Mystic Doorknob
The grayness of morning
was settling over the weather-beaten clapboard shack. No lights glowed inside. The gloominess inside was felt by its two
occupants.
A once beautiful lady lay silent with closed eyes waiting on
the death angel. Margaret Lynn Hatchet,
old looking beyond her thirty-four years, whispered “Elijah, come closer.” Elijah reached for his mother’s hand saying,
“I’m here, mama”.
“Elijah, remember the
glass doorknob; I keep in the old trunk. Promise me you’ll take the doorknob to
Cedarbrook Plantation in Enid, Mississippi.
My father's a wealthy man.
Cedarbrook was the glory of the Delta. Big white columns on the front of the house,
enormous Magnolia and weeping willow trees glorified the house. After
mother died, daddy married her sister, Betsy. Betsy always wore black to affront the devil.
While daddy was on a business trip to Memphis, she sicced the
dogs on me. I ran thru the cotton field
to the swamp.” Before a promise was made, a rattling breath
left her. A gasp was made and all was quiet.
Elijah sat with bowed head, placing her arms across her chest. Her burial would have to be in a pauper’s
grave.
Elijah was standing on
pauper soil early the next morning watching the sunrise. A gravedigger helped him bury his mother
wrapped in a blanket. There was no
coffin or pillow for her head. On his
knees, he touched the grave saying goodbye.
Entering the cabin, he
went to the wooden trunk with ornate designs.
Inside he found a shiny glass doorknob. It was just a doorknob but he remembered
light shining thru it made brilliant colors. He had spent many hours playing
with it as a child.
He left the cabin for
the last time taking only a blanket, a few extra clothes and the doorknob. Not having made plans, the place to go was
the dock. Living in New Orleans, he had
seen the riverboats and heard the cry Mark Twain. Knowing he had to travel up river, maybe he
could work for his passage.
The dock was buzzing
with activity. A steady stream of men were loading cargo unto the Orleans Bell.
The red and white paddleboat floated serene on the calm water. Elijah asked a burly man trying to maneuver a
barrel, “Where’s the captain?’
“Reckon that’s Captain
Mayhew over there chomping on that big cigar”. Elijah got close enough to see a
long scar from Captain Mayhew’s eye to his chin. With apprehension,
he asked for work on the Orleans Bell for passage upriver. Captain Mayhew
looked down asking, “How old are you boy?”
Maybe he could deceive
the captain by lying. “I’m 18 and need a
ride to Enid.”
“I
can get you close by letting you off about thirty miles below Memphis. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way. Get aboard and
tell Jocko to put you to work.
Four days later, Elijah
was carried ashore
in a small skip. He was told to walk
north to Enid. Finding a trail made by animals, Elijah turned
north. The land was deserted with
nothing in sight. After several hours ,he was dirty and tired but he was
determined to go a few more miles before resting. Trudging down the road, he
was surprised to see a colored boy wearing patched overalls sitting on a stump
with an old hound dog licking his toes.
The boy was startled to see Elijah.
“You lost.”
“No, I’ve got to go to Enid. How far?”
“ About ten miles or
so. Want to come home with me. My name’s
Terrance. My ma will have sugar cookies.”
Following Terrance along a hidden path covered with vines, Elijah spied
a rough lumbered shack with part of the roof and porch sagging. Several dogs came running and barking. Terrance picked up a rock and threw at them
yelling, “Git back there! Ma, I brung
somebody.”
Terrance’s mother looked
at Elijah said, “Child, you could use a meal. We’ve got greens, corn bread,
plenty of milk and sugar cookies. What’re you doing out here?”
“I’ve got to go to Enid
and find Cedarbrook Plantation.”
“That’s on down the
road. I wouldn’t go there. Talk is old
Mr. Hatchet went crazy when his only
daughter died after falling off her horse.
No one’s there except the old man
and Willie John, the doorman. Willie John and the old man were in Memphis when
she died and she was buried before they got home. Talk is Mr. Hatchet shot the
horse but Willie John said something just wasn’t right, that horse was gentle
as a kitten.
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The big house was in a field
overgrown with weeds. A narrow path lead to the structure. Looking at the dilapidated house, Elijah
could tell it was once an icon of wealth and glory. Many steps lead to the wrap-around porch and
a stained glass window in the door. No
sound could be heard. After several
knocks, a sound of someone coming seemed to echo. A man dressed in threadbare clothes that was
much too big for him opened the door.
Made uneasy by the man’s staring, Elijah
said,” I need to see Mr. Hatchet.”
“He doesn’t have
visitors”.
"I’ve came from
New Orleans. My mother, Margaret, sent him a door knob.”
Willie John’s mind
flashed back over the years. After arriving
home from Memphis to hear the terrible news, Willie John had gone to Miss Margaret’s
room. The inside doorknob was missing. He had heard talk that the young
Mrs. Hatchet had locked Margaret in her room telling the help
to go to the orchard. “I’ll take you to him”.
The sound of footprints
echoing in the house caused Mr. Hatchet to look into the dirt stained face of
Elijah asking, "How did you get in?”
Pulling the glass
doorknob out of his bundle, Elijah said, "This was my mother’s. She was your daughter.”
“My daughter died years
ago.”
“Your daughter died a
week ago. She told me
to give this doorknob to you. My
mother’s name was Margaret. She said her
stepmother ran her off threatening to sic the dogs on her.”
Grabbing
Mr. Hatchet before he toppled out of his chair, Willie John said, "The old
door is in the attic. The knob looked small in Willie John’s large hand as he
slowly left to climb the stairs to the dark and moldy attic. The doorknob was a perfect match. Willie John‘s
steps was slower as he didn’t know how to face his long time friend.
Several days later, two
men were hired to dig up a grave.
Identifying a brass ring as belonging to Susanne, Margaret’s personal
servant, Willie John knew the younger Mrs. Hatchet had killed her to keep Margaret’s
fate secret. Willie John and Susanne
were to be married after he returned from Memphis. He was told Susanne had left with the
overseer of a plantation in Louisiana.
Cedarbrook had held many secrets. Several weeks later, Elijah returned to New
Orleans with Willie John on the Orleans Belle.
Margaret’s body was placed in a silk lined casket for a ride up river to
Cedarbrook. A tombstone of a smiling
young girl on a beautiful steed marks Maragret’s rightful place in the family
graveyard next to her mother.
____________________________
Revia Perrigin is a
M.S.C.W. graduate and life-long learner at M.U.W.; She lives in Columbus,Ms.
She is from Louisville, Mississippi. She
was formerly Revia Jerenia “Jenks” Hudson.