I had to broad the bus to Gougehold. That's the name of the factory. Sterling sat by me on the trip. "Hi."
Shabana should be tagging along. She said she was going to the liquor store. I guess she got on the second bus.
"Hi." I answered. It's the point I don't know how to speak to people. Sterling puts his hand out and I take it shyly. "My name is Sterling." he smiles. "And you are?"
Not really into white boys. He looks so odd, his face clean and eyes a vivid blue. His lips are a little dry and forehead big.
LORD! "Mokiri Gains."
"That is a lovely name." he keeps smiling looking at me up and down. "Is this your first time, at the plant as you…" he bends his head back and forth. "Uh…" Sterling looks off to the side. "Black people?"
"I am…" I scoot away. "I'm not racist or anything. My wife is Asian."
"I'm a nigga…"
"Hear me out." he places his hand on my wrist. "Asians and black people are kind of the say. Just Mexicans and Hebrews. You are all hated."
Well, I'll be shit. "In some shape or form. You have gone through the same struggles as somebody that's Filipino."
"I don't think so…"
"I do. My wife is Asian and she got a new body." he lifts his head in glory. "Praise these people for giving her new body. Her soul is clean! Amen!"
Aw shit. "My wife went through so many cancer treatments. I thought she was going to die."
This man is still holding me. "I got on drugs. Just a little percocet. Then one pill became two and two became eight and then my wife left me. But eventually I stopped and if it was not for coming here? I would still be poppin' pills. Thank Jesus, I have had enough of the devil's tablets." he lifts his hand in the air.
"Are you a praiser?"
"I'll take it in the ass for the lord." he chuckles. I'm so sick of people being so full of God and not having an angel.
The bus was loaded with vamps. We passed the bridge with the angel under the rainbow. It doesn't feel that long since I was with Zoey.
I can't believe she ran off. And Aril knows about it, this Mum. She was summoned.
Sterling taps my shoulder. I make a face and look at him from the side of my eye. "What?"
"You look very big."
"I'm six feet five."
"Vamp?" stop smiling at me. "No."
"I knew a few vamps. You wouldn't believe it but I used to be gay." he grins looking so keenly at my face. "His name was Zaquan. I was smoking the green with him and his homeboys. Kendrich and Ontrel? Let me tell you about Lishcelle." I think this man was gang raped by niggas…
Sterling leans toward the window with his mouth crooked. "Lishcelle and Ontrel with out." he crosses his legs. "So Ontrel and Lishcelle have a baby named Monique. Ontrel didn't even want the baby." his cracks. "This isn't my body. Do you mind?"
His voice changes. "Obayifo…"
"Nah… go-go on."
"Girl me and Lishcelle used to go at it all the time. Guess why she mad."
"You took her nigga?"
"Nah! I killed him. He got my dike pregnant and I know Lishcelle gay."
This does not concern me. "You gay?" he purse his lips. "You look gay."
Any type of nigga will be slapped. "I am not gay."
"MMmmm." he twist around. "That's what Lishcelle said."
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
His neck cracks like an owl. "This body is male."
"Oh…"
"Don't knock it till you try it. You might be gay." That's the definition of a rapist. But wait… "Were you bitten?"
"Bitten? Lord please, I'd kill a nigga for puttin fang on me. I'm a classy lady! I wish a nigga would."
This is ironic because of the whole gay men act like loud black women. I wipe my lip, "So what happened?"
The body twitches. Sterling gasps, "Mokiri?" he turns around. He seems startled. "You know the Obayifo? It's not a ghost. I didn't know you could see a soul."
"You right…" What the fuck! "The Obayifo is a ball of light."
"And air."
"Air?" I didn't know. When does the bus stop? "The soul can appear as air. I didn't know. Did you meet Kendrich?"
"Who?"
"Kendrich's trans."
Get me off this bus. It's too much going on! "Wait… Kendrich is transgender?"
"Would you believe a girl was stalking Ontrel? Ontrel cheated and the girl became Kendrich because she wanted a relationship with Ontrel but he said he was gay after a few weeks. He claimed to be drunk when they did it."
"So she mad?"
"And crazy."
"Why are you and her--"
"They trade bodies at the plant." he heaves. "I'm her new body. I gotta go for a cleansing." Sterling rubs his neck. "This might be my last time seeing you."
.
.
.
The bus rode smoothly, I don't know where we were but I knew the goal was the liquor factory.
Sterling didn't talk to me and I didn't reach for conversation. There is a superstition that if you knock on a vampire grave. They wake up with you in bed. If it's a man, he'll say I got you pregnant. If it's a girl, she'll say you got her pregnant.
You don't hear a baby. Your arms just feel heavier and heavier.
A vampire is a corpse that has moved from it's grave. A zombie is decaying, some type of magic must be applied to make it move. But the soul needs a body. A good body.
I look at Sterling. I wonder if he can hear me? "I can."
How do you turn this shit off? "A necklace. a lot of people just mind they business. Don't start none won't be none."
"Are you racist?"
"Yep."
"Did you have a Asian wife?" Why am I asking?
"I did. We got a divorce, I told her to kiss my ass. Her father hated me for being white and she didn't care." he huffs. "You wanna dig in my business?"
I do but--fuck it. "My wife and I got married and after the divorce. I met a man."
"so… you became gay?"
"She was homophobic. I thought I could be karma given that she hated gay people. She called them dirty. I'm just fucking with you…" he snickers. "Your fucking with me?"
"Yeah… that's why I'm fucking dead."
I glare at the back of his head. I know he hears me.
'You fucking deserve it'