To Build a Vow

by Chencia C. Higgins

  She stood silently, watching us with golden-brown eyes and heart-shaped lips that were curved into the barely-there smile that had reappeared. I couldn’t help but smile back. I felt nothing but friendly vibes from her, and my gut said she was a good person. Thankfully, she was not at all bothered by my staring. She nodded at me and tilted her head, indicating that I should go behind the beaded curtain. I nodded in response and pulled my friends along.

  We walked into a hallway that only went left or right. The wall in front of us, although covered in images, did not indicate which direction we should go.

  “This way, friends.”

  Mama Sari stood at the end of the hall on our left. One by one, we walked down the narrow hall until we reached her. In her hands was a small bowl and a stick of what looked like dried herbs tied together with string. A thin trail of smoke rose from the end of the herbs. She turned and led us down another hall, stopping in front of an open doorway.

  “I cannot do a reading until you’ve been cleansed.”

  I frowned and Trisha spoke up.

  “What do you mean by ‘cleansed’? I’ve already been ‘cleansed’ by the blood of the lamb. I was baptized, and Jesus is my homeboy.”

  Candice nodded vigorously in agreement, and I tried not to laugh at Trisha’s silly, yet obviously serious, self.

  Mama Sari shook her head. “No, no. Nothing like that. The sage will clear away all negative energy left from your argument earlier.”

  Without giving thought to how you knew about the argument, I pointed behind us. “Oh, the woman out front already touched us and did a calming thing. We’re good. No negative energy here.”

  Mama Sari’s eyebrows stretched up in surprise. “Zing touched you?” When Trisha and I nodded, she looked even more astounded. “The both of you?” We nodded again albeit, slower. Was that…not okay?

  Her face softened and she smiled. “Well, you are correct; no cleansing is needed.” She looked at Candice who was in between Trisha and me. “Have you been helped as well, friend?” Candice shook her head. “Will you allow me to cleanse your energy?” Candice nodded.

  I stood to the side and allowed Candice to get in front of me. Mama Sari blew on the end of the herbs, and I watched as the embers caught the oxygen and glowed bright orange as the trail of smoke grew. She waved the stick around until the smoke formed a ring and then she blew gently. The ring of smoke floated toward Candice and fell over her head then thinned out and disappeared. Mama Sari continued to form rings and blow them at Candice until her whole body had been touched by the smoke from the herbs, and the hallway smelled like Thanksgiving dinner.

  Finally, Mama Sari stood back with a smile on her face. “It is done. Let us continue on.” She turned, her salt and pepper locs swinging past her knees and swishing around her the folds of her skirt. We followed her into the room. There was a round table where Fallon and four empty chairs circled.

  “Please, have a seat.”

  The three of us slid into an empty chair. Fallon was sitting in the middle, Candice sat next to her and I quickly sat next to Candice. Trisha narrowed her eyes at me, and I smirked. She rolled her eyes and dropped into the fourth chair on the other side of Fallon. Mama Sari closed the door and sat in the fifth and final chair, which was opposite us at the table.

  “Now—”

  “Oh, I’ll go first!”

  All of our eyes shifted to Fallon at her outburst. She couldn’t even let the woman finish her sentence. So rude. I looked at Candice and tried to convey with my eyes that I hope she understood that her cousin would never again be allowed to travel with us, in or out of state. I think she got my message if the way her shoulders slumped and she nodded were any indication.

  Mama Sari smiled. “You made that quite clear when you told me upon first entering this room. Anything else to declare, friend?”

  I was impressed by Mama Sari’s friendly tone. I could definitely benefit from her level of patience. Fallon shook her head and sat back in her seat. Mama nodded at her.

  “Peace and blessings, friend.” She looked around the table, making eye contact with each of us. “Now, I do not believe the two of you are familiar with palm reading; am I correct in that belief?”

  Two? Didn’t she mean three?

  I nodded my head while turning to glance at my friends. Only Trisha was nodding. Candice knew about this stuff already? I was going to have to ask her about that.

  Mama Sari nodded as if she already knew the answer as I supposed she did. “What I will do is examine the lines on the palm of your hand and tell you what I see. For some of us, our lives are already written when we are birthed into this realm. The story can change depending on our actions, but it is there, in plain sight, for anyone who chooses to see it. I will tell you what I see, but it is up to you whether or not you will let the story unfold as it is written. Do you understand?”

  All four of us nodded. Mama Sari smiled brightly.

  “It is well.” She laid her forearms flat on the table and extended her hands toward Fallon. “We will begin, friend.”

  Fallon laid her hand, palm-side up, out on the table. Mama Sari gripped Fallon’s wrist with one hand and pulled it toward her. She stared down at Fallon’s hand for a full minute then suddenly, she tsked.

  My brows shot up. What was that about?

  Without lifting her head, Mama Sari spoke. “You desire something that belongs to another. No good will come from your pursuit.”

  I looked over to see Fallon’s light brown face flush red then crumple into a frown. She tried to pull her hand back, but Mama Sari’s grip was strong.

  “You cannot run from this. There are consequences for your actions, and you would do best to consider them carefully.” She released Fallon, who almost fell from her seat because of the lack of resistance.

  It didn’t surprise me that Fallon wanted something that wasn’t hers. She seemed just like the type, and I would bet every dime in my bank account, that Mama Sari was referring to a man.

  Mama Sari eyed the rest of us slowly, presumably to see who to read next. I twisted my hands in my lap and swallowed nervously. The calm from before was ebbing away with every second that I sat in this room.

  “Are you ready, friend?”

  Mama Sari’s eyes had landed on Candice, who nodded and stuck out her right palm. The older woman eyed the hand without touching it and amusement lit her eyes.

  “Wrong hand, friend.”

  My mouth hung open. How could Mama Sari know that Candice was left-handed? Candice’s lips curved into a mischievous grin that I had never seen before and she switched hands. As Mama Sari grabbed Candice’s left hand, my nerves intensified. This whole scene was becoming more nerve-wracking by the second.

  “Oh!”

  The four of us leaned forward and looked at Candice’s hand as if we would be able to see what Mama Sari saw. She lifted Candice’s hand from the table and brought it closer to her face as her eyes roved over it.

  “Two opportunities for love will present themselves to you soon; however, one would cause you to lose a relationship you cherish. Only you can decide which opportunity is truly worth your happiness.”

  She released Candice’s hand, and I released the breath I was holding. Candice had been single for as long as I’d known her, but in those entire three years, I’d never heard her express a desire for a romantic relationship. I’d always assumed she was either asexual or aromantic and left it at that. What she did in her bedroom was none of my business.

  Mama Sari stretched her hands outward, toward both me and Trisha. Instead of choosing who would be next, she let us decide. I looked at Trisha with pleading eyes, hoping she would go next. She rolled her eyes and placed her palm on the table. Mama Sari smiled.

  “Ready, friend?”

  Trisha sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Mama Sari.”

  Mama Sari nodded and gripped Trisha’s wrist. Silence filled the room as she studied Trisha’s palm for a few minutes. She peered at Trisha. />
  “If you do not let go of fear, your soul mate will slip through your fingers.”

  I gasped and looked over at my best friend. Her eyes were as wide as saucers.

  Mama Sari continued, “There is nothing unnatural about love. You have to decide whether to follow your heart or let fear and shame keep you on the path of lies and loneliness.” Gently, she folded Trisha’s fingers inward and leaned down to kiss her fist. She stared unblinkingly at Trisha, who now had rivulets of tears trailing down her cheeks. “You know the right path to take. Never has your intuition steered you in the wrong direction.” With a final pat, she pushed Trisha’s hand toward her and looked at me.

  “At last, your turn has come, friend.”

  I wiped away the couple of tears I had shed on my friend’s behalf and nodded. I placed my right hand on the table and slowly uncurled my fist. For some reason, I was terrified. Logically, I probably had no reason to be. My love life was significantly more clear-cut and stable than everyone else’s, so I couldn’t imagine what she could tell me about my and Jeremiah’s relationship that I didn’t already know. Still, there was a nagging sense of foreboding in the back of my head.

  That feeling only intensified when Mama Sari grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand toward her. She touched a finger to my palm, and the feather-light touch tickled, causing my fingers to react with a jump. Seconds later, she lifted her head and our eyes met.

  “You may want to send your friends from the room.”

  My eyes ballooned and I looked over at Trisha and Candice.

  Trisha shook her head. “Uhn, uh. I’m not going anywhere.” She folded her arms across her chest to emphasize her point.

  I looked at Candice who chewed her lip. I flicked my eyes to her cousin who eyed me suspiciously. Candice sighed and pushed back from the table.

  “Come on, Fallon. Let’s go wait outside.”

  Fallon cocked her head to the side. “Why? I want to hear her reading. She heard mine.”

  I opened my mouth to tell her I didn’t give a rat’s behind what she wanted, but Mama Sari squeezed my wrist. I looked at her and she smiled before sitting up straight and addressing Fallon.

  “Friend, what I am about to say is sensitive information that I feel should be processed by the intended before it is shared.” She nodded at me. “It is for her to decide whether she will share it or not. As an aspiring medium, you should understand the importance of respecting the craft.”

  I raised a brow. Even without fully understanding what Mama Sari had said, I could gather that she had just read Fallon neatly with a bow on top. Fallon’s mouth snapped shut, and she stood from her seat and stormed out of the room. Candice apologized for her cousin and followed her, closing the door behind herself as she exited the room.

  Mama Sari looked from Trisha to me.

  I lifted my chin. “She is more than a friend; she is my sister, and she stays.”

  Mama Sari nodded and bent over my hand.

  “There is a tragedy on your horizon.”

  Fear clogged my veins. Her fingers brushed against my palm as if clearing away invisible dust, and her next words caused my heart to stop. “Death looms near.” Instinctively, I started to retract my hand, but her slender fingers tightened their hold on my wrist and she pulled me even closer to her. The edge of the table bit into my stomach as I leaned forward in an attempt to see what she saw.

  “Who will die? Me?”

  She studied my palm, her eyes jumping from line to line faster than I’d seen all night. “The possessor of your heart. That whom you love more than yourself. Dearest friend, you must act quickly.”

  My eyes rose from my palm to her face. “How quickly?”

  Mama Sari shook her head. “Months. Weeks.” She met my gaze. “The path of inaction leads to despair.”

  I tried to speak and nearly choked on the lump that had formed in my throat. “How? What do I do?” I begged her to give me an answer.

  Her eyes bore into mine. “You must leave. It is the only way. Turn your back that they may avoid death’s snare.”

  “But…what do you mean by leave? I can’t just—”

  The door burst open, interrupting me mid-sentence, and Zing rushed into the room. She wrapped her arms around Mama Sari and began to whisper into the older woman’s ear. When Mama Sari released my hand and sort of slumped over in her seat, Zing turned to us.

  “Forgive me, but the reading must end now.”

  Startled, my gaze swung from Zing to Mama Sari whose eyes were now closed as she rested her head on Zing’s shoulder.

  “But she didn’t tell me what I have to do. I need to know what to do.” Trisha, who had moved to the seat next to me, wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

  Zing shook her head. “She has already given you more than she should have, and now she is drained and in need of rest. Please, just go.”

  I wanted to press for more but another glance at Mama Sari proved Zing’s word to be true. The woman’s deep brown skin was ashen and pale, and beads of sweat lined her brow. Defeated, I pushed back from the table and stood up. I nodded and allowed Trisha to pull me from the room and down the hallway until we reached the front of the store. I reached into my purse and pulled a couple of twenties from my wallet and set them on the countertop. I had no idea the cost of the readings, but I felt that should have been sufficient. Trisha tugged on my hand, and I followed her out of the store where Candice stood with a contemplative look on her face, and Fallon paced back and forth in front of the door.

  They both looked up as the door chime signaled our exit. We walked over to them and for a moment, we all stood silently, letting the experience soak in.

  I sighed heavily. Now that I was outside and breathing in the fresh air, I could think clearly. That whole ordeal had been crazy, and I can’t believe I had actually taken it seriously. From the way those two women had spoken to the ‘cleansing’ and the palm reading, and finally Zing’s reaction at the end. It was all an obviously well-rehearsed act. I’d be a fool to turn my back on my daughter on the word of some stranger who put on a show for Creole Fest participants. Feeling much better now that I’d realized the whole thing was a hoax, I clapped my hands and laughed at my own gullibility.

  “Come on, y'all. That was fun and everything, but I’m still starving so can we please go eat now?”

  Candice nodded and pushed off the wall of the store, but Trisha eyed me suspiciously. I ignored her and looked at Fallon who had stopped pacing and was now facing me with her hands on her hips.

  “What did she say to you in there?”

  I pursed my lips and waved my hand in the air as if clearing the memories away. “Just some mess that I am not buying into. Now, like I said, I’m starving. Are you coming with us to dinner or do you have more Hogwarts stuff to do first?”

  Candice giggled and I smiled. “Go ahead and call up a car. The restaurant I want to go to is within walking distance of the hotel we’re staying at.” Fallon rolled her eyes but pulled her phone out of her purse.

  I winked at Candice who elbowed Trisha. Leaning into her, Candice asked, “What do you think all of that in there?”

  Trisha shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not sure what to think. Common sense says that I should write it all off as fake news.” She twisted her lips, staring across the street at the people laughing and talking loudly as they moved from one shop to another. “But what that woman said to me wasn’t fake. I knew exactly what she meant, and it was no more a coincidence than the three of us standing here together is.”

  My chest tightened as she spoke. When Mama Sari did Trisha’s read, I was shocked at how on the nose it was. There was no way that she could have known any of what she said and even if I wanted to blame Fallon or accuse her of calling information ahead, Fallon didn’t know Trisha or her situation to tell it. If Trisha could believe in what just happened, did that mean it was all real?

  And if it was all real, did that mean I had to abandon my babygirl?
r />   Chapter Two

  Jeremiah

  My daughter was my twin.

  My spitting image.

  Me, in female form.

  We shared the same dark, mahogany skin and round, piercing, chestnut-brown eyes that the Hawkins clan was known for. Ja’mya even had the same dimple in her chin that was once unique only to me, my brothers and parents. Her head was full of the same jet-black, kinky coils that I’d possessed before male pattern baldness made me swallow my pride and shave my head bald at a still youthful twenty-eight years old. Then, as if my genes weren’t strong enough, she’d inherited my height and slender build instead of her mother’s curvaceous shape.

  I’m not gonna lie; I was probably the proudest of that one.

  The kicker, though, was not only did my baby girl look like me, she also had my personality. At twelve years old, Ja’mya said some of the same and acted just like I did at that age. It was wild. Lisa often referred to these phenomena as a problem and usually, I vehemently disagreed, but sometimes, I had to admit that she was right. Like when I had to pick her up early from a sleepover because she got into a fight with one of her cousins.

  I glanced over at my daughter before signaling for the turn that would take me into White Hall, where the real estate office my family owned was located.

  “Are you going to tell me what happened or am I going to have to get the full story from Deena when she gets off of work?” Deena was Lisa’s first cousin. Her daughter, Deon, and Ja’mya were only a year apart and often had sleepovers between our two homes.

  Ja’mya huffed loudly then swiveled in her seat to face me.

  “Daddy! That stupid girl—”

  “Hey…” I didn’t tolerate her using that kind of language, no matter how upset she was. Stupid was a juvenile term that was only used by individuals who couldn’t articulate their thoughts. Ja’mya definitely knew better.