Ruby

She smirked, wiped her hands on her apron, and crossed the kitchen to get closer. I saw she wore a small pouch around her neck on a black shoestring. For a moment she stared into my face. Her black eyes narrowed, burned into mine, and then widened. She stepped back and seized the small pouch between her right thumb and forefinger so she could hold it out between us.

'Who you be, girl?' she demanded.

'My name is Ruby,' I said quickly, and shifted my eyes to Beau, who was still smiling impishly.

'Nina is warding off any evil with the voodoo power in that little sack, aren't you, Nina?'

She looked at him and at me and then dropped the sack to her chest again.

'This here, five finger grass,' she said. 'It can ward off any evil that five fingers can bring, you hear?'

I nodded.

'Who this be?' she asked Beau.

'It's Gisselle's secret sister,' he said. 'Obviously, twin sister,' he added. Nina stared at me again.

'How do you know that?' she asked, taking another step back. 'My Grandmere, she told me once about a zombie made to look like a woman. Everyone stuck pins in the zombie and the woman screamed in pain until she died in her bed.'

Beau roared.

'I'm not a zombie doll,' I said. Still suspicious, Nina stared.

'I daresay if you stick pins in her, Nina, she'll be the one to scream, not Gisselle.' His smile faded and he grew serious. 'She's traveled here from Houma, Nina, but on the way to the house, she had a bad experience. Someone tried to attack her in an alley.'

Nina nodded as if she already knew.

'She's actually quite frightened and upset,' Beau said.

'Sit you down, girl,' Nina said, pointing to a chair by the table. 'I'll get you something to make your stomach sit still. You hungry, too?'

I shook my head.

'Did you know Gisselle had a sister?' Beau asked her as she went to prepare something for me to drink. She didn't respond for a moment. Then she turned.

'I don't know anything I'm not supposed to know,' she replied. Beau lifted his eyebrows. I saw Nina mix what looked like a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses into a glass of milk with a raw egg and some kind of powder. She mixed it vigorously and brought it back.

'Drink this in one gulp, no air,' she prescribed. I stared at the liquid.

'Nina usually cures everyone of anything around here,' Beau said. 'Don't be afraid.'

'My Grandmere could do this, too,' I said. 'She was a Traiteur.'

'Your Grandmere, a Traiteur?' Nina asked. I nodded.

'Then she was holy,' she said, impressed. 'Cajun Traiteur woman can blow the fire out of a burn and stop bleeding with the press of her palm,' Nina explained to Beau.

'I guess she's not a zombie girl then, huh?' Beau asked with a smile. Nina paused.

'Maybe not,' she said, still looking at me with some suspicion. 'Drink,' she commanded, and I did what she said even though it didn't taste great, I felt it bubble in my stomach for a moment and then I did feel a soothing sensation.

'Thank you,' I said. I turned with Beau to look at the doorway when we heard the footsteps coming down the hall. A moment later, Gisselle Dumas appeared, dressed in a beautiful red, bare shoulder satin gown with her long red hair brushed until it shone. It was about as long as mine. She wore dangling diamond earrings and a matching diamond necklace set in gold.

'Beau,' she began, 'why are you late and what's this about a surprise guest?' she demanded. She whirled to confront me, putting her fists on her hips before she turned in my direction. Even though I knew what to expect, the reality of seeing my face on someone else took my breath away. Gisselle Dumas gasped and brought her hand to her throat.

Fifteen years and some months after the day we were born, we met again.

11

  Just Like Cinderella

'Who is she?' Gisselle demanded, her eyes quickly moving from wide orbs of amazement to narrow slits of suspicion.

'Anyone can see she's your twin sister,' Beau replied. 'Her name is Ruby.'

Gisselle grimaced and shook her head.

'What sort of a practical joke are you playing now, Beau Andreas?' she demanded. Then she approached me and we stared into each other's faces.

I imagined she was doing what I was doing—searching for the differences; but they were hard to see at first glance. We were identical twins. Our hair was the same shade, our eyes emerald green, our eyebrows exactly the same. Neither of our faces had any tiny scars, nor dimples, nothing that would quickly distinguish one of us from the