by Tony C. Skye
“It tastes awful. But it works quickly. It will help to clean you out. That way you don't have to lie here all night,” the woman explains, “Plus it will help to warm you.”
Julianna sniffs the earthly aroma of the mixture, “It d-doesn't sssmell very g-good either.”
Martha grins, “I am surprised you can smell anything, Misses Rudolph.”
Julianna pinches her nose closed and gags down the horrible mixture. Martha gently lays her head back down. The girl feels an immediate rush of heat pass through her body. It rides with the foreign liquid and branches itself out into all of her extremities. Her teeth stop their aching chatter.
“Yur grams be forgettin' in her old age,” Lady Lanecia corrects.
Julianna looks over to the woman. Her brown eyes wave and shimmer. The teen closes her eyes and reopens them. The voodoo priestess' eyes still look strange.
“She'd be forgettin' to tell yurself about yur vision and hearin',” the woman explains, “Do not be nervous about what yurself be seein' or hearin'. It'd be from da drink.”
“Oh my, I did forget to mention that,” Martha apologizes, “If you get scared, just close your eyes. The vision-stuff will stop. Breathe slowly and don't allow yourself to become panicked.”
Martha release her pinned back side bangs by slipping out the tooth combs out of their positions. She pat's the girl’s left forearm with her right hand.
“I will be here every second of every moment. You will never be alone, Julia. Always keep that in mind if you must close your eyes.”
Julianna nods uneasily. She hesitates before speaking.
“I love you, grams.”
Martha kisses her granddaughter on her forehead, “I love you, too, Julia.”
Julianna vaguely notices her grandmother pulling back to look down at her. Her body rushes with more warmth. She grins.
Wow, this feels pretty good.
“Now yurself be neddin' to listen to me before ya go off into dat fairy land, Misses Julianna,” a voice sounds as though it is being filtered through an electronic synthesizer.
“Sure thang,” Julianna slurs. She giggles.
“I see,” Lady Lanecia looks over to Martha. The red hair woman plays dumfounded.
“It'd be seemin' dat an old granny be forgettin' how to make da mix, too.”
“Ah-ha-ha!”, Julianna laughs.
Martha lifts her hands up while shrugging her shoulders at the voodoo priestess, “What?”
The dark woman shakes her head, “I'll be a chicken's bones if I believe in yur innocence, Mrs. Martha.”
Martha confirms with a slight grin, “Well, why not enjoy the ride if you're going to get on the train?”
The dark woman shakes her right index finger at Martha, “Dat be no train ya put hur on, Mrs. Martha.” The woman points down to Julianna, “Dat be a drug-induced laugh machine.”
Dat be a...”, Julianna stops to belt out another long loud laugh. The girl puts her right index finger over her mouth. “Shh...”, she giggles. Julianna regains her composure long enough to quickly speak out her new wisdom.
“Dat be a chicken's bones laughing train machine,” the teenager laughs hysterically.
Martha giggles. She looks back at the voodoo woman, “It might have been a little strong.”
The priestess arches her right brow. She looks back down at the giggly girl.
“Da Misses Julianna will calm hurself soon enough,” Lady Lanecia notes, “It is time we do our part, Mrs. Martha.”
Martha nods and turns to retrieve the dagger lying on the floor.
* * *
What in the...?
Julianna's long hair blows as the Chicken's Bones Laughing Train Machine speeds by her. She closes her eyes, rubs them, and looks again. She watches bird's wings flap on the left and right sides of each rail car. The caboose travels off into the distance with its tail feathers blowing freely in the wind. She shakes her head and begins looking around as the clucking train disappears down the tracks.
As far as her eyes can see, there is only desolation in every direction, but one. The girl with raven hair studies the scene across the tracks. She sees a train depot like those found in the old western movies. The wood used to construct it looks weathered. Its retro-style saloon doors decorate nicely the wooden walkway spanning the depot's width. She stumbles over the rail tracks when she walks in the depot's direction. The teen quickly stands up and looks around to see if anyone has witnessed her clumsiness.
This place is deserted. I wonder if there's a phone inside? I could call grams to come pick me up.
The oblivious Julianna brushes the gravel off of her black low V-neck dress. She dusts her hands off while she journeys across the dual track system. The girl approaches the stairs on the left end of the wooden walkway and climbs the three short steps to the top. She walks the sixteen-foot distance and pushes open the saloon's double-swinging doors on her left.
No way.
As she steps inside, she sees a beach. The surprised girl turns around. The doors to the saloon's entrance are gone. All she can see is a vast ocean of stormy black water. Lightning snakes its way into the water's distance providing a clear view of her hopeless escape.
Julianna shivers as the cold water rushes around her bare feet. She steps backward onto the beach. Its sand warms her. The confused girl can feel the warmth of sunshine on her back. Yet the water doesn't reflect any of its light. Neither did the water’s cold temperature seem to be affected by the sun's warmth. But the worst thing of all, Julianna somehow knows without a doubt that the water is voided of any life. The teen takes a few more steps backwards before feeling safe enough to turn around. She turns and drops her shoulders in frustration.
Wonderful.
The sandy white beach slopes upward slightly. It is met harshly by a massive wall. As far as Julianna can tell, the wall's height extends somewhere into the clouds above and its width spans the entire distances of the beach in both directions. She ponders which direction to take and decides it really doesn't matter. Just as she is about to wander off to her right, the girl notices odd shadowing on the wall's surface in front of her. She squints. Lacking any better option, she leaves her current place in the white sand for the charcoal-gray wall.
Whoa. That's beautiful. I really need to read more.
Whenever, the teen gets closer to the wall, she sees writing carved into its surface. Julianna recognizes the innumerable amounts of strange words, symbols, and designs as belonging to the language written inside of her library. She attempts to make some sense of what she sees, but her knowledge lacks too greatly. The girl decides to admire the artwork aspect instead.
She walks to her right while her fingers lightly graze the etchings along the way. There are systematic groupings of familiar words and images from the floors and walls in her library. They are wonderfully interwoven within a larger picturesque design. And each of the larger designs seems to be interlaced within an even more grand design than its previous.
“It is quite remarkable, isn't it?”, a woman's smoky voice startles the unprepared girl.
Julianna spins around. A woman with gorgeous sun-bronzed skin stands on the beach. Her bare feet subtly sink in just below the sand's white surface.
“Y-yeah, it's pretty,” Julianna answers while watching the stranger closely.
“I like to come out here. It's one of my favorite places,” the mysterious woman reveals, “I'm probably a little biased about it though.”
Julianna grins uncomfortably while the awkward silence from her end continues to increase. She admires the woman's very long black hair as it blows with the ocean's wind. It is prepared into many small braids that dangle below her buttocks. They are tipped with red coloring like her own side-bangs. And each one appears as if they could be dancing to their own song – sung by the gentle breeze.
“You have beautiful hair,” the woman's smoky voice admires the teen.
Julianna nervously grins, “Thanks. You, too.”
; The woman smiles and nods respectively. Julianna is completely mesmerized by her beauty. The sixteen-year-old can't imagine anyone having the ability to stand next to her and still being able to retain their full confidence levels about themselves. She's rather certain even a Victoria's Secrets supermodel would be struggling with her own self-confidence by this woman.
Yet the stranger isn't tall by most supermodel standards. She's only a few inches taller than Julianna. Her presence, however, is intense. Really intense. And it most definitely makes up any differences with her height. She looks a lot like Julianna with her green eyes, raven blue-black hair with red tinges, and small elfish ears. But her nose is absolutely perfect – an attribute Julianna envies.
The woman's loosely fitted black transparent gown leaves nothing to the imagination. Julianna tries not to look anywhere strange, but the woman's distance from her makes it impossible. And the one thing she notices is how the woman's bosoms are identical to her own. It causes Julianna to linger a little too long as she envisions herself in the mirror.
The mysterious stranger notices the girl's wayward eyes.
“I'm sorry. I don't have many visitors,” she explains.
Julianna's embarrassment amuses the woman. She approaches the visitor and offers her right hand, “Hello, my name is Lilith.”
* * *
“That's right, dear. Relax and breathe deeply,” Martha coaches while gently placing the girl's hair over the table's edge to hang freely.
“Dat child be calmin' hurself well,” the priestess observes, “As strong as yurself be makin' dat cocktail, I did not be thinkin' she could calm so soon.”
4:30 p.m.
“Five minutes. Not bad, Jules,” Martha turns from looking at the clock hanging behind her on the wall. She pats the girl’s left arm before walking to the table's foot-end. The woman with red hair checks the strong blend's work.
“We still have a few more minutes here,” Martha confirms.
“I must be prayin' now, Mrs. Martha,” the voodoo priestess informs. The skinny woman glances over to the artwork's center upon the floor. She double checks the Lilith dagger's location in relation to where she will soon be with the rooster.
“I'd be needin' dat bowl, Mrs. Martha.” The dark woman pauses with a slight grin, “And yurself be needin' to collect dat rooster for me as well.”
“You could at least pretend not to enjoy it so much, Lady Lanecia,” Martha playfully scolds her friend of so long. She listens to her friend chuckle while she turns to retrieve the wooden bowl.
Lady Lanecia pushes the play button on her retro-style cassette player. Musical drum beats begin filling the room with the thump of rhythmic intensity. The priestess begins her dance and prayer.
* * *
“Lilith?”, the teen questions, “Like the carving on the box?”
The gorgeous woman retracts her offered hand and uses it to tap her lower full lip thoughtfully.
“Box,” she pauses for a few seconds before recalling the item, “Ah - yes. Your ancestors made one out of stone a very long time ago. The box you're speaking of is a replica.”
Julianna's head retreats, “You don't look that old.”
The woman examines her own arms. Her tan skin which wraps them is youthful and tight. She smiles with adoration before lowering them to her side. The woman's green eyes locks gazes with the disbelieving girl.
“I do not have a body in your realm,” Lilith gives her answer. Her low-toned smoky voice continues, “Just as you do not have a body in this realm.”
Julianna inhales nervously.
“Relax, young one,” Lilith attempts to calm the visitor, “You are safe here.”
Julianna nods and takes a few deep breaths – slowly exhaling each one with closed eyes. Lilith patiently watches the girl finish with her breathing exercises.
Julianna opens her eyes slowly, “I'm sorry. I don't understand.”
Lilith's green eyes emanate with reassurance, “Try to remember, young one. Where were you before you were in this place?”
“By a strange-looking train,” the teen uneasily recounts. Lilith's lack of response and never ending stare sparks her to rethink her answer.
“I-I can't remember,” the girl begins to panic.
“Tell me about your train, young one,” Lilith directs calmly.
Julianna spills out her story about the boxcars made of bones, feathers flapping on each side, the depot station, and the saloon doors. Lilith's intrigue causes Julianna to become animated with her arms while she describes flapping wings.
“That is spectacular,” the woman declares. She throws her head back and laughs.
Julianna begins to relax while she runs through her story. When she finishes, Lilith smiles.
“I have heard many, many stories about someone's journey to my beach,” Lilith explains, “But never one as wonderful as yours.” The woman winks with her right eye. “You are even more than I could have ever hoped for, young one,” Lilith's raspy voice decrees.
Julianna still feels uneasy about her lack of memory, but her new friendship has brought peace with it.
“What was your train's name?”, Lilith questions knowingly. Her centuries of experience have taught her many things about the complexities of the two realms. One of which, is that her visitor's first time always has a name attached to their entry scene.
The girl forms a smile. The question immediately opens her lost memory bank.
“The Chicken's Bones Laughing Train Machine,” she happily reveals.
Lilith laughs even louder than before. When she calms again, she looks at the girl adoringly, “It is a perfect name. Given by one who has a perfect heart.”
Julianna withdraws from Lilith's last statement. Visions of a funeral race through her mind. She looks down at the white sand covering her toes. A tear makes its way down her left cheek.
“What was his name?”, Lilith's compassionate voice envelopes Julianna.
The teen doesn't care that Lilith somehow knew her sadness was over a boy. She moves her right foot deeper into the sand. The brokenhearted girl's other eye fills with unwanted tears. The water quickly escapes its temporary prison and runs down her right cheek.
“Johnathan,” Julianna reluctantly utters his name. Her nose begins to drip. She raises her right hand to make use of the bottom of her palm.
“Don't do that,” Lilith kindly objects to the visitor's actions.
Julianna's arm stops in mid-flight. She raises her head to convey her confusion as her arm lowers back to her side. Lilith's face is full of streaming tears and a nose which now drips.
The woman's smoky voice speaks tenderly, “Whenever you hold back your emotions, you rob me of all of the enjoyment you can give to me.”
Julianna stares blankly.
“Where is your body at, child?”, Lilith approaches from a different angle.
“At the Lady Lanecia's house,” the teen answers.
“Yes. And my body stands before you now,” the woman observes, “But yet, you're also here.”
“Some people call an experience like this a vision or a dream,” the woman of many braids continues, “But they do not truly understand the way our two realms exists together.”
Lilith points out towards the stormy ocean, “What do you see?”
“A storm, lightning, black water, and...” the younger girl pauses because she doesn't want to sound stupid.
“And what?”, Lilith arches her right brow.
Julianna can feel the disgusting nasal drainage over her lips. She can't stand even the slightest thought of it slipping inside her mouth. The girl pretends to take a deep breath for calming purposes. When she exhales, she forcefully blows the grossness away from the middle of her lips.
“I-I don't think there's anything alive in there,” the sixteen-year-old admits while staring over the vast ocean.
Lilith lowers her hand and smiles. She shakes her head in wonderment, “You are special. I am truly impressed.”
J
ulianna glances at the woman – a little surprised by her response.
“Come with me,” Lilith instructs while turning to walk towards the water's edge.
The teen nods and begins walking behind the woman.
Just my luck. I have to dream up someone that looks like that. As if I didn't have enough problems. Now I have to beat on my self-confidence? And why even bother dreaming up clothes on her? Geezus. Talk about slutville.
“Would you prefer I take it off for you?”, Lilith turns and faces the visitor by the water's edge.
Oh, hell no!
“No?” Her smile fades while her head cocks slightly to the right, “And where is this Slutville you speak of? I am not familiar with this place.”
“Sorry,” Julianna looks down at the woman's feet while shaking her head no.
“Oh,” Lilith makes the connection the girl has just insulted her. She looks at the water and then back to the regretful teenager.
Lilith kneels and waves her left hand towards herself, “Come over here.”
Julianna would question the woman's intentions, but she feels as if she's already burned up that card. Instead, the girl walks over until Lilith nods for her to stop.
“Don't be scared,” Lilith reaches out to touch the teen's face, “I will not hurt you.”
Julianna's head retreats, “Uh - yeah. This is never going to happen.”
Lilith lowers her hand – her brows narrow.
“And what is it that you think is going to happen?”
Julianna senses anger from the woman. It doesn't take her long to realize she has misjudged the woman's intentions.
She shakes her head, “Never mind. Too many movies.”
Lilith remains silent as she watches the girl with a genuine curiosity.
“Um. Okay,” Julianna isn't sure how to proceed. The awkward silence is grueling. She takes a step back from the staring woman.
