We pretended everything was normal. I sat with Zoey-Rose on the bus. As we came to the busses, one of the vamps or other told a lie and believed it. Guess they got the magic to back it.
"We going to Humblewood!" she jumps in her seat. "Yeah… I don't want it's like up there."
"I hope they got cotton candy," her eyes grow. "One time me and Sabian went to the fair in Virginia. But we didn't have money so he stole from some kids. They cried."
"How did you feel about it?"
"I got cotton candy and I met one of those gypsy people."
"A person or a machine?"
"It was half her body."
"A machine."
"So I asked her, because Sabian robbed somebody. How long would I live? And she said… a limelight can turn red. I asked her again, what's my purpose? She said, a liar is beneficial to the beneficiary. Then Sabian asked, when he would die."
"What it say?"
"A snake on the tongue makes the heart beat fast." she sat straight in the seat. "I don't know what that means."
"What was Sabian like as a brother?" I ask.
"He did Molly sometimes but one day, he said it was too strong so he started smoking like ten days a day." she says quickly. "I smoked too."
"You smoked weed?" I'm beside myself on this one. Then again, I can't remember my own mother so fuck it. "Yeah! Sabian gave me weed to help with my allergeries since we lived in a junkyard."
"Did you work there?" the bus hits a bump. "No, we was broke. He shot mama and daddy because mama wanted to prostitute me."
I gasp. "Why not shoot one?"
"He hated daddy anyway. Sabian tried to work and daddy would go in his money jar. One time, Sabian and my daddy was fightin' in the kitchen and Sabian cut his neck but he didn't die." she shakes her head. I don't think she's well.
This is too casual. "Was you scared?"
"Sabian said, he should die because daddy was a pedophile. But like…" she starts moving her hands straight out explaining. "My daddy ain't never touch me. He cheated on my mama though."
"Oh."
"My big brother ain't touch me either. He always told me, fuck niggas that's real sorry don't love females. And I should never hang with a fuck nigga…"
"What the fuck is that little girl saying?" I look behind the seats. "Somebody whoop her!" shouts a man.
.
.
.
I looked at outside the window at the blood waters and for a moment, I saw a mermaid. I grabbed Zoey's arm but she was sleep on my side.
You learn a little about mermaids in school. The Mami Wata like to commit murder. They don't like having their peace disturbed. It's like if somebody comes into your room and then they don't close it back.
I get it.
They say a piece of heaven fall down in the Ghetto. We actually talk about the tree of good and evil a lot.
The Tree is not Evil until you sin. It is Good in telling the truth and it lie when you lie. Another myth is Aleigha ate an apple and that's how he got to be a vampire without a ritual. Which is why the whole verse in the Ghetto Bible is that immortality is not granted but earned though hardships.
He can die but it makes you question how hard does a man have to work to get a couple thousand years of life?
It makes me think. I used to be a werewolf, now I can choose. Werewolves don't have a lot; in terms of a pack. It's actually really lazy.
I still get to use magic but that shifting makes your bones crack and I'm already sick.
There's chatter on the bus and I hear conversations about a boat.
"You don't know how the Ghetto works."
"I know the hood!" retorts a female. "The boat is in the hood."
"Are you saying a slave ship?"
"No! Like the ark!" Many go silent including me. "I'm not finna ride Noah's ark."
"She probably talkin' about myths. Ain't no damn ark." exclaims a nigga. "there is a boat in the hood!" she gets aggravated.
"Ok, if there is a boat. Where is the boat?"
"In the hood…"
"No, like in the grass, in sheets, flying, in the water with the sea bitches--"
"I'M MERMAID AND OFFEDED!"
"Good!"
The girl goes on. "It's a boat in the streets of the Old Hood."
"I don't think that's a boat…" states a soft spoken tone. The bus rocks hitting a bump, it sways turning and picks up speed. "Well, I heard the boat is good!"
"She told niggas of every color that boats are a good thing…"
"What's so special about the boat?" I turn my neck. A girl waves me off, "Nun, she a crackhead!" a black girl with her nose pierced tells me. "Last week, she was happy about colorful napkins."
"Is anybody hungry for blood. I'm finna bite myself."
"YES." they all clamor.
The scenery changes. By then Zoey woke up to see the trees waving and bushes of flowers. This part of the ghetto is actually… morning.
"HEY!" she crawls over my lap to see out. "That's the sun. In the Ghetto."
"Yep. I've seen sunlight."
"Did you crack?"
"Nah, I was a wolf."
"The first time Sabian was a vamp, his back got hot so he cracked. I'm scared, what if you crack so bad it breaks like yo soul?"
"I don't know. If you could changed, what would you be?"
"A fairy."
That girl's head isn't right. "Fairy's are just shadows. They get one chance."
"But like, they have pretty wings." she sits back in her seat. "Put it like this… would a ladybug rather be a bird or a beetle?"
"Uh…" Is that a good comparison? The Miaibu have one life with a pair of wings. Mermaids are immortal, vamps, and dogs gotta fight as well as imps. Then we witches… I've never seen a witch die. "What about a witch?" I ask her.
"Oh no!" she makes a face. "That means I'm sick all the time. Witches ain't cool."
"They is cool…"
"They not… So, me and Sabian was in the Vybe of the Ghetto and there was this witch selling charms and she had patches over her skin and she was scratchin' and coughing blood. We bought some charms and they was good but then Sabian wanted more and she wasn't there. Imagine being sick and you can't die until you repent."
I blink.
"I mean, it's all good. Witches is powerful but they sick and dying." she looks at nothing with wide eyes. "What you wanna be?"
I don't know.
.
.
.
The bus carried on a bit more before we saw a rainbow and everybody was lifting out seats to see it rain. "Look y'all!" It was a rainbow. I patted Zoey on arm, "Find the color yellow!"
"Where!" soon the bus was loud about what color one could see and we all blurted, 'GIANT'. A giant being with wings covering it's body came under the rainbow in fog.
"Is it Gabriel?"
"Nah, that one has a crown."
The angel bellowed, making the ground quake. It's wings spread and one could see that the eyes were closed… really glued together and their arms were handcuffed. "Mokiri! What do you think it's name is?"
"I don't know."
The rainbow that it stood under rained color of it's back before shaking it off. The wings were splashed with color and I felt it look directly at the bus as we went pass the bridge.
The angel was closer. Zoey got out her seat again and pulled down the window. "What's your name!" the angel glowed. It was in a large body of water. The water lifted into bubbles. A bubble floated to the window and popped, "Rierah."
"He's name's Reirah."
I don't understand the purpose of angels in terms of the realm. The realm itself answers prayers, I'm not sure what the angels do. They say Gabriel is around and that's a God's messenger.
It would seem ugly to send the messenger and not help.
So I don't believe in angels.
It's just a giant