Moving to the dessert was the worst. My mom had said “it was what was passed down to us.” But I refused that. I didn’t want to stay here. I didn’t want to be out here. There was nothing but bugs, snakes, sometimes animals, my mom, my grandma and the sand.
When grandpa died, we moved here to help grandma. We were uprooted from our tiny, uppity town in Boston and taken to the middle of nowhere Arizona. I had to switch schools and leave all my friends behind. My mom said it was good for me to learn our culture, whatever that means.
“It’s time for you to see what we come from, young tutu.” My grandma called me tutu, but my real name was Talullah. Yes, a terrible name. To my friends and teachers I was Jane, which was my middle name. My mom said she named me after a book, but I have yet to find this said book.
We had been here almost a month and school was due to begin in 2 weeks time. I haven’t met anyone or made any friends, so I was not looking forward to it. I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling and blaring the new Adele album through my AirPods so I didn’t hear my grandma come in.
Tap tap tap.
“Jesus, grandma. You gave me a heart attack!” She stood by the side of my bed just smiling at me in a creepy gaze. “Tonight is the night. Get dressed warm and come with me. We leave in an hour.”
An hour later, I emerged from my room dressed appropriately and hopped in grandmas car.
“Where are we going?” “Oh, you’ll see!”
We drove for what seemed like forever and grandma pulled over.
“Now, we walk.” “Oh, come on!”
She motioned for me to follow her so onward I trudged.
We climbed a small hill and at the top there was a hole leading to the inside of the hill. Grandma set her cane down by the opening and climbed in yelling, “Let’s go tutu. It’s a full moon and we don’t have much time!” I followed suit.
We got to the bottom and I was amazed! Inside this hill in the middle of nowhere was this beautiful bright pink fire! Just flickering away over a small pool of crystal blue water. Grandma walked over to the water, dipped both of her wrinkled hands into the puddle and blew the water onto the flame. It instantly swirled and twirled in the air! The color changed from a magenta to a calm yellow and orange color.
“Grandma, what is all this and why am I here?” “Well, tutu, this is the flame of your ancestors. This flame holds the key to the powers that lie within you.” “Powers? Like flying and stuff?”
She smiled with her eyes. I loved that about her. “No, no. Every woman in our bloodline has a gift. One that cannot be shared with anyone and must be kept sacred. Once you drink from this water, the flame will change to your color. If the color is dark, your power is strong. If the color is a lighter color, than it is weak. My powers are weak now because I’m am getting old. Your mothers were very strong at one point, but when she lost your father…well her powers started to dwindle with her spirit. It’s now your turn to drink and see how strong your powers can be, Tutu. You’re if she now to accept the responsibility.”
“But grandma, what is it?” “Oh, each one is different and you have to figure it out on your own.” “What’s yours and what’s moms?!” “I can’t tell you those yet either. Once you have figured out yours, we can reveal what ours are. Until then, you’ll have to see. Now, drink.”
I walked up to the pool of water, dipped both my hands in and tilted my hands toward my mouth to drink the liquid. I backed up and watched as the flame did the same thing as before except this time the color changed to black. I looked over at my grandma who’s mouth was agape. She nodded her head and turned to leave.
“Is this a good color? Am I strong? Black is good, right?” “I’m tired Tutu. Let’s go home and talk about this tomorrow.” Something was wrong. What was she hiding?
Back when the world first started crumbling under our feet, a couple dozen of us banned together to go into hiding. We waited 2 years to emerge and once we did, we couldn’t believe our eyes.
Year 2520
“Ally, don’t go near the edge. We have to stay hidden.”
“I know, mom!” I yelled back into the cave. My home; our home. I try to sneak away and go to the edge to see the others. The sky creatures, the ground dwellers, the tower rulers and try to see whatever’s beyond that. My dad used to say I should “Keep my head on straight,” and “Ally, you just worry about what’s in here and you’ll be safe.”
Dad. He’s been gone for 4 years now and no one from his platoon has returned. I saw him jump out of the cave with his parachute and supplies. They went out in search of more supplies since ours were diminishing. A different group would leave every month and his is the only one who hasn’t returned yet.
“Hey Ally! What’s up?”
My best friend, Teddy. Always distracting me from my own thoughts.
“Hey Teddy.” “You thinking again?” “Yes, but it’s okay. I’ll be fine. What’s up?” “I was going to go get something to eat, want to join?” “Sure. MOM, IM LEAVING WITH TEDDY!” “BE HOME BEFORE THE LIGHTS COME ON!” “OKAY! Let’s go.”
We took off running towards the ropes. The ropes. The only way to get to the different levels of the cave. We were towards the top where all the housing holes were. The higher up you were, the wealthier you were except the very top. That was the mine where everyone worked. A few levels down were all the stores. Clothing, groceries and any kind of supplies we needed. Below that were restaurants and bars. One more level down were the doctors offices, dentists, hospitals and any medical offices. Then at the very bottom was the greenhouse.
The ropes were operated by older men and women. There we so many that took everyone anywhere they needed to go.
“Hey, Ally and Teddy!” “Hey, Jack!” “Where to today?!” “Oh, just down a few levels. We’re getting something to eat.” “No problem. Once this family gets off at the storefront, I’ll pull the rope up for ya!”
All of a sudden, the alarms started ringing. They were so loud I could hear them throughout my whole body. We’re we in danger? Was my dad home? The last time the alarms when off it was because someone fell off the ropes to the bottom. They were fine, but still. What were they for this time?
I hated working in the city, I hated the subway and I hated Monday’s, so naturally I was already in a bad mood. I scanned the chip hidden inside my wrist to get on the subway.
BEEP.
“Approved. Thank you Mr. Jensen.”
SWOOSH.
Another memory gone. The sad thing is, I can’t even remember which ones I lose. I used to write them all down and cross them off as they disappeared, but it was too much work and I had actual work to focus on.
I sat down in an empty seat. In the subway car was your typical array of citizens. The random drummer to the far right wearing a backwards baseball cap and a vintage giants shirt with his tip jar laid out in front of him; the woman with her baby to the left wearing leggings and an oversized sweatshirt; a few other business types like myself with their phones and briefcases or satchels standing or sitting; the old man across from me with his golfers hat and itchy looking green button down cardigan and khakis; all just your average morning commute company. I checked my watch: 7:45. I would have time to get coffee if everything went smoothly. Perfect. Maybe today will be better than I thought.
It’s almost like Karma herself could read my thoughts. The lights started flickering and the train halted to a stop. You have to be kidding me.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the inconvenience, but there’s another vehicle stalled on the track up ahead at our next stop. We will be temporarily stopped until they can get this issue resolved. Please remain seated. I’ll let you know when we will resume our trip.”
PERFECT! I yelled in my head. The old man across from me must have seen my exasperated facial expression because he started laughing directly at me which made me furious.
“Is something funny, sir?”
“No.” The old man continued chuckling. “You just remind me of myself about 30 years ago. I would have reacted the same way as you are right now.”
“It’s hard not to be frustrated. I need to be at work by 8:30 and have a meeting at 9, so I was hoping to get a coffee first and now that seems to be a slim chance at this point.”
“Well, there will be plenty of other coffee days. Sometimes, you just need to embrace the unexpected. Everything happens for a reason. Why do you think you’re stuck here?”
The baby started crying and the woman holding him started rocking him and shushing in his ear gently.
“I don’t know, sir and I really don’t think that there’s a purpose for us being stuck here. There’s a stalled subway car up front and they don’t want us to smash into it, so I guess I’m stuck here so I can stay alive?”
He started laughing again. “But what does it mean to be alive? Are you living?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, the issue has been fixed and we will now proceed to our next stop at 5th and Main. I apologize for the slight delay. Thank you and have a great day.”
I didn’t know how to respond to the old man so I just kind of stared at him for a minute.
“LeRoy. That’s my name. You don’t have to keep calling me sir.”
“Well, LeRoy, thank you for the wonderful insight for the day. I’m definitely going to take it into consideration and think about what you said. I hope you have a great rest of your day.” I was sarcastic and I wasn’t trying to be. It’s a downfall of mine. I can’t hide my emotions through my words. My mother always said it would get me in trouble.
The old man tilted his golfers hat, rubbed his whiskers and grunted lowly, “See you around.”
Doubtful. I have never seen this man in my life and I didn’t plan on seeing him again. We pulled into the station, the doors opened and I ran off. 8:05. I still had time to grab that coffee.
8:28. I put my coffee on my desk, unpacked my laptop from the weekend, plugged it in and booted it up to print out my agenda for the meeting.
“Mr. Jensen, you have a call on line 3. I believe it’s your mother.” My lovely secretary couldn’t give me a minute to get settled before starting.
“All I wanted was a lazy Sunday, but now I have to kill you.” The fly flew onto the tv screen once again. It’s been buzzing past my head for the last hour now and I’m so over it. I stormed into the kitchen to grab something, anything to kill the sucker. Lacy was standing with the refrigerator door wide open searching through week old leftover Chinese containers and multiple half empty alcohol bottles. We weren’t the healthiest group of girls on campus, but we were the prettiest, thank god.
Delta Omega Alpha girls held a high reputation here on campus. We weren’t just a pretty face, we had standards to uphold.
Straight As. Bread winners. Nice cars. Trust funds.
Those kinds of girls who look 25 but are actually barely 18. Daddy’s money can get them anything they want. That’s who they were. Not me, but what they don’t know won’t hurt them. I can fool anyone. I just fooled you didn’t I? Now, let’s start the killing spree shall we. The fly will be my first victim this go around.
WHACK!
Dead. Just like everyone in this house will be within 24 hours.
Everyone here is alive because of them. I have to keep reminding myself this over and over again in my head as I slave away day in and day out at the hand of my maker. Literally. Jesus himself. Well, his minions.
It was a summer day, but it was raining…or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was just cloudy….doesn’t matter. I was sitting on my back deck just minding my own business and eating some Hawaiian Ice with my bulldog, George, and it happened. You read about it in the Bible specifically in Revelations, but it’s a lot different than what you could imagine.
The sky had lightning running through the clouds like veins pumping blood through the sky. I took George inside and threw away the remnants of my treat. My mom was at the grocery store and my dad was out of town for business. Janie was at cheer practice and wasn’t expected home until dinner time.
There was a loud yet silent bang that was more like a force than a sound. I thought it was just an airplane flying too low. Suddenly, everything got bright. Super bright. It’s like I was all of a sudden driving into the sunset. I was completely enveloped in the light. Then I was thrown into a line. All kinds of people in front of and behind me. All waiting outside, yes you guessed it, a giant pearly gate. Hundreds of us just hanging out.
I couldn’t talk; I couldn’t move. I stood there waiting for what seemed like forever. More people were thrown from nothing into the line. Finally, the gates opened. There was complete silence. A woman appeared and whispered in each of our ears:
“You are a child of God. You have been chosen to rebuild earth and restore hope. We love you.”
Then, BOOM!
I was back on earth, except it was completely barren. Nothing but soil. Behind me was two men dressed in all black guarding an enormous stack of wood. Next to that was all kinds of supplies like shovels, hammers, nails and power tools.
“It is time to build.” The one man said.
I couldn’t respond and I couldn’t control my movements. My body moved itself over to a 2X 4, then grabbed a hammer and nails. Me and another older man were partnered together by the force and were connecting our pieces. I looked around and saw no one else. Was this a special assignment? What was I building? Who were these people?
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
I rolled over and turned my alarm clock off. As I pressed the off button, I noticed something strange about my hands. They were covered in dirt….
“For crying out loud, it’s 2021! Why would people do this?!”
Drew was my best friend and, rightfully so, the best man in my upcoming wedding. He planned this bachelor party the traditional way.
Vegas style.
Not the hangover Vegas style with roofies, alcohol, tigers and babies, but the gambling and good times type of fling.
Drew had been my best friend since we were 7. His parents moved to the neighborhood and the rest was history. We had been through all of our life stages together and this was no exception.
Drews bright purple blazer with his white button down shirt that was only halfway buttoned made him standout from the crowd. His fitted jeans were brand new and bought specifically for this night. He had nice brown loafers that were shined and ready for whatever the night would bring. You could even smell him from across the room with how much cologne he sprayed. Drew’s mouth was bigger than his brain and often times he ate his foot. He was single for this excursion and for the 3rd time this year, so he took this bachelor thing seriously.
Drew might seem like your typical douchey friend, but he means well. He planned all the details of the trip by himself down to the party favors. All 8 of us were partnered up in case we were separated and we had “meeting places” for emergencies. I partially blame my soon to be wife for this because she swore if anything happened to me, she would “…murder him with a steak knife.” I believed her.
Everything had started out great. We flew in early, got settled in the hotel, showered and headed down to the lobby to start the festivities. Boy we’re we shocked when we stepped off the elevator.
Every single person was dressed in chicken costumes. It was the annual Cluck Convention on the Strip. How could we miss this major detail when planning this perfect weekend?
New life; new skin What a new world you live in. Tiny socks; little cries See the world through your eyes.
Cheek to cheek; face to chest The cuddles are always the best. Tired body; sleepless night Nothing beats this beautiful sight.
Milk breath; constant coos It all makes up for the daily poos. Pink blanket; colorful sleeper Everyone knows you’re a keeper.
Plastic bottles; pumpkin seat You’re the one everyone’s waiting to meet. Soft kisses; gentle voices Life with you is now so joyous.
Toothless smiles; parents vow Mom and dad are both happy now. Little feet; small laughter We thank God for this new chapter.
“Many people don’t know this...” Papa always started this story out the same. He talks about the family restaurant and how he did the “taxes” in the office in the back, then proceed to go into the stories of guns, drugs and money. The kids loved hearing the history. They could take it back to school with them and tell their friends, who rarely believed them. Papa always made it seem like they were made up, but most of it was true. Our family restaurant was always doing well. Johnnie, Chuckie, Jimmy and Frank always made sure that the food was our true family recipe straight from Sicily itself and that you got what you paid for. You want spaghetti and meatballs? You’ll get a heaping mound of spaghetti lathered in rich and tasty sauce with a meatball the size of your fist on top. They gave the kids little chef hats to take home. Our family was important, so we treated the families that came in to dine with us important. When you walked through the kitchen there was a curtain hiding a staircase. Once you walk up the staircase, behind a giant locked door, was my Papa’s office. One desk, one chair, one couch, a giant bookshelf full of black binders with all the papers from years back, the window was barred and it smelled like stale cigars. There was another door with a closet containing cleaning supplies, but if you looked close, there was another door. In there was where it happened. You didn’t pay up? You never came out of the closet. You snitched? We never saw you come out of the closet. Once you went in, you were carried out in a bag. Just like Papa would tell it, there were different mafias back in the 50’s and some still exist. The Russians, the Jews, the Irish, the Polish and then us. The Italians. The Russians, Bratva, you didn’t mess with them. They were ruthless, but we had an accordo with them. We didn’t bother them and vice versa. The Jewish “posse” was only sometimes a nuisance. The Polish were in Chicago, so we didn’t deal with them in NY. The Irish... now that was our biggest pain in the ass. The Westies. Crazy motherfuckers is what they are. Drunk and disorderly. We stuck to the books and our word, they partied and fought. We used guns,them fists. I had many uncles, not blood, but they gave me cash every birthday and holiday. Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello and Lucky Luciano. My famiglia had it out with the leader of the Irish mafia James Bulger aka “Whitey”. He smuggled drugs into our side of town and his street rats were stealing our customers. We had given him enough warnings. This is the story my Papa always told the kiddos. Papa Toto said, “It was time to take care of it.” The kids asked “What does that mean, Papa?” “Bang, Bang.” He replied.
It had been 862 years since Josiah had seen sunlight and felt the warmth of the rays on his face. They called it “The Day the Sun Disappeared” and it happened just as it sounds. Everyone woke up and the sun was no where to be found. Day after day darkness lingered and wasn’t leaving. It drove some people mad, putting others into a deep depression. Josiah, however, was already all alone. The moon stayed still showing up every night and went away every morning, but the world had become a deep purple and gray color. Most places were shut down, people stopped caring about themselves and especially others. There were no smiles, no music and most of all no love. Before the sun disappeared, Josiah had been left by his loving fiancé. She wanted to “see the world and go on adventures” but alone. Josiah wasn’t very adventurous. He had a routine and stuck by it meticulously. He had hoped that fateful day, Julie would come running back to him in fear, but she never returned. He received one postcard from Barcelona, “Having the time of my life. Hope you’re doing well! Love, Jules.” That was 2 days before the day. Every morning after breakfast, Josiah went for a walk through the woods for fresh air. Today he walked for hours contemplating life. He always brought an umbrella with him just in case the sun decided to come back. It would instantly burn his pale skin having adapted to the constant darkness. As he came to the opening, he noticed a thick cloud of magenta smoke, but not just any haze. This smoke had lightning going throughout while swirling up from the ground! It was growing bigger with a sound coming from within that Josiah vaguely remembered. Thunder. But what was that? Behind the cloud? It was brighter than anything he had seen in years. Was it fire? Was it the lightning clustered? Or perhaps...no it couldn’t be. Dare he say, the sun? Josiah picked up his pace and trotted towards the thickening cloud. As it arose, it became brighter and louder. He got as close as he could and stared up into the swirling mist of lightning, thunder and light in awe for what seemed like forever when suddenly a voice. A deep and heavy one from within. “Josiah. Come into the light.” Was this the end? Should he go forward? He couldn’t see the figure. Josiah contemplated this. His days had been consistent, careful and quiet. Until now, he hadn’t done anything daring or dangerous. He thought about Jules and what she would have done. His mind was clear and his decision was made. What could be worse than total darkness and anonymity? He hoisted his umbrella up into the air, lifted his chin up and he trudged into the unknown, ready for whatever waited there. As he stepped into the cloud, his jaw dropped and his eyes filled with wonder and delight. He was amazed.
I didn’t want to believe Madame Laveau. There’s no way. Suddenly, this vacation to New Orleans wasn’t so relaxing and fun anymore. I ran back to our air BNB to meet up with the rest of the gang and warn them. “So, basically, if we don’t get the necklace Rico bought from that creepy guy on the street to this “voodoo priest” who lives in the bayou by midnight tomorrow, we all will die? All because it’s some magical bloodstone?” Rochelle was always dramatic, but unfortunately there was no easy way to drop the news. The hourglass the Madame gave me was on the center of the table. We didn’t have much time. Rico was furious. “Bro, I did not pay this old weirdo $25 for this necklace just to give it away to someone else who is supposedly going to sell our souls to the underworld or whatever. Besides, I bought this for my girl back home, Trinity.” “Rico, Trinity is using you. She knows your dads rich and famous. That’s the only reason she likes you. Why do you think she didn’t come?” Rochelle secretly was infatuated with Rico, but as a best friend trio she didn’t want to mess up the gang. We had all been friends since diapers. My dad was a DJ at a nightclub where him, Rochelle’s mom and Rico’s dad all used to go before they hit it big. I say they, but really only Rico’s dad made it “big”. He featured my dad and her mom on different tracks out of respect, but that was it. “Guys, we don’t have time for this. Let’s take the cursed necklace and head to that airboat rental place. Maybe someone there knows where to find this Papa Legba.” “That place closes at 8, Jaxson. It’s 7:45. We won’t make it.” “Well, I guess we will have to go first thing in the morning. I’m starving.” “Let’s go to that Jumbo Gumbo restaurant down the street.” A giant swirl of magenta and gray smoke starting rising from the floor engulfing us and making us gasp for air. The fog was so thick, we couldn’t see each other. “Rico? Jaxson?” “Rochelle reach out your hands!” Eerie laughter started booming from the walls. We were surrounded by a voice. “The hourglass is halfway empty. Madame warned you. The underworld is expecting 3 new souls to devour.” “Papa Legba? We..we’re going to bring you the necklace. We ppppppromise.” “Yeah...wwwe jjjjust need to know whwhwhere to find you in the bbbayou.” “HAHAHAHA.” The laughter grew louder and louder. I thought my heart was going to explode in my chest. Just as quickly as it arose, the smoke descended back into the crevices of the creaking wood floor. “Well, at least we know that they are serious.” “This dude doesn’t play games, bro!” “So gumbo time?” “Yup. First we eat, then we research this papa guy and the bloodstone to figure out what we’re getting ourselves into.”
