badge to a midnight jumbee – his own dad.