by Iesha Bree
She pulled out a photo of a woman with big black curls, piercing blue eyes, and lips that looked as if they were made for kissing. Something about her felt so damn familiar to me, almost like I already knew her, but that couldn’t be the case since I had never come in contact with her.
Taking the photo from her outreached hand, I stood to my full height as she followed suit. I held the picture up in my hand.
“You mind if I keep this? And what do you want me to do with her?”
“I need you to bring her back here. This will be a surprise to my husband; he hasn’t seen his daughter since she was a child,” she responded with a smile.
“What? I didn’t know he had another child,” I responded.
“Yes. It was before he met his true soulmate,” she replied with a tight smile through clenched teeth.
I could tell she didn’t want to get into it any further, so I kept all questions about the situation to myself.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Noemy. Pack up and start your journey tonight.”
Quickly she gave me the coordinates on where I might be able to locate her and where the last place she had been seen.
Later that evening…
Stepping inside the house, I rushed toward the back so I could pack a bag. Before I could make it to my room, my father was stepping out into the hallway with a grin. Stopping me in my tracks, he gripped my shoulder.
“Congratulations. I always knew you would make it happen, son,” he called out.
“Yeah, I’ve already been given my first task,” I responded, finally able to show the excitement that I had truly made it.
“What? Usually, they don’t do that until after you’re formally given the position,” he responded.
“That’s what I thought, but this is my job, and they know I can take care of myself and this situation. I earned this position, and I have to be out by tonight.”
Stepping around him, I walked to the back of the room to pack a bag.
“I don’t know, son; this doesn’t seem right. Who gave you the orders?”
He continued to press me as I maneuvered around the room, trying to grab everything I needed for the journey.
“Serafina.”
“I don’t know about this, Pez. It just doesn’t seem right,” my dad continued.
Before I could respond, my brothers were walking inside the house. Grabbing my bag from the bed, I stepped around my father to head toward the door.
“Where you headed to? Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating tonight?” Raz called out.
“Can’t. I need to head out and handle a few things,” I replied.
“Son, listen to me good. Be careful with Serafina. I don’t trust her.” My father spoke up once more.
“This is what I am here to do. This is the position I worked so hard to get. You shouldn’t be talking down on the gods of our lands. At the end of the day, I am going to get this job done if it’s the last thing I do,” I responded before turning to walk out of the house.
The moment I stepped outside, I bumped into my other brother Loren, who looked deep in thought.
“Pez, my bad. Where you headed?” he asked.
“I have a few things to handle. Look after dad for me. You know Raz isn’t going to do it; he is too busy running around with all the women here,” I cracked.
Holding his hand out, he gave me dap before nodding his head to walk around me. Loren was the most reserved out of Raz and I, so I knew he wouldn’t ask any more questions. I would be leaving Ruella, although I was nervous since I had only been to earth a few times. I wouldn’t stop at anything to get her back to Ruella.
A few moments had passed since Pez had rushed out of here like he had the world’s honor to protect. I didn’t fucking get why he couldn’t loosen up a little bit. It was never that serious. Stepping into the living room, my father followed behind me.
“Raz, I need you to do me a solid,” he called out.
“Let me guess. You need me to check on this situation Pez got himself into?”
“It’s not Pez I’m worried about. Honor is one of his principles. He can’t see past that, but Serafina doesn’t know a damn thing about honor. Just head up to the palace to see what she is up to. You know they can’t help it but talk around there,” my father responded.
“You haven’t said nothing but a word,” I responded before I materialized out of the room.
Finally making it outside of the house, I hid along the building’s side, making sure that I masked my energy since that was something we people of Ruella all had. We could sense others’ energies, so we knew when someone else was around. Only a few people actually had the power to mask their energies, like my father, brothers, and I did. Standing outside of the window, I could hear things being thrown against the wall, almost as if someone was scourging the place to find valuables. Stepping away from the wall, I was stopped in my tracks at the sound of Ra’s wife, Serafina, talking.
“I need you to follow closely behind Topez,” she whispered.
“How am I supposed to do that? You know as well as I do he will know.” I heard a voice respond but not as clear as Serafina’s.
“If you want that head spot in GPP, you will do what you’re told!” she yelled.
“How do you even know it’s truly her! Ra said that Asha and her daughter were dead. Shit, how do you even know Topez will be able to locate her?” the other voice asked.
“Well, she isn’t, which serves as an issue for my two children! You know that the first child of the head god inherits the most power unless she is killed! So you get down there to fix this problem now. And I have a hunch about these sorts of things,” she said.
The sounds of her heels clicking against the marble floors seemed to become louder as I quickly rushed off to make sure I was out of sight. Slowly stepping away from the wall I turned around to get out of sight and back to my father to let him know he was right about Serafina. I just knew this would be nothing more than a shit storm.
Pulling the door back to my home, I rushed inside to see my father and brother in the living area, joking. The minute I stepped into the room, the smiles that once graced their faces had fallen at the sight of me.
My father leaned forward in his chair as he turned to give me his undivided attention. Deciding to be safe about everything I was getting ready to say, I walked over to the windows and door, sealing them, making sure that all that was spoken within these walls stayed between us.
“Raz, what’s up?” my brother Loren asked, now standing to his feet on alert.
Once I was certain that we would only hear everything I said, I walked into the living area to take a seat across from my father as I dragged my hands down my face.
“I overheard a conversation between Serafina and maybe one of the guards. I couldn’t really catch the voice of the other person. Anyway, I went by the palace as you suggested, and before I made it inside, I came upon the garden outside of the palace, and that’s when I overheard a conversation between Serafina and someone else. It turns out that Asha was cast out of Ruella because Serafina was jealous that Ra and Asha had a child together. Well, that’s not just it! The bitch plans on sending another guard to trail Pez, and it sounds to me like she plans to kill Pez too,” I responded, dropping that bomb.
Continuing to tell the remainder of the story, I watched my father waiting for a change in his features, but they continued to stay the same, almost as if he wasn’t shocked at all. Once I finished the story, I waited for a beat for my father to say something.
“Something tells me you’re not surprised,” I stated the obvious just based on his actions.
“Well, I didn’t know it went that extensively, but I had never known Asha to be the type of woman to do the things she had been accused of. But I had my own children to think of at that moment, and I didn’t have time to question what truly was taking place. Son, I need you to go down and warn Topez and Asha that they need to get to a safe place. Because now that Serafina
knows Asha is still out there, she will stop at nothing,” my father responded, staring out into space.
“How am I supposed to find them?” I asked.
Standing from where he had been sitting, he walked into the back room, coming out with a map. I watched as he closed his eyes briefly before his finger landed on a state called South Carolina. I watched as my father located the exact address on the map, lifting my head from the map I turned to look back at Loren in question, who only raised his shoulders in confusion.
“I don’t understand how you were able to find her that easily. The only way that’s possible is if she was…” I paused as my thoughts trailed to the only solution to why he was able to find her so quickly.
“But how? What about our mother?” I asked, completely confused.
I watched as Loren leaned forward as well. I always wondered why my father never followed behind my mother when she died, and now I knew.
“I loved your mother, son. Things are just complicated when it comes to the situation with Asha and me. I came across her one day while out and about, but she was pregnant with someone else’s child. She had actually told me that she didn’t want this, so I always kept a comfortable distance until that night. There was nothing I could do. Your mother and I had decided we would both never be with our soulmates since her soulmate had died before they ever met. So that same night everything happened with Asha, your mother told me she was pregnant with Topez, and the rest was history,” he responded.
I was still completely shocked by the story he had just revealed to us. I had always thought my parents were soulmates. I didn’t care one way or another if I found my soulmate, but I knew secretly Topez had been yearning for his soulmate for a while now, which was why he was so GPP driven. Loren, I felt he had it worse than all of us. He continually found his soulmate, but each time her soul would be reborn into another woman’s body, she would die. I could tell that it was starting to take a toll on him, but he always acted as if he was okay. With fates like that, you can only think there was a reason that we all were not worthy of the most sacred love of our people.
“I’m coming with you,” Loren spoke up.
A heavy feeling settled over all of us, and we knew we were out of time.
Last Day of Residency
Chest swelled with pride, I smiled at everyone as we all ate the cake the staff had brought in for us. They were all happy for us since it was the last day of our residency. My cheeks felt as if they were stuck, and my jaw felt sore from all the smiling I had been doing today. Not even anything Amber said or did matter at this moment. Today would be the last day I saw her; I was going to a completely different office than she was, so she wouldn’t have to see me another minute after this little party the staff decided to throw. I walked around talking to everyone that I had grown to like—like Ms. Beverly, who was completely amazing at what she did every day. When I started working with children, I hoped that I would handle it with as much class as she did. She was always so calm, and that was one trait that I admired more than anything.
Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I glanced to see it was Jason with his usual grin. Laughing to myself, I turned around to give him my full attention. I swear one day, he would get tired of putting himself out to me, just to be turned down. Men weren’t on my agenda right now, and to be honest, I didn’t think they ever would be. Brushing my big, curly hair behind my ear, I walked over toward the snack table as he followed me.
“Hey, I know the last time we spoke, you thought Amber and I were together, but everyone as a class, we’re going out tonight, and I was the only one confident enough to ask you to come along.” He started waving his hands as he talked.
As much as he moved, I swear you would think he was on drugs, but I knew that couldn’t be the case because this job required a drug test. I stood still for a moment, thinking this might be my last chance to actually go out and party. I had never had the chance to be a kid since my mother was so protective and private and didn’t have many friends. Before I could respond, another one of our classmates, Allison, walked over with her usual bubbly personality.
“Did you ask her? I hope he invited you! We would love for you to come out with us!” she announced, a genuine smile still intact.
I would be a pure asshole if I told her no. “Sure! What time, and where are we meeting?” I asked.
“Great! We’re going down to Social in the vista! It has a nice scene about it, while it also doesn’t have as many college students there. I truly believe you will love it! See you later.” She bounced off as quickly as she had come in.
Forgetting that Jason was still standing there, I walked off to grab my stuff since I had no reason to wait around any longer. I had shown my face long enough for it not to be rude if I just left. Plus, I had to prepare myself to be social later. Once I made it out into the hallway, I heard my name being called once more as I rolled my eyes, huffing out the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. Turning around, I came face to face with the head doctor whose sparkly white teeth were on display.
“I just wanted to stop you and let you know that it was a pleasure meeting and working with you. Also, if you need a recommendation letter, I will be more than happy to provide you with that,” he stated, bringing his hand to his chest to emphasize his point.
Now that he wasn’t my head doctor anymore, I really wanted to let him know about himself. I might need that recommendation letter with how much he has harassed me since I have been here, I thought as my lips held a tight straight smile, not showing any teeth as I picked my brain for the correct response.
“I appreciate you saying that. I will let you know if that recommendation letter will be necessary, but I appreciate the offer. You have a good rest of your day. It was informative working with you,” I responded, choosing not to say what he needed to hear.
Turning around, I continued to the lockers to grab my stuff, not giving him a chance to say another word because I had nothing else nice left in me to say to him. Once I grabbed everything I had inside of my locker, I quickly made my way to my car to notice Amber watching me. I had a bad feeling I would have to whoop her ass before the night was over. Driving past her, it was something in her eyes that gave me the feeling this wouldn’t be the last I saw of her. Turning back to the road ahead of me, I quickly got home, making sure to watch my surroundings as my mother had taught me.
Like every other night, walking into the house, dinner was laid out, and my mother was in the kitchen. Stepping inside the kitchen, I made my presence known as I kissed her cheek. I turned to leave as she gripped my wrist, returning my attention to her.
“How was your day today, sweetheart?” she asked, waiting for a beat for me to answer.
“It was actually pretty good. The hospital staff threw us a last day party, and I actually got invited to go out with everyone tonight!” I responded, unable to contain my excitement.
“Oh, who invited you out?” she asked with a puzzled smile, almost as if she was surprised.
My smile dropped abruptly as I continued to run the question through my mind. She acted as if I wasn’t good enough to be asked to go out. It pissed me off because she was supposed to be my mother and be happy for me. She knew how much it meant to me to be included in something outside of academics finally. I had been invited to be a part of study groups and things like that but never invited to actually go out to a club or party. Don’t get me wrong; I had been asked on dates multiple times, but I was never interested in any guy to even think about going with them anywhere. Plus, I always got this second sense when around certain men, and their minds were always on sex if you asked me.
“Why? Are you surprised that anybody would want to hang out with me outside of work?” I asked, walking back into the kitchen to lean against the counter.
“It’s not that, baby; I just have a bad feeling about tonight. I don’t think you should go,” she announced, turning to face the sink full of dirty pots and pans, no longer trying to hold eye c
ontact with me.
I took a deep breath as I got this feeling of overwhelming fear to wash over me. Breathing deeply, I stepped out of the kitchen as my mother called out my name. Choosing not to answer her until this feeling washed away, I walked to the back of my room, closing the door behind me. Instantly, the feeling of fear that felt as if my throat was closing up was gone. Before the feeling returned, I quickly found something cute to wear, deciding to go with black jeans, a simple V-neck t-shirt, and a black jean jacket. Fluffing my hair out a little bit in the mirror, I turned to the side to make sure my outfit looked okay as I grabbed my gray Vans. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed the keys to my car, heading straight for the door without saying another word to my mother. I felt that fear trying to creep back in, but something in me wouldn’t allow it to penetrate my mind.
The cool breeze from the night’s air flowed through my hair, helping my breathing to become just that much smoother. I glanced around because the feeling that someone was watching me became strong. I peered over my shoulder only to hear crickets in the distance. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to look back at my house once more, only to see it was just my mother. I quickly got into my car as I made my way to the vista. The sidewalks were swarming with tons of women in skimpy clothes and drunk men who were all out for a good time. The stop and go traffic was starting to clear up as I turned into the next parking lot, deciding I might as well pay for parking. I don’t intend to be parked too far from the club. I only planned to be here for a little bit.
I smiled as the bouncer let me through after briefly looking at my ID. I had come at the perfect time. Turning sideways to squeeze past all of the people dancing, I rocked my hips to the sounds of “Love in This Club” by Usher sounding through the speakers. Walking up to the bar, I ordered a margarita to keep it simple. Liquor never got me drunk, but it tasted good. Waiting on my order, I turned around, craning my neck to see if I could see over the crowd until my eyes landed on the most intriguing set of black eyes I had ever seen. My heart began to speed up, drumming up the same beat as my pearl between my thighs. He was not the normal idea of beauty because he had a scar underneath his right eye, but in my eyes, he held a rugged appeal. His eyes began to sweep my frame, and my face began to warm up as I crossed my legs to ward off the unfamiliar feeling between my thighs.
