Exton

(Text of an email from Eira to Jack)

Jack -

Sorry I haven't written in a while, things have been hectic here but I've been learning a lot.

From the beginning:

Sibyl realized pretty early on that she couldn't teach me much about spirit possession, so she reached out to an expert. Her name is Jeanette Duval; she's a Vodou priestess from New Orkeans. Incidentally, that is the correct spelling - "Voodoo" is something that was invented by Hollywood; Vodou is a religion.

Anyway... Jeanette is an expert on Vodou, both the Haitian version and our own homegrown flavor. She also has expertise in other Afro-Carribean religions such as Santeria, Candomble, and Palo Mayombe. You'd like her; she's really pretty and about as unpretentious as you can get. She arrived about ten days ago looking like anybody in shorts, sandals and t-shirt. She likes music and dancing - the girl can really move her ass! - ice cream and hot guys and going barefoot, and Saint's nuts about her. When you get past the surface, though, there's a kind of calm, quiet, earthy wisdom about her. She didn't say much the first couple days, just sat in on my lessons with Sibyl, taking my measure, I guess. On the third day, though, she had some specific suggestions for me. See, (I probably should have mentioned this earlier) possession is integral to Vodou, central to it, really, especially in Haiti. In Vodou, the worshipper is possessed by the loa, spirits that are less than gods but more than just human spirits. Hmmm... let me see if I can explain that.

Vodouisants believe in one supreme god that is remote and uninvolved with this world and its people. Below him are the loa, human spirits that have evolved to another, higher level - something like the saints in Christian theology, and especially Catholicism. The loa are involved with the world and its people and they use possession as the medium by which they communicate with their worshippers.

Anyway... I'd been working with Jeanette for a little less than a week. All the experts say the same thing, essentially - let go of your ego, your sense of self and just go with the flow. (I paraphrase, omitting whole volumes of pomposity.) Of course, these "experts" never tell you HOW you're supposed to do this....

Anyway, I was practicing with David (our resident ghost, remember?) and trying out some of Jeanette's suggestions - and David was suddenly inside me, smooth as silk.

 Ummm... that didn't come out quite as intended.... :-)

It was weird... It was like watching TV... I could see and hear, but it didn't seem real, like I was getting it secondhand. I nearly panicked then, but I remembered what Jeanette said, that I'm always in control. And I thought, this is David, he's my friend... and the panic just kind of melted away.

 David stayed in my head for about fifteen minutes that first time, but we kept working at it and I eventually got to where I could "host" him for about an hour. Longer than that isn't healthy; hosting a ghost burns your energy at an amazing rate. I'm always hungry and tired after a sitting.

A couple of days ago, we all went to the cemetery - Sibyl, Jeanette, David and Your Humble Servant - and I opened myself to the spirits. This is the equivalent of putting down a can of tuna in a room full of hungry cats. The dead, as it turns out, don't just want to talk to the living; they want to feel alive again, if only for a few minutes. Most of 'em are pretty nice about it, but there are always a few assholes. (If you were an asshole in life, you'll more than likely be an asshole in the afterlife - do you find that to be true?) There were a couple who didn't want to leave when I said "time's up". I finally had to boot their ethereal asses back to the Great Beyond.

On a more earthly level, I can't wait to be back home - and back in your bed - our bed. No more holding back; I want you so bad I ache with it, and my toys aren't making a dent in it. Whatever you want, lover, however you want it - just ask, and I'll do it.

 I love you, Jack, forever and ever.

Kisses -


Eira