"Are you wolves?" says Simisola. "Not yawa's" he speaks. "Whose?" asks mama. He breathes slowly, "Chia Pet…"
"Chia Pet?" I mutter. Not my uncle in this shit. "Chia? My uncle."
"Chia. Capria Martin." the wolf huffs. "Is anybody finna like… I don't know. Get the dog at the wire?" says Simisola.
"Who put you in the wiring?" I ask. "Martin…" he growls. "Chia!" his eyes get big. The dog shakes his head to the left, grunting in pain. "Stolen!"
"Stolen?"
"Let's cut the bullshit because it's obvious. Uncle is stealing bodies." exclaims Simisola. "Put me to rest." my mother lays on the floor. "Is that who came…"
"Who mama?"
"Bitch ass cut off mama legs!" Simisola shouts. "We got a dead Russian in the room! A dog with a stolen body which means--"
"Are you wolf or man?" my mother questions.
"Dog of dog."
"Capria is stealing pelts?" Mama's eyes are wide, she starts gasping. "Where--"
"We never found him." says the dog. "Capria. Selling."
"My uncle is selling bodies?" I put my hand on the wires and trace it within the tangle. Can I get him out?
"You'll be picked up." he breathes. "Capria visits."
"My uncle is back in Richmond." At least that's the last I saw him. "What happened to my--"
"Little pup…" his eyes get so gentle like a puppy looking for hugs. "I'm so sorry."
I won't. I'm just so confused.
"We need to get him out the wire." Simisola comes to wires around the wolf man. "Maybe I find the plug."
"It's probably near--Dear God!" my mother cuts herself off to throw a fit. "Are you fucking with me!"
My body shudders. I won't.
"I am sorry, Kit."
"Not my husband!" she inhales deeply. "Not--Not Yawa. Not my Yawa."
"Mama!"
"He's a dog, he's clueless." she smacks her chest. "Not my Yawa!" mama she crumbles. "I can't breathe!"
"Mama, hold yourself!" Simisola goes to her side and squeezes her in her arms. "I'm so fucking confused. I don't understand!"
"Mama!"
"Allah set me free. I can't take this anymore!" she lays flat against the carpet. She's my mother, why don't I move? I'm so fucking ignorant. "I have to get you out the wall." I say.
"You can try." He barely move in there. "Did Chia do this?"
"I wouldn't bow." says the dog. "Yawa. Didn't make the deal."
"What was the argument?"
"None. Just greed." he says. "No work. No pay."
"Your body?"
"Stolen."
"But how. Did he put you in the wall with magic?"
"No word spoken. His own shadow."
"So he's vampire?" retorts Simisola. "You mean to tell me Capria is a vampire. He gave up his dog?"
"Give me…" his fingers bend down. "That man."
"You want a body?"
"I… escape… us."
"Why can't you talk?"
The wolf grins, "Shocking!"
"I don't have a charm on me."
"Glass." he stares at the broken tv. "Make circle."
"I have never heard of a glass rite."
"Mirror." he says. "We probably don't have enough glass." Simisola parts from mama and shakes the glass out the tv. She takes off her shoe and rubs it on the edges to disconnect more glass. Once the tv is completely empty. Simisola starts piling the glass up.
"How the hell do you make a circle with glass." she spreads out the pile. "It doesn't have to be perfect."
"Sola." says mama. "Spread the glass, put your hand in the middle of the spread, keep pushing it back evenly until you can set the tv in the middle.
"Ok…" she doubts. "mama, I'll more you for a minute." I go to pick her up and put her in the corner of the room. "Just brace yourself mama."
"I'm so happy to see my little girl." I won't. "I'm sorry mama…" I whisper, I can't see her. Blink, Blink. "I remember when you were a baby, you got separated from me again."
"Again?"
"Mama committed suicide at the lost. Don't you know we dead? Thank God for that devil magic."
"I left Islam. I wonder is this punishment."
"Why would you leave?" I ask. "I just… disagreed. I didn't understand why… Jinn were so bad."
"Mama's daddy died in Yeman. But a jinn came and gave him a heart."
"My father, is a genie and he gave medicine to the sick. He healed and it just seemed," she stops with her mouth open. "I was born light. See how white your mother is?" she holds out her wrist. "My father was brown and he seemed to be getting blacker. I couldn't be that dark, you wanna hear something funny?"
"Like what?"
"I had a crush on Vishnu."
I smirk. "I thought… Blue skin was a special thing so when I was young, my father left some blue paint around making a vase or other. I painted my skin blue and wore my mother's jewelry."
"Instead of the color you have, you wanted to be blue?"
"I love the color blue…" she smiles. "Your father, Yawa, and no other; wanted to give me a blue diamond."
"Did you get it?"
"I've never seen one."
"Maybe… I mean, we'll see one. I read a book about the mines in the Ghytto."
"That would be awesome…"
I hear Simisola gasp in the background. "Mama you said Awesome again!"
"I did?"
"Mokiri, English isn't mama's first tongue, but her favorite word is Awesome."
I can't help but show teeth. "Awesome."
.
.
.
Once Simisola got the circle ready. I adjusted it a bit but we had a circle of glass. "It's kinda small." she grimaced. "It'll have to do."
I hear the wolf breathing in the background. "So now what?"
"You need an outline." his ear starts flapping. He grunts. "Use him." he eyes.
"Alright dumb ass, get in the circle." Simisola is the one to drag Igor over. "Don't mess up the shape. Let me carry him!"
I get the body and take a wide step over the circle we made. I place him in the middle with feet passing over it and head on the glass. "I cannot believe you punch a hole in the electric socket…" And that's how we got here.
"Stab him." says the dog. "What's your name?"
"Hannes…"
"Hannes… ok. So, how does the glass ritual work?"
"Stab him. Stab me. Put the knife on his body." the lights flicker in the room. Hannes winches in pain, his eyes bulging out. "Word!"
"Um…"
"I know…" my mother crawls out of the corner. "What's the word?"
Do not forsake me
Do not impede my step
Thus, you give me a rebuttal
With a hot blade inbetween
It should make you Scuttle
Mama did the word on the circle. The lights went out and the soul wondered the room. I heard a howl, the soul circled the body before settling in. Igor's body lifted up with a toothy grin. He stared at me and boosted from the floor on his hands.
"I got one." says Hannes. "The soul is everything. Not just a mere possession." he looks at his hands. "Though. I'm on a timer."
"What you mean?" I stomp. "What the fuck is a glass circle?"
"It's tempo thing."
"Why the hell would make something that last 30 seconds?" blinks Simisola. "Glasses last for as wide as a the circle built." he looks at the ceiling. "I got 12 hours."
"Twelve fucking hours?" I cross my arms. "I go to a four hour movie. Cross the street in the thirty minutes and study for an exam in that amount of time."
"I think it'll do." says Mama. "Hannes, how do we get out of here?"
He looks at his hands again. His nails extend. "I'll get us out."
"Great." I grunt.
"We need to find the women. Darlene."
"What does she have to do with it?"
"They want…" he sighs. "They want America to built around some fucking idea. The realm is not free and America is just half of a lie. Put two lies together."
"Um… extra lie?" Simisola guesses.
"Are they trying to make the realm bigger?"
"The realm answers to prayers. We talk about God status all day." he looks at me. "I can't believe you're empty…"