This Poison Heart

Briseis’s parents force her to hide as they go out to investigate the stranger. When they look outside, nobody is there, and they debate whether to call the police. They ultimately do, and a social worker from a public safety office named Khadijah Grant arrives. She apologizes for the delay, and this appeases Thandie, who approves of the defunding of the police for replacement by community service programs. Dr. Grant promises that a community patrol member will add the area to their route. Nobody is found on the property, but Dr. Grant notes that the expansive lands could be hiding someone; nevertheless, she posits that it was likely a local teen who thought the property was abandoned, as it has been for the last 10 years. Dr. Grant cautiously mentions “strange people” being reported in Rhinebeck, which makes Briseis think uneasily of Mrs. Redmond’s reference to “colorful characters.” The family heads to bed, trying unsuccessfully to convince themselves that all is well.

The family spends the next morning cleaning the house and organizing a substantial collection of Greek mythology texts. On a pedestal, they find an enormous book entitled Venenum Hortus; Briseis recognizes venenum as “poison” in Latin and confirms that hortus means “garden.” Suddenly, a vine creeps around Briseis’s leg, leading Thandie to comment that she has never seen a plant that dead come back to life under the influence of Briseis’s powers. The book contains careful illustrations of poisonous plants with instructions on how best to grow them, as well as a section for each labeled “Magical Uses.” A signature on the final page leads Thandie to speculate that Briseis’s biological mother illustrated the tome herself. Suddenly serious, Briseis’s mothers urge her to put practical considerations aside if the emotional upheaval of coming to this house is too much for her. Briseis insists that she is fine but promises to tell them if that changes. Internally, she admits to her curiosity about her biological family, but she also fears that this attitude is disloyal to her moms. Still, determined to learn all she can about her powers, she opens Circe’s first letter.

The letter contains a map, a key, and a note indicating that the second envelope is to be opened “when [she gets] to the gate” (96). As she heads outside to follow the map, she encounters Angie, who encourages her to “stretch” her powers in the privacy of the open space. Outside, Briseis finds that the path marked on the map is overgrown with stinging plants. Cautiously, she proves her theory that the plants won’t harm her; instead, they merely cause a brief cooling sensation. She follows the path created as plants move out of her way. She reaches a glade with plants that look like bats and realizes at once that they aren’t poisonous, due to the absence of the cool-water sensation. Finally, she reaches a stone gate that only becomes accessible when the tight thatch of oak trees moves out of her way of its own accord. The second letter informs Briseis that behind the gate is a garden from which the apothecary can be stocked. The apothecary, Circe’s letter asserts, “has been a pillar of this community for generations” (100). The letter promises more answers as soon as she opens the third letter at the “moon gate.”

Suddenly, a bleeding man emerges from the woods. He is pleased to see an alarmed Briseis and mistakes her for Selene, her biological mother. The man, who holds a knife, cryptically states that he “need[s] it.” Reacting to Briseis’s fear, vines slither free from the plants and yank him away from her. She flees to tell her moms about the man, though she doesn’t explain everything else that she saw. Thandie calls Dr. Grant, who quickly arrives with public safety officers to check the area. Thandie now worries that coming to Rhinebeck was a mistake, but Briseis wants to know more about the mysterious garden. Angie cautions her wife against making decisions in the heat of the moment. The peace officers carry the man from the woods; he is now unconscious. An officer reports that the man claimed to have been “attacked” before passing out. The man is taken to the hospital, and Dr. Grant promises to try to get more information. When Briseis reveals that the man called her “Selene,” Dr. Grant admits to having known both Circe and Selene; she seems grieved by their deaths. The family debates leaving and returning to Brooklyn but elects to decide in the morning. Briseis sleeps restlessly that night and is plagued by nightmares about a machete-wielding man.

Angie, Thandie, and Briseis go into town the next morning. This trip frustrates Briseis, who is eager to return to the hidden garden. They note the idyllic vibe of the town, although Angie also notes the prevalence of white people. When Briseis and her moms split up to look at different shops, Briseis is disquieted when a woman across the street shoots her a “maniacal” grin. Briseis enters a used bookstore and meets Karter, a teenager who works there. He tells her that she can take copies of old Audubon field guides for free. This makes her suspicious, and she finds something familiar about him. (Later in the chapter, she realizes that this is because he is Mrs. Redmond’s son.) They chat about books and about Rhinebeck, where Karter has lived all his life. Their easy rapport makes Briseis reflect on the difficulty of having few friends over the past year. Karter shows her to a restaurant that he recommends, idly noting that a plant he thought dead now seems to be thriving. Briseis invites him to join her and her moms for lunch. During the meal, Angie and Thandie chat with Karter, playfully embarrassing Briseis.

They discuss the family flower shop, and the fact that their shop is named Bri’s causes Briseis to reflect on how fully her moms have supported her powers over the years. However, she worries that as these powers grow, her moms will start to fear her. After lunch, Briseis walks back to the bookstore with Karter. Upon seeing Mrs. Redmond standing at the door, Briseis realizes that she is Karter’s mother. Mrs. Redmond is excited that the two teens have met, but Karter seems suddenly stiff. He attributes this to embarrassment. Karter and Briseis connect over their mutual worries about parents who work too hard, along with the struggle to keep small businesses afloat. Karter asks Briseis out for coffee. Because Briseis’s family is not yet certain whether they will stay in Rhinebeck, Briseis is uncertain if she is interested in the prospect of a friendship or a romance with Karter, but she does agree to coffee. She rejoins her parents, who gently tease her about Karter, and they all return to the house. Briseis ultimately puts off going back to the garden for another day.

The next day, Briseis heads to the garden despite her nervousness, taking Thandie’s taser along with her just in case. The way the plants move to grant her passage leads Briseis to wonder how her powers really work. She enters the garden, which is full of dead plants. Following the map, she finds a gate concealed by black vines with purple leaves and red thorns. Reading the third letter from Circe, she learns that the plants on the other side are all poisonous, though Circe knows that Briseis will be safe from these poisons. Briseis is astonished that “a dead woman [she’d] never met [knew her] biggest secret” (126). She continues the letter, which informs her that Selene tried to keep her from “this responsibility” but that “fate” has intervened. Circe urges Briseis to decide if she wishes to take up “this work,” emphasizing its importance.

When she enters the garden, Briseis feels an intense version of the cold feeling that she always encounters when she touches poison. She looks at the poisonous plants, including the Little Apple of Death. This particular plant is so toxic that even breathing the nearby air can cause death. The ground is littered with dead birds. She leaves the garden of poisons with far more questions than answers and asks Thandie for Dr. Grant’s phone number so that she can get more information about the man from the woods. Dr. Grant informs her that the man is Alec Morris: a lifelong Rhinebeck resident. He is still sedated from his injuries. Suddenly, Karter texts Briseis, asking if he can bring over some Audubon field guides that he found in the store. Briseis leaves the garden, feeling as though someone is watching her, but she spots nobody. Returning to the house, Briseis encounters Karter and Angie, the former of whom expresses surprise at her sweaty and flower-bedecked appearance. She hurries to get changed and emerges to find her moms telling Karter embarrassing childhood anecdotes. To stem the storytelling, Briseis urges Karter to go for a drive with her. She apologizes for her mothers’ protectiveness—especially Angie’s. Briseis laughs at Karter’s assumption that “Mo” was her mom’s given name, which is something comically unacceptable in her Black family. She asks Karter to take her to the hospital to check on Alec Morris, though she admits that doing so might not be a good idea. They decide to explore downtown first, and Briseis is nervous about starting a new friendship while trying to keep her talents a secret.

Briseis feels an easy camaraderie with Karter as they tour downtown Rhinebeck. She imagines the trees golden in fall and feels a rare appreciation for her gift. She asks Karter about growing up in Rhinebeck, particularly in the context of living in a place with very few Black residents. They joke about this, but Karter admits to liking his hometown, even though most of the residents are older. They go to the hospital, where Karter causes a diversion so that Briseis can sneak in to see Alec Morris. The man is awake and recognizes her, though he softens toward her when she reveals that she is not Selene. He reports that he attempted to chop through the dense forest to get some comfrey that Circe and Selene used to grow, which is the only thing that helps with his diabetes-induced sores. He apologizes for frightening her and is surprised when Briseis offers to get him some of the comfrey. He likens her to Selene, leading Briseis to insist that she is a different person, but Mr. Morris notes the Greek mythological origins of her name. He promises not to sneak around her property again.

Karter waits outside with a sprained ankle, where he makes an odd comment about his mother not caring about his injury. Karter reveals that although he loves his mother, their relationship is tense, as he often feels that he is not “doing or saying the right thing” (143). Briseis invites Karter to breakfast the next morning, and Angie enthusiastically echoes the idea, happy to see her daughter making a new friend. However, Briseis’s optimism is tinged with worry because she doesn’t know what to tell or hide regarding her secret.

Inside, Briseis tells her moms about the garden and her interest in trying to revive it, though she leaves out the part about the poisons. Thandie confirms that she likes Rhinebeck, and, like Angie, she encourages Briseis to experiment with her powers. Briseis is relieved to see that Thandie is less concerned about life than she usually is. At Thandie’s request, Briseis grows a peony from a dried root, discovering that when she relaxes and allows her power to flow, she does not suffer the dizziness that she experiences when she tries to control and restrict it. Thandie looks at her, awed and impressed at this feat. When Briseis explores Circe’s map, she discovers that a piece has been removed; there is more to the garden behind the Poison Garden’s back wall. She hurries to the garden, but when she touches the back wall, vines seize her and constrict her body until she shouts at them to stop. When the vines part, she sees a carving of three faces under a crown of vines with a keyhole at the top. None of the three keys opens the lock. Recalling Circe’s note that everything she needs is in the house, Briseis sighs, not knowing where to begin to look for another key.

Briseis searches the house diligently but finds no key. She finds and reads a tattered copy of Medea (the first-century Greek play by Seneca the Younger) and is shocked at the description of Medea murdering her own children. This leads her to gather other ancient Greek texts and cross-reference mentions of Medea, whom she learns is a follower of Hecate, an ancient Greek goddess associated with crossroads, keys, and the arcane. When Angie interrupts, Briseis realizes that she has been absorbed for hours. Angie knows little about Greek mythology but offers to put Briseis in contact with a friend who may know more. Angie observes that there are many weird things in their new home, and Briseis discourages pressing charges against Alec Morris. When the doorbell rings, the family discovers that the mysterious disappearing girl from the other evening is there to visit Briseis.

The girl introduces herself as Marie, Alec Morris’s granddaughter. (However, Briseis doesn’t confess to her moms that she has already visited Alec in the hospital.) As Briseis leads the way to the apothecary to get Alec’s comfrey, Marie reveals that Alec is recovering, although he is not yet discharged from the hospital. Briseis admires Marie’s beauty and laments that her own appearance is less than her best. She starts to ask Marie a question but then finds herself losing her train of thought. Marie reveals that she won’t buy herbal remedies from someone she doesn’t know and that “nobody else” will either, as the intent of the grower is important. Briseis measures comfrey for Alec but mentions that a different strain of the plant will better treat his symptoms. She initially balks when Marie tries to pay her but ultimately accepts. Marie shows Briseis a necklace made from rosary peas, which are harmless when dried but poisonous to cultivate; she offers $100 a seed if Briseis will cultivate replacements for her broken beads, which Circe used to do. Angie and Thandie suddenly tumble in, trying to hide their intent briefly before admitting to eavesdropping. Marie asks for Briseis’s phone number, which briefly flusters Briseis.

After Marie leaves, Angie and Thandie ask about the visit, and Briseis informs them that Circe and Selene ran an apothecary. Briseis confesses her desire to continue the business, privately feeling that the notion seems predestined. Thandie worries about details, while Angie is more eager, but both women are supportive of their daughter’s idea. Briseis is optimistic about staying in Rhinebeck and getting to know both Karter and Marie better. Suddenly, she notices that the fireplace in her room is oddly free from debris even though she hasn’t cleaned it. She opens the flue, and the hearth moves to reveal a secret chamber. Inside is a rolltop desk and a map with six pins in it: Three mark locations over Rhinebeck, and the other three are scattered globally. Another painting of Medea holding six seeds and a Black woman wearing a golden crown hangs on the wall. Unsettled by the painting, Briseis hastily leaves.