Ninth Ward

Mama Ya-Ya does not leave her bed on Sunday. She is trying to dream but the effort is not successful. When Lanesha asks about going to see Mama’s grave, Mama Ya-Ya points out that Lanesha can see her mama’s ghost every day; then she tells Lanesha, “She’s still trying to birth you. Wants to make sure you can survive on your own” (120). Lanesha tries to disregard Mama Ya-Ya’s words, but the woman sticks to this message throughout the day, telling Lanesha that her coming trial is going to test her and that she “know[s] something” (121) but is leaving it for Lanesha to figure it out. Lanesha can smell the “damp, rotting, salty wet” (121) that signals Katrina’s approach, but she feels that the house is prepared.

Outside, neighbors are grilling meat and playing music; several offer her dinner—ribs, potato salad, hot dogs—which Lanesha accepts. She takes a bubble bath with the cherry soap she’s been saving. Mama Ya-Ya sleeps. The neighbors leave extra food on the porch for her. By evening, the neighbors are tucked inside, but now the ghosts take to the street, more than Lanesha has ever seen in one place at a time.