Apocryphal Family Tree: The Rough Draft

Winnie's Body Boomerangs Back with Glenny Mae

No one has tried to get Winnie canonized. She doesn't want her family involved in it, but also all the shit she does nowadays is happening somewhere that doesn't have much of a Catholic community. There's no push to get her canonized even though there is more than enough evidence that she's a saint.
She has two "during life" miracles and dozens of "after life" miracles. Winnie's official death, according to the death certificate happened in Wilmington North Carolina in 1898, the Wilmington insurrection. It had been an idea Marie Laveau had, become a Catholic saint. Laveau herself was a devout Catholic and Voodoo Queen. It didn't seem like a weird thing to Winnie than. Her mama was doing the same damn thing. Except nothing so specific as Voodoo and being a Baptist instead of Catholic, so no saints. Winnie had heard of the mess happening in Wilmington and figured maybe she could help. However she knew wasn't going to swoop in there and be an interloper. Communities have to strengthen from within otherwise the center won't hold. It can't. Because it had a weak nucleus. And we all know what happens to something with a weak nucleus. It crumbles and goes nuclear. Bad science joke. Although the situation in Wilmington did become explosive. Winnie hadn't intended to die there. But she did know that unlike other people whose lives are precious because they only get one, she got many. Winnie thought of her body as a tool. A shield against bullets. Winnie's exercise regiment sprang up from learning that bullets rip through muscles slower than fat because muscles are more densely packed than fat. That's also how she learned it hurts to get shot and that no matter how instantaneous death is there is always a moment of pain. Pain and then nothing and then you're waking up somewhere that is not even on the same plane of existence you were in.
Winnie also told Nor about her trip to Heaven. She was pissed because unlike the first two times she'd died, this time her soul had separated from her body because her body was going to be healing back to an inhabitable state for a while. Bullets do not fuck around. She got to Heaven and a St. Peter (turns out it's more like a job now since there are too many people to let in) wouldn't let her in. This St. Peter was apologetic and kept saying we can't let your kind in, assuming she knew what he meant. Winnie yelled, "what kind of racist shithole is Heaven if her kind, she assumed Black people, weren't let in." The man who looked Middle Eastern said that wasn't it at all. "Those with deity powers drawn from other religions aren't allowed in because—" and he got cut off by the thunderous sounds being made all around them. Suddenly Five people from what appeared to be five different pantheons appeared.
"Is this man trying to abduct you‽" boomed an Indian woman. "He should know better."
"Why do you break in like this every time? We said we'd stop taking your kin in, even if they are practicing Christians." the St. Peter said.
"Entrances are important," said Wampanoag woman.
"We just cleaned in here," the St. Peter said featuring to the cloud like marble they stood upon.
"Like y'all don't magic away the stains," said the Xhosa man.
"Miracles are not to be done for small things," the St. Peter said.
"This floor isn't a small thing," said the Xhosa man.
"We came here on a rescue mission, let's rescue this dumbfuck and go," said a Laotian woman.
"Dumbfuck‽" Winnie said. "I don't need rescuing. I'm in need of a place to stay for a few days while my body repairs itself."
Nor interjects that she's pretty sure Winnie wasn't that calm or mouthy with what were likely her equals by power but definitely not by knowledge. Winnie is radical but not disrespectful. Also Nor doubts that Winnie realized that she'd go back to her body once it was able to repair itself enough to have a consciousness inhabit it again.
Winnie got a good look at the group of five deity-lites. A dark skinned Sikh man, a dark skinned Xhosa man, a Laotian woman, a Wampanoag woman (she could tell by his markings and speech), and a neither dark skinned or light skinned Black woman.
The Black woman held out her hand. Winnie took it. The St. Peter nodded like this was what needed to happen and closed his book to walk away.
"We're not resisting this," the St Peter said.
"Anymore," said the Black woman. She smiled at Winnie. "C'mon baby, I know a place where you can ride out this mild disembodiment."
All of the rescuers who'd looked fierce a moment ago looked jovial and relaxed now. Winnie looked around and they weren't in what was essentially Heaven's lobby anymore.
"It's so weird that the St Peter's still create individual gateways. Like Christians can't know who else all made it into the club," said the Laotian woman.
"Sovatha, don't y'all do the same shit?" asked the Black woman.
"No. Our entryways are more like waiting rooms, Bri," Sovatha said. "The individual gateway is the waste of miracle power."
Bri patted the seat next to her and looked at Winnie. Winnie walked over and sat. Bri smiled.
"Let me introduce the Gatecrashers. I'm Brihanna, this is Sovatha, Sokanon, Unako, and Amarpreet." The Laotian woman, Wampanoag woman, Xhosa man, and Sikh man waved in turn as Brihanna gestured toward them with her hand. "We reclaim that which is not Heaven's from the Christians."
"We all ended up there at some point," Sokanon the Wampanoag woman said. "Even if we knew that wasn't where we should have ended up."
Apparently about three or four generations ago an accord was reached between Christianity and pretty much every other religion and faith that has an afterlife that their people would be off limits. There had been incidents of non-guardian angels (the only angels that come from humans) using powers that they weren't supposed to have and accidentally wreaking havoc so the Christians were just as willing to give up their claim and the other people were to have them give it up. True Christians know their place and understand that their rules are for them and not everyone. The underlying message is that the Christians rules are not for us. Winnie took that to heart but also since she'd already started down the path of becoming a saint, she wasn't sure how that would affect things. It took Winnie a few deaths over a few decades to work up the courage to ask. Bri said it would open more doors to her. She'd be able to enter through Heaven's front gates. She'd have and be allowed to use her powers. It was actually quite a good idea for those who wanted to visit their Christian folks who didn't have powers or who had given them up during the treaty because they wanted to stay in Heaven.
After two months, according to Glenella Mae, Winnie left the Gatecrashers and came back to her body. Glenny Mae has some kind of psychopomp power where she is both attracted to death and helps the dead cross over if it's needed. Glenny Mae was in Wilmington for similar reasons to Winnie but unlike Winnie she wasn't so cavalier with her body, even though like Winnie, Glenny Mae's death didn't stick.
Glenny Mae helped bury the bodies the coup d'etat produced and made sure all those who were slain found peace in the ever after. She then loaded up Winnie's body in a carriage and rode back home to Texas. Winnie asked why Glenny didn't bury her and Glenny said that she could tell Winnie was different. Her body didn't show signs of decay like the others. Her body also didn't look as bad as the others, her injuries still looked bad but there was a sense that they were healing. After that Glenny and Winnie often checked in on each other because Winnie wanted someone to take care of her body and Glenny liked having someone who understand who she was enough to not be afraid of her or call her a witch.
—-
Winnie's most documented after death miracle is from Arkansas in 1918. The Elaine massacre. Glenny Mae was there with her. By most documented Nor means there are photographs that show her and news paper clippings that don't identify her but do have her picture. All we'd need is one more documented after death miracle to go to the New Orleans archdiocese.
It's weird that even with all the shit that's recently been unearthed about Catholic priests and the archdiocese that Winnie still wants this but she feels like what she does counteracts what happened and will shift the religion a little more in the direction of radical and accepting love and good will. Who knows if it will but this is something she's been working at for decades so she can see her sister Eleanor who as far as anyone know doesn't have powers. Even though she clearly could.
—-
Lenny had never seen a picture of Glenny Mae but when an older woman showed up on the conjure house porch holding a limp body that had to be Winnie but was completely unidentifiable due to the injuries, Lenny just knew it had to be her. She had so many questions but didn't know how to ask.
Glenny Mae on the other hand thought of this as a Tuesday. She handed over the body of Winnie, which was heavy but not as heavy as it should have been, and headed for the kitchen.
"Put her on her bed." Glenny Mae said.
Lenny carried Winnie's body up the stairs, into Winnie's room, and did as she was told. Glenny Mae came up a few minutes later with a basin of warm water and two wash clothes. They washed the body on near silence, removing any bits that were not supposed to be there like branches, bullets, and bugs. All foreign matter inside of Winnie would make it longer for Winnie's body to heal and become inhabitable again.
Once Winnie was washed and a clean sheet and blanked placed over her body, Glenny turned to Lenny and stuck out her hand.
"Very pleased to meet you Lenny. Winnie has told me so much about you." Glenny Mae smiled.
Lenny smiled. "Nor has told me a lot about you."