Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

The wildfolk—Forest, the possum; Creek, the fish; and Sky, the raven—return to the pit and speculate about what has happened to Father. They worry that he might be with a being called Mamunappeht, and they fear what he might learn—and what might happen to them—if he finds Mamunappeht. They also worry that Father might find a Shaman who would tell him the truth of what has happened to him.

Meanwhile, Father sits with the spirits at the river Lethe, where he speaks to a ghostly boar who informs him that he’s not yet ready to join the dead. Father sense Abitha’s presence nearing, and as he tries to reach out to her, he’s transported back to the world of the living.

It is now June, and Abitha goes out to the crops. Outside, she sees a man whom she assumes to be Edward, but when he turns to her, his eyes are only sockets. She runs, worrying that she has somehow made a pact with the devil. When she turns there’s nothing there. Abitha goes to church where Helen tells her that the love charm has worked—she and her beloved, Isaac, Wallace’s son, have shared a kiss—and that the women of the town scorn Abitha for trying to do a man’s work. After the service, Sarah Carter takes Abitha aside and expresses admiration for her attempt to farm by herself. She warns Abitha that Wallace is planning on indenturing her if she isn’t able to harvest the full crop—a distinct possibility given the recent lack of rain. Sarah’s warning is overheard by Ansel Fitch, the local gossip.

Now back in the forest, Father encounters some men hunting wolves. He kills one of the men and is invigorated by the kill; the other man runs, calling Father “Satan.” Father, now wondering if it is indeed his duty to act as a “slayer” for the wildfolk, speculates that killing people might help banish the visions of spiders that have been plaguing him. He approaches a woman and a child in a blackberry patch. The woman also calls him “Satan” and Father grabs her, demanding that she tell him who he really is. The woman dies in his grasp and Father, confused by his lack of desire to feast on the humans, lets the child go.

As autumn approaches, Abitha finds the farm work increasingly difficult; the lack of rain means she needs to bring water from the well to the crops. While at the well, she’s encouraged by a voice from the bottom to die by suicide; though tempted, she refuses before losing consciousness. When she wakes, she finds a bucket of berries near her, which she gratefully eats. She then feels the presence of a dark being near her, and she goes to the barn where she sees Father’s shadow. He asks for Abitha’s help in discovering his own identity, and Abitha, confused, refuses. When Abitha wakes the next morning, she finds Father outside again; he tells her that he doesn’t know what he is, and Abitha accuses him of having killed Edward and wanting to steal her soul. Father says he wants nothing to do with her soul but can’t definitely say that he didn’t kill Edward.

The next day, Abitha wakes and wonders if Father isn’t Satan but a sort of forest-god who can be appeased. She goes the woods and brings Father candy and a crown; he remembers this act of gift-offering from his past and accepts. In return, Abitha asks if he can help grow her crops. After she demands Father’s services with all her heart, she feels an intense connection to Father as he uses his powers to grow her corn. She joins in with his chant and feels her excitement building.

The wildfolk are horrified that Father isn’t becoming the slayer they need him to be. They confront him about this, telling him that he must kill Abitha, and he refuses. The wildfolk resolve to kill her themselves. The wildfolk and Father return to Abitha, and Abitha gets the wildfolk to admit that they lured Edward into the pit and killed him so that Father could eat him. Father, horrified, apologizes and promises to help Abitha with her dreams. Abitha struggles to articulate what her dreams are, but eventually she remembers that her truest dream, as a child, was to be a “fairy queen” (119). Abitha offers Father more candy, asks him for help with her crops, and tells him that she will call him Samson.