It was a stormy night; the rain pounded the windows and the wind was so strong it beat against the house with such force the very walls creaked and groaned. Tiana worried a hurricane might be coming in as she tried to peek out of the bedroom window but was met with nothing but blackness outside. She gently pulled the curtains closed and turned to her young children. Naveen was tucking them into bed and Tiana couldn't help but smile; the scene of her husband tucking in their own kids still filled her with much joy.
"Mama," chirped the youngest, Aruna, "can you tell us a story?"
Naveen interjected, "I thought it was my night to tell the story!"
"Mama tells them better! Mama's are longer and more interesting!" argued the older one, Evangeline.
"But my stories are full of action! Of kings and knights and giant tickle-monsters!" He leaned over and tickled each of the girls. They squealed with laughter.
Through panting breaths of air Evangeline spoke, "But Mama's are about love, Daddy!"
"Yeah! Love!" squeaked Aruna.
Tiana chuckled and sat down on the end of the bed next to Naveen. She was still worried about the weather and wanted to be able to keep an eye on the kids without them getting suspicious or worried about why she was watching them so much instead of going to bed so she figured she'd tell them a story.
"Alright, alright." She reached over and tucked them back in, their flailing from being tickled had undone the covers, and made sure they were good and comfortable. "If it's a love story you want then it's a love story you'll get."
"Who's it about, Mama?" Aruna asked.
"It's about a man who lived when I was growing up. A man who had a very dark reputation. A man everyone knew as The Shadow Man."
Both the girls looked at each other and whispered the name before turning back to Tiana. They'd head about The Shadow Man before, how he had turned their Mama and their Daddy into frogs like in the storybooks, and how he had owed the voodoo spirits and they took his soul away. Oh they had heard a lot about The Shadow Man and everything they knew about him made them unable to believe he could be involved in a love story, so naturally they were very curious now.
"Yes, The Shadow Man. This story comes from the rumors that my Mama and Daddy told me when I was your age. You see, the rumors went that The Shadow Man was actually very old. In fact, they say he and Mama Odie were the same age -" Tiana started.
"Mama Odie!" both girls gasped. Of course they knew Mama Odie. In fact, they knew her so well that they considered her their own grandma.
"Yes," Tiana smiled and continued. "See, they say he owed his soul to the voodoo spirits because he used their magic to keep him young. They say he was so in love he offered his soul to the voodoo spirits and in return they would keep him and his love young forever. But she didn't want to dabble with the dark side of voodoo and it's because of this The Shadow Man grew bitter..."