MEET THE FAMILY,
ALIVE & DEAD
THE ANCESTORS DREAM
GABRIELLE, 20
Curious and confident, or what some would call impulsive, Gabrielle charges forward without knowing where she will land. Gabrielle adores her older sister and views her as a second mother despite their squabbles. Her biological mom is more or less out of the picture. Born in the U.S. nearly eight years after Roseline, Gabrielle feels distant from her Haitian identity. As she is grateful to Roseline, she is also relieved that she doesn’t bear the burden of being the oldest sibling. She knows that this means she has the privilege of choosing her own path into adulthood and is allotted the irresponsibility that many young Americans hold as a birthright. She wants to soak everything up and savor the water droplets that fleetingly fall from the leaves after it rains.
Before her disappearance, Gabrielle lived at home with her father, Jaques, and brother, Auguste. Non-traditionally, she worked at a restaurant and was saving up to go travelling abroad. She’s got it handled. Optimistically open, Gabrielle is ruled by her passion for music. She’s a music producer and DJ; everyone besides Jaques has encouraged her to take her talents seriously. While her openness to the world makes her more radiant, it is also what makes her more vulnerable, becoming the eventual cause of her disappearance.
Gabrielle’s arc from naivety to steadfast consciousness:
As Gabrielle is transported back to a 1788 sugar plantation in Haiti, the irresponsibility and leisure that she once took for granted are now a death wish. Luckily, she has the guidance and protection from her ancestor, Tino, who called her there for help. If Gabrielle wants to survive to see another day, however, she must learn to listen to her elders before running ahead.