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Spook] hadn't arrived over and over. E—very night.
He wouldn't let you sleep. After she was given a
curing ceremony, she was just a li—ttle [sick].
You see, the last night that he came, he si—mply
grabbed the door. He tugged and tugged at the door.
The thing is, I don't know if you know what a stave
is? That's what they got, four staves, one for each
corner of her bed. Two for the door. Two behind
her bed like this. Four around the woman's bed.
Then, with that, he left. Then, with that he retired
a bit. It was probably because the sticks had soul.
Who knows what the wood was, since it was ancient
wood.
Then, with that, he left. He left. The Spook, as we
call him, left. He didn't come back again. Three
months later he came back one night. "Nani—ta,
little Ma—ry," he said when he arrived. "Nani—ta,
little Ma—ry, little daughter, where are you?" he
said. Ooh, the boys were scared.
"Will he get in, My Lord? Will he get in, St.
Lawrence?" they said. They lit the fire. They looked
at their fire. They put wood on it. "God, we can't
possibly open the door now, indeed! We haven't any
wood left. What can we do?" said the boys. "Ah,
we'll take her bed, our beds, we'll put them on. We'll
burn them in the fire," they said. "No, we'll never
get through the night, he'll just come in," they said.
They looked. They put them o—n. With that, he
left. The next morning around six o'clock, at dawn, it
seems, he left. That was the end of it. That was the
last time he came, that one time when he came after
three months. He never came again. What difference
did it make to the woman? She got sick. She was still
sick. She never got well. She lasted just half a year in
her home. When half a year passed, she died, since
she had a hard time going to the bathroom. She
wasn't well. Something was wrong with her pee
hole. Who knows what had happened to her. She
never found a cure for it. They kept getting remedies
for it, [but] the poor woman didn't get well. She was
together with her husband for six months. She
wasn't with her sons for long, her [husband's] children.
She saw one get married. She didn't see three
of them get married.
Of the three, of the three boys, one was engaged
to his [future] wife, the others didn't have the money
for it, since they grew corn with their father. The
two were different [from the first].
What could you do? All four couldn't get wives
all of a sudden. Two now had wives, it seems. One
was married now, one was engaged now, two had no
wives when their mother died.
When the mother died, things went wrong. One of
the younger brothers went to live with his wife. The
TONIK NIBAK
j-mek, si—1 la 7ak'ubal yu7n la mu xak' vayikotik
7une, yo j-tz'u—j 7ox la ti k'al 7iyich' vokol 7une.
195
K'u xavil 7un, ja7 la taj slajeb xa 7ak'ubal 7i7ay
7une, so—lei la stzak ti ti7 nae, xi la snit ta j-mek ti ti7
nae, k'usi mu jna7 mi xavojtikin 7a li 7ak te7e, ja7 la
7issa7ik ssa7ik taj 7a li skremotik 7une, chanib la 7ak
te7 7un, ju-jun la ju-jun la sti7il stem, chib la ta ti7 na,
chib la xi ta spat steme chanib ta svayeb stuk i 7antz
7une.
Va7i 7un, ja7 ja7 to la me bat 7o 7un, ja7 to me
lok'lok' 7o 7un, bu ti ja7 o xch'ulel nan i te7e, na7tik
k'usi x7elan li te7e 7antivo te7 chava7i 7un.
Va7i 7un, ja7 to la bat 7o 7un, bat ti 7a li j7ik'al
xkaltik 7une mu xa bu 7ay 7un, ta yoxibal to la 7u
7un jun la 7ak'ubal 7i7ay 7un. Nani—ta,
Maruchi—ta!" xi la k'otel 7un. "Nani—ta,
Maruchi—ta, 7ijita, buyot?" xi la 7un. Jiii, xi7ik la ti
kremotike.
Va7i 7un, mi ch7och tal 7un, kajval, mi ch7och tal
7un San-torenso!" xi la. Stzoy la ti sk'ok'ike sk'el la ti
sk'ok'ike yak' la ti ssi7ike. "Yo7s mu xa yorauk ta
jjamtik na H7 a7a ch'abal ti jsi7tik 7une k'usi ta
jnoptik 7un?" xi la ti kremotik 7une. "7A jtamtik i 7a
li stem 7a li jvayebtike ja7 kak'betik, 7a li kak'tik ta
k'ok'," xiik la 7un. "Mo7oj mu7 nox sakub naka me
7ochuk tal," xiik la 7un.
Va7i 7un, sk'elik la 7u—n yak'ik la 7u—n 7ibat 7o
7un, sakub ti 7osil lek nan vakib 7ora 7ik'-luman
ya7el 7une bat la 7un ch'ab xi la 7un, slajeb la me 7ay
ti ta yoxibal 7u j-7ech'el 7i7ay 7une, mu xa la bu 7ay
7un, k'u stu ti 7antz 7uneee, 7ipaj, 7ip xa 7onox 7un
mu xa 7onox bu lek, 7i yo 7o71ol xa la jabil 7ech' ti ta
sna 7une, sta 7o71ol jabil cham la 7u—n, ja7 la ti
chopol xa ti chbat ta yut moke ja7 la muk' lek ja7 la
7ipaj li yav jk'abtike na7tik k'usi spas mu la bu sta xa
spoxil, naka la ssa7beik spoxil mu xa la smeltzaj ti
prove 7antz 7une, vakib xa 7u xchi7in ti smalal ya7el
7une, mu xa bu jal 7ixchi7in ti skremotike, ti
xch'amaltake, jun to lae yil to la nupun, 7ox-vo7 xa
muk' xil xnupun.
Va7i 7un, ta yox-va7al, ta yox-va7al kremotike,
jak'bil la kom yajnil ti June, 7a li June mu to 7ox la
buy stak'inal ja7 la ti yu7un chchabaj xchi7uk ti
stote, slekoj cha7-vo7.
Va7i 7un, mu k'u xacha71e ya7el ta jun tiro sa7bel
yajnil xchan-va7al 7un, cha7-vo7 xa 7oy ya7el yajnil,
June yik'oj xa li June k'ubul xa, cha7-vo7 7une ja7
ch'abal yajnilik 7un ti k'al 7icham i sme7ik 7une.
Va7i 7un, ja7 to sok ti k'alal 7icham ti me7il 7une,
tael xa la bat ti jun 7itz'inal 7une, 7a ti June lok' to la