Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Virginia
Thursday, October 17th, 1996
1 am
N's POV
"Njau... Njau! Where is this pikin?" My mother is calling my name.
I am in the middle of watching cartoons. But whenever my mom yells my name, it fills up the entire house, and it's inescapable. Plus, my mom gets irritated if I don't respond or see why she's calling me.
"Njau, if you don't come downstairs, I will make sure you find the tallest stick so that I can give you a good whipping." She warns me, sucking her teeth afterward.
I sigh and roll my eyes. I love my mom and dad, but they are strict. Also, they can be annoying, especially with their lectures. They treat me like a kid anytime they give me a lesson, even though I am a little boy. But I can't do anything about it; I don't have power over them. So I turn off my television and leave my room.
"Look who decided to leave his room finally." My dad said, giving me a sly smile.
"It's time to eat Njau!" She excitedly tells me.
I run downstairs; not even the flash can see me. I love it when my mom cooks; she makes the best Sierra Leone dishes I ever tasted. On the kitchen table, she made Cassava Leaf, seafood tola, and mango ebbeh. For the drinks, she made ginger beer and bought vimto. My stomach is begging me to feed it.
"Topeh sekeh?" My dad is asking me how I am doing, speaking in Temne.
In Sierra Leone, there are plenty of languages spoken. There's Kono, Kissi, Kuranko, Limba, Fula (Pular), Mandingo, Susu, Mande, Krio, and English. But my family mostly speaks English and Temne. I understand the Temne language, but I was never taught how to express it. I can say some of the words, but not everything. So I mostly speak English around my family.
"I'm doing well. I was busy watching cartoons." I respond, taking my seat in the process.
"Soree ang-yoka," She tells me to pull the Cassava, signaling me to eat.
I grab a plate and start scooping some white rice. I love white rice; especially when they are sticky, it gives out the best flavor. Then, I add in the Cassava.
My parents made sure that they brought the Salone culture to America. There are a lot of Sierra Leone artifacts. Our green, white, and blue flag is hanged on the wall. Right now, my parents are playing "Siahuna Maraidee" by Amie Kallon on our boombox. She is one of the most well-known musicians in our country.
Even my parents right now are dressed up in our nation's outfits. My Dad is wearing a gold and black African print Dashiki shirt with black pants, black shoes, and his gold wedding ring as his only jewelry. My mom is wearing a colorful Dashiki dress with red flats. She has on a red and golden colored necklace, earrings, and her diamond-encrusted wedding ring. She has brown and blonde dreadlocks, light makeup on her face, and blue fingernails. At the same time, I'm just wearing a Buffy T-shirt with some shorts and black shoes.
"Njau, how are you enjoying the food?" She asks. I was way too distracted by my thoughts that I almost forgot I had food to eat. I take a bite, and it tastes spicy but good.
"It tastes great, as always. You are the best cook in the world, mom." I tell her.
"Aww, Njau, don't make me cry now, or else I have to slap you." She said, and we all chuckled.
"Your mom and I were thinking about traveling since your birthday is coming on the 24th. We were wondering where you want to visit for your birthday?" He asked me.
My parents aren't wealthy, but they can afford to travel to different countries. They both are registered nurses in Virginia, and they make good money to support everyone and travel. I know just a place I want to visit for my birthday.
"Lagos. I want to go there for my birthday!" I excitedly tell them.
"You sure you want to visit Nigeria?" She asks, giving me a questionable look.
"Yes. What's wrong with Nigeria?" I ask.
"Nothing is wrong with Nigeria. But I just wasn't expecting that to be your first option. Most people want to visit Paris, Italy, Japan, or even the Bahamas." She explains.
"Well, I'm not like most people. I'm Njau, the cutest and best vampire boy in the world." I let them know.
"We know, sweetheart, and we love you so much. I know you're going to grow up into a great man that will change the world." She tells me.
"I agree. When you grow up, I can already tell all the ladies will be begging you to wife them." He tells me, and my mom punch him in the arm.
"I'm trying to boost up his confidence. Plus, I need to teach him all he needs to learn to win women's hearts." He adds. She sucks her teeth, pouts her lips, and crosses her arms.
"Don't listen to your father. Just be yourself, be respectful, and listen; that's the easiest way to win their hearts. Your father doesn't know a thing about romance." She said, giving my dad the side-eye.
"Is that so? Don't you remember the first time we met, and you were drooling at my looks? When I asked you out, you said 'yes' immediately. Don't forget all those times I sweet-talked you and made you blush. See, you're blushing right now." He tells her. My mom is trying to hold back her blushing, but it's not working.
"If you weren't so good looking and charming, I wouldn't have given you the time of day." She tells him.
"I love you," He said, giving my mom a side hug. She sighs and rolls her eyes.
"I love you too," she responds. They both kiss each other.
"Get a room; I'm trying to eat here," I tell them, being disgusted by their kissing. They stop kissing and laugh.
"Njau, when you and your future wife have kids, you will be doing the same thing. It's good for parents to show their kids how affectionate they are." He tells me.
"Not while they are eating." Coming back at him.
They continue to laugh. Then, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," he said. Getting up from his seat and checking to see who's at the door.
"Who's at the door?" She asks.
"ɔ polis," He said the police, which left all of us confused on why they are at our house late at night.
Gunshots went off; my mom and I panicked and hid under the table.
"Honey, what is going on?!" She yelled fear is consuming her.
My dad turned around, and he got shot straight through his stomach, leaving a hole and blood spilling. Another gunshot is fired, and it landed on his head, which made him drop, and pieces of his brain scattered on the floor.
Tears are falling from both of our faces, and I can't move a muscle. Then, we see footsteps approaching and hear men talking.
"I know there are more people here. You better reveal yourselves before you end up dead like this poor soul here." The strange man warns us.
My mom grabs my shoulders and looks deep into my eyes. All the tears ruined the makeup she had on.
"Listen, Njau; I want you to hide. I will make sure those evil men pay for killing my husband and your father. No child or wife should ever go through that. If I don't make it out alive, just remember that I will always love you. Make sure you make a difference in the world and bring honor to our family." She tells me quietly and gives me a warm hug.
I don't want to let her go because I know this will be the last memory I have of her. But she let me go and exposed herself to the evil people.
"Mam'baff ka-ranth'mi, nt'kootha pa-ketha!" Letting them know that if they are looking for trouble, they will surely get it.
I don't want to move because I'm too terrified and sad to do so, but I must know who these evil people are terrorizing our home. I get away from the table to have a better look.
These evil people are four white policemen; one is holding a shotgun, another is holding a pistol, another is holding a knife, and the last one has a flashlight. Why are the police at our house? What did we do wrong? Why did they kill my father?
"Kill her!" The guy holding the knife commanded them.
"Naju, run!" She yelled, but I ignored her since I didn't want to leave without her.
My mom went to vampire form and started attacking. The policemen tried to shoot her, but she's way too quick. She pierced the man holding the shotgun in the heart using her fingernails. She feasted on the neck of the guy holding the pistol. Her next target is the man with the knife, but he got the upper hand. He stabs her in the chest, and she lets out a horrific shriek. She drops to the ground and stares at me, mouthing, "I love you."
My heart never felt this broken before. I can't believe I just witnessed my parents getting killed by police officers. I thought cops were supposed to protect, not murder.
I could've helped my mom killed the rest of the officers, but I am too traumatized by what transpired. Now my mom and dad are dead. The policeman with the knife is staring at me, giving me an evil smile. He walks closer to me and squats down to meet my height.
I get a clear vision of him, and his name tag says, G. Adams. He looks like he's between his late twenties and early thirties. His head is almost shaped like a square. He is holding the knife like he is about to stab me and eat me alive.
"Calm down, boy. I know it's tragic losing your parents, but suck it up. It's too bad that I had to kill your mom and dad, but we don't like African Americans and vampires. Heck, we didn't even know that you all were vampires." He said, chuckling at the end.
He slaps me after noticing me crying.
"Stop crying, Njau. Njau... That's your name? I hate that name; it sounds way too African for my liking. I'm going to give you a new name that matches perfectly with you, your family, and the entire African American race. Your new name is going to be, Nigger!" He tells me and continues to laugh.
Before I could utter my thoughts, trying to figure out what that word means, he forcefully opens my mouth and grabs my tongue. He grips on my tongue tight, and it's hard to hiss or scream. I see the other policeman, and he is standing there doing nothing, allowing Adams to abuse a child.
He shows me the knife and brings it close to my tongue. He starts to slice my tongue in half; feeling the blade pierce me is the worst pain I've ever experienced. My tastebuds become numb, an excess amount of blood is dripping, and getting hard to breathe. I can't even scream without my tongue getting sore.
He lets go of me. I curl up in a weak position, crying and trying to let my tongue breathe. He gets up and spits at me.
"Let's go," he tells his partner.
"What? Are you just going to leave him there?" His partner asks.
"Yes," He replied.
"Are you sure we even got the right people?" His partner asks.
"What do you mean? Our Lieutenant told us that there was a robbery around this area, and the robbers were African American. Are you disobeying orders?" He questions him.
"I'm not, but I didn't hear the lieutenant mention that it was an African American vampire family that committed the crime. Plus, we didn't have to kill them." He responds.
"Look here, Mike, we had one job to do. Plus, I should report you for not helping out and disobeying orders." He threatens him.
"Please don't report me. I just got this position." He pleaded.
"If you want to keep your position, burn this house down." He commands.
"What?! Plus, what am I going to use to burn everything down?"
Adams grabbed his baton and a lighter from his pocket.
"Use these, and if you don't, then you can kiss your position goodbye. Don't feel sympathy for any African Americans; they are all the same no matter if they steal or not. Just burn this house down, and let's leave. As for the boy, let him burn to death. This is the last time we're ever going to see his black ass." he gives it to him.
Mike looks at me, seeing regret in his eyes. But he looks away and set the baton on fire, throwing it near the kitchen.
The two officers leave the house. I smell a lot of smoke and hear flames. I need to get up and go, but how can I when I lost the most important people in my life. My parents mean the world to me. They raised me and took care of me, teaching me valuable life lessons. They were strict and annoying, but they didn't mean any harm. They were only giving me tough love.
But now, seeing their lifeless bodies, I don't even recognize them anymore. I'm even starting to forget all the good memories I have with them since this incident is all I can think of. My parents are a blip on my mind now.
The jewelry that they are wearing caught my attention. I get up, and the heat is getting even more intense; fire is spreading all around. Looking and smelling my dead parents gives me shivers. But I must focus so that I can get out of here. I grab my Dad's golden wedding ring. Then, I grabbed my Mom's red and golden-colored diamond necklace. Also, her diamond-encrusted wedding ring. I put the jewelry in my pockets. This jewelry and this incident will be the only memory I have for them.
"I can't believe you both lost your lives. It feels like I just started to get to know you guys. I wish this incident never happened because there's so much we haven't done. We didn't celebrate my 9th birthday. You both will never see me grow up into a man, go to college, attend my wedding, meet my kids, and see me become an influence on the world. I'm so sorry that I didn't help to save you. I was so terrified and traumatized." I start to sob; my eyes are irritating me.
The worst part is that I don't know who to turn to now. I can't drive, I don't have any friends or know any other family members, and I especially can't go to the police. Even if I did tell someone about what happened, who's going to believe an 8-year-old African vampire boy? People will either laugh, think I'm crazy or lying, not believe me or try to kill me.
All I can do is runaway. Runaway as fast and far away from Virginia. I must learn to live, educate, hunt, and grow up by myself. I have no one in my life to rely on. Right now, the only being I trust is myself.
The flames are engulfing the entire house, and I can't take all the smoke going through my lungs.
"Orwah," I tell my parents goodbye and look at them one last time.
I run outside the back door, just in case those police officers are waiting and want to kill me.
I made it out of the house, letting out a cough and tears falling from my face. But I didn't want to stay in one spot for too long because I don't have the time for the police noticing me again, and sunlight is almost approaching.
I promise I will come back to Virginia and bring justice to my deceased parents. No one should ever experience this, especially an eight-year-old child. Rest in peace to my parents.