Play@YSDC

“Sunday, March 29th is Palm Sunday, Thursday, April 2nd is Maundy Thursday, Friday April 3rd is Good Friday, Sunday April 5th is Easter itself, Monday April 6th is Easter Monday, Thursday May 14th is Ascension, Sunday May 24th is Pentecost and Thursday June 4th is Corpus Christi,” replied Father Daigle. “And then there’s the saint’s days… …”

Father Ortega gave his visitors a pleading look, and said firmly, “They’re all on the calendar, Father. I’ve checked!”

As Lawrence wandered around the back of the church, he found a school-age boy sat with his back to the church, bouncing a rubber ball off one of the nearby gravestones and catching it. He jumped at Lawrence’s sudden appearance, and the ball bounced away into the grass.

“1886? That would be the Great Storm,” replied Father Daigle, sombrely. “The day dawned clear and there was no sign of any trouble on the way but by 4.00pm, the waters on the bayou had risen by four feet and by 7.00pm, the hurricane hit. More than a hundred died, some still missing to this day! The ones they found, they buried here before they rebuilt the church.”

"Hey there, kid." Lawrence waves at the boy, trudging off into the grass to retrieve the lost ball.
"Have you seen anything interesting around here?"

"It's not like a big storm like that to come out of nowhere," says William. "Do you think there might have been something...supernatural about it?"

It was a bold play, but Alex admired William's directness. He's torn between supporting the lawyer and keeping quiet, and opts for the latter for now. If the priests found William to be a crackpot, best to not have him and Ivy tared too badly with the same brush. He listens intently for the men's response, and if either of them seemed open to the possibility.

1d100

A thought strikes Ivy.

"Speaking of St. Patrick, is there an abundance of snakes in the area? I'm not... comfortable... with the creatures."

Father Daigle shook his head. “I can tell by your accents that’s you’re not from round these parts,” he said. “The Gulf of Mexico has regular storms, some bigger than others. It comes with the territory.”

“As for snakes, well, you’re on the bayou and they live there, but I can’t say I’ve seen them doing anything out of the ordinary, have you, Frank?” He looked at Father Ortega, who shook his head.

Alex has no reason to suspect either man of being untruthful or evasive.

The young lad shook his head, then said ”No, mister.” He stared at Lawrence for a second or two more then said, ”You ain’t gonna tell on me, are yuh? My daddy’ll paddle me if he finds out I skipped school.”

"I'm none too fond of snakes myself," says William.

Father Daigle appears to be telling the truth.

"What's your opinion of Nashoba?" asks William. "He sounds like an interesting fellow."

"You aren't my son, so whether you're at school or not isn't any of my concern." Lawrence shrugs. "My friends and I are just here to write a book, and they sent me out to find anything that'll get the attention of readers. What about those gravestones, all of those folks 'taken by God'?"

Father Daigle shook his head sadly. “His people moved away but he still lives here with his wife, son and his family. He’ll tell anyone who listens that nothing good will come of the damage to their burial grounds, and I can see his point, in a way. I’d be annoyed if anything happened to the church,” said Father Daigle.

“Mainly though, he just gets up the nose of the oilmen. Anything goes wrong on site and he’s round there, telling them that the ancient spirits are displeased. You can imagine how that’s received. Him and the foreman have had words more than once.”

”Some kinda storm, many years ago,” replied the kid.

”Daddy says some of our family were killed and got buried there.” He shrugged. It had happened before his lifetime and he probably couldn’t imagine how such a thing could happen.