Photo by: Jean L. Hays
AP reporter Jane Swift said, “Miss Devereaux, you rose from horrendous poverty to running a top 500 fashion company in just a few years. How do you explain that?”
“The usual,” said Marie Devereaux. “Hard work. Dedication.”
“Now critics are claiming you practice black arts with voodoo dolls. True?”
Devereaux scowled. This wasn’t what was promised. “How silly. Who believes such superstitious nonsense?”
“Those same critics are dying, rapidly, under bizarre circumstances. True?”
“This interview is over,” declared Devereaux.
Returning to New Orleans, Devereaux held up some cloth to her assistant. “Doesn’t this match the skin tone of that AP reporter?”
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Written for the Friday Fictioneers: https://rochellewisoff.com/2019/10/23/25-october-2019/
Author’s notes:
The lyrics of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” were an influence this story’s title.
EagleAye
Momus News 
Not to self, when doing an interview, don’t bring up black magic or voodoo, even if you have proof…
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Haha! You are a wise soul, sir. 😉
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And especially if you have proof.
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When you put it that way, yeah, if they did it once, they’ll do it again…
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Eek! And there was me thinking my angle would be unique! Nicely done in a chilling sort of way. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Brilliant minds, eh? Thanks much! 🙂
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Dear Eric,
Oh dear. I guess that interviewers about to find out the truth. That’s what he gets for messing with a Black Magic Woman. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hehe. She’ll find out the hard way I expect. Voodoo priestesses are not folk to trifle with. Thanks much, Rochelle! 🙂
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Not the wisest move by the reporter to annoy her!
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Good one, best not to annoy her, I’d say.
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A smart reporter would probably look into some counter curses before going on an offensive, I think!
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Hah! Voodoo never goes out of FASHION. I had to say that…. 🙂
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Nice take on the prompt.
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He who is a Doubting Thomas shall find out the hard way…
Well done, Eric!
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Excellent take on the prompt, EagleAye. Your story has me wondering whether fashion designers are particularly good at making voodoo dolls through the use of their skill at matching colour and texture.
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Oh dear. She pushed too far…
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Well, *technically* learning how to become a voodoo princess and carefully picking off all your enemies could be counted as “hard work and dedication,” right? So she was telling the truth. But whew, she might be going a bit overboard — people start to notice when ALL of your enemies drop like flies!
I love how you went from an innocent image of sewing materials to someone killing off her detractors with voodoo magic. Great job invoking the spookiness of the season!
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If he knew they were dying mysteriously he was taking a huge risk – silly man!
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What an interesting story, full of drama and intrigue. Fascinating take on the prompt.
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Yes I really like that, Voodoo is a wicked theme today!
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You know, voodoo or not, but she has to have plenty of talent and put in a lot of hard work to get where she is – voodoo can help get rid of the critics and the enemies, but it can’t get customers to buy your products, win investors, and balance the books.
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From experience, never annoy a seamstress, well not until they have finished the alterations.
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Wonderful story with the perfect musical accompaniment 🙂
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Ms Devereaux is one smart business woman. She is removing her critics and opening her career path.
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Clever story and spooky for the season!
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