Читать книгу The New World: The Awakening - Leahann Cavanaugh - Страница 5

Chapter 1

Not Again

Opening my eyes to darkness would usually scare the shit out of me, but for some reason, this time I was not. Everywhere I turned, everywhere I looked there was only darkness. Chills started to go up my spine and through my chest as if something was encouraging me to look around and explore. Why walk around nothing? I thought to myself as I stretched my arms out in front of me. I walked as if I were blind and looking for someone or something to guide me. I did this for what seemed like hours until all of a sudden, I felt something cold to the touch, like how metal feels on a cold winter night. It wasn’t hard at all, though. It was soft like the foam balls we used to use when we played dodgeball in gym class. I didn’t know if I was touching a wall. I was just happy I was touching an object.

I started to push and was really feeling stupid as fuck. I got mad and started punching the object. As I let out all of my frustrations, I suddenly got that feeling again, except it was stronger and it made me breathe heavily. It damn near took my breath away. Something inside me told me to turn around. It wasn’t a real voice. I wasn’t hearing voices. It was more like a feeling, a strong urge to do something without knowing the reason why. So I did and I saw a light. This light was different from any other light I’ve seen. I started to walk toward this magnificent light. As I got closer, I started to feel emotions—overwhelming emotions. It felt like the rays of the sun was warming my body, lifting my spirit and embracing my soul. The color of this light was like nothing I’ve ever seen before—or maybe I have. I can remember it so vividly.

I was five and it was a Friday night I’ll never forget. I remember it like it was yesterday. My grandma always gave me extra homework on Fridays since I was what she liked to call a “gifted child.” Even though I was only five, I had the level of a third grader. She said I had to stay on my toes. The homework she gave me wasn’t any ordinary work. She made sure I took my time and answered every question to the best of my abilities. I wanted to go outside so badly before it got too dark.

I loved nature—bugs, animals, plants, it didn’t matter. I loved them all. And for some reason, they just took to me. All of them. I had a green thumb like no other. That’s the day I witnessed the sky turn. The colors were so amazing. Pink, purple, and green all at the same time. As I was catching my last lightning bug, my grandma called for me, “Lyric Sadé, it’s about that time.” As I was obedient, she only had to call once.

I was a weird kid. I always thought that everyone had a purpose for being, and every action and effect had a meaning. The sky being that color just had to mean something.

“Grandma, the sky is beautiful,” I said, admiring the sky, trying to stay outside as long as I could.

“It sure is little bit. You ready for bed?” she answered back.

Looking at the jar, not ready to let them go yet, I replied, “Grandma, what does that mean when the sky looks like that?”

Puzzled, she said the most sweetest thing a grandma could say when she doesn’t know the answer: “Oh, baby, that’s just God laughing and smiling down on us, and since he’s God, he doesn’t just turn one color. He turns as many as he wants.”

Being five, that was a good enough answer for me.

As I reached the radiant light, I was no longer cold. Flashes of light hit me from every angle like I was an A-list celebrity with a sex tape and TMZ had the rights to my first official statement. I didn’t get the feeling of being ashamed or disgusted. I felt loved and respected. As I looked up to the sky, there wasn’t a cloud in sight, and those colors were everywhere. I thought to myself, God is happy. As I looked around and saw all the people so happy, so content, it was like I was feeling these emotions for myself. There was not a car in sight. Skyscrapers were nonexistent. No one was begging for food or money. Everyone was getting along. The more I walked, the more I felt. As the wind blew through my hair and my clothes that I didn’t remember putting on, it was like the wind carried a message that blew to me, then through me and onto the next living object. It whispered, “War no more.” I felt my soul smile. Then a teenager and his dad walked past, and the boy asked, “Dad, what’s war?” I had this feeling of being worthy, successful, and free. Another gust of wind hit me; this time the message carried the feeling of being full. Full of what? You might ask. Full of hope, love, compassion, and prayer.

There was no such thing as a poverty line above or below. Everyone had a purpose, a reason for being. The use of money was no longer needed. Greed, envy, all the seven deadly sins were things of the past. Food filled the plates of the cafés that covered the streets. They smelled so familiar. The only fears were of dying from old age. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Just as the sun set, you could see the three moons of Earth and a freakishly large planet that looked how Earth used to look, except there was very little water. As the moons lit up the sky, the trunks of the trees and leaves had this luminescent glow to them that started at the tips of the leaves and moved swiftly to the branches, through the trunks, and into the grass to the ground. It seemed like we now received nutrients from the moons as well, just like the sun. The plants lit up the walkways to the small buildings that lined the unpaved streets. The lightning bugs flew all around me like they used to when I was a kid, except these lightning bugs glowed beautiful neon colors: pink, orange, yellow, and green—my own little bundle of fireworks. As they surrounded me, I felt full of gratitude and appreciation. It felt as if these little flying insects were saying “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Then from a far I heard a man with an unfamiliar yet familiar voice say, “My queen, my queen, it is time.”

Then I woke up.

“It’s eight o’clock in the a.m., and the question of the day is, if you had to sleep with your boss to keep your job, would you do it?” The alarm sounded off to my favorite radio station, 107.3. I woke up already late for work, mad as fuck at myself for letting myself get lost in the same damn dream I’ve been having since I was twenty-one. “From the beginning to the end, same thing happens every time. Nothing changes. Fuck,” I mumbled and screamed to myself while I tried to find all the requirements for my dead-end job at Kay Jewelers. It’s not like I needed it. I really didn’t have to work if I didn’t want to, but with the people I worked with, it was always entertaining.

“Name tag, belt, purse, keys, coat,” I said to myself, making sure I didn’t forget anything and give that heffa a reason to send me home. Ring ring! It was the first time my cell rang in the last three days.

“What’s up, boo? What’s it looking like?” I answered, speaking to Denise on the other end, my coworker, partner in crime, truly my best friend.

“Girl, the Grinch is catchin’ a hissy fit. He said if you not here in twenty, it’s chopped,” Denise stated word for word of what our manager, Josh, said, knowing that he was really taking his anger for her out on me.

Denise was the type of girl who whooped yo ass first then ask questions later. You know, fuck yo world up then want to sit down and talk to you about the shit all after the fact. Denise was five feet five, tanned-looking skin, always dressed for success; but if you talked to her for over five minutes, the hood started to come out. She wore her hair medium length and always kept it naturally light brown that she always pulled up. No matter what she wore, she always had the latest and greatest kicks.

She didn’t put up with nothing from nobody, not even from our manager. He was actually scared of her but didn’t want to admit it. She had been late so many times he could fire the whole staff just off her tardiness. The funny part about the whole situation was, she was a little white chick no bigger than a buck thirty. But don’t let her looks fool you.

Thank God I lived five minutes away from the mall. I got there in plenty of time to stop at Anne’s pretzel and pick up some goodies for my family. I dashed through the mall, barely making it in time. “Made it,” I said, out of breath as I reached the main counter in the back of the store.

“You always got good timing. The bitch just took a pee break. His fugly ass bet not piss on the toilet seat this time. His ass is too old for that shit,” Denise said, disgusted at the thought. She always had me laughing as soon as I stepped on the scene.

“Where’s Miles?” I asked, kind of confused because usually he was the one who was first to arrive every morning.

“You already know,” Denise said under her breath as if what I was supposed to know was a secret that the imaginary customers weren’t supposed to hear.

There goes Miles, always trying to get the newest eye candy. He don’t even care if the fellas swing that way, I thought to myself. If he like what he sees, he gone try his hardest to get what he wants.

Denise and I started to walk slowly toward the men’s clothing store that was adjacent to ours, and there he was, spitting game to the newest employee of Abercrombie and Fitch. I must say, Miles wasn’t your typical gay man. For one, he was not. If you asked him, he was trisexual. Meaning he’d try a little bit of everything. His looks would make a straight bitch leave her man, a gay bitch turn straight, and a straight man, well, let’s just say do something strange for a little piece of change. No lie. I’ve seen it!

Miles had a smile that could bring the life back to a room full of corpses. Some might call him skinny because of his height, but they never saw him ass naked. Home boy was built. Miles stood about six feet one, with smooth chocolate skin. He used his baby face to his advantage with his beautiful dark-brown eyes and his long girly eyelashes.

“I think that’s how he do it,” Denise whispered to me as we scoped out his pimpin’ skills from behind the cell phone case cart.

“How he do what?” I asked, intrigued by the tone of her voice. Denise always had a plan, an explanation, a breakdown of how people work and operate.

“You see, he approach them like he straight and then gives them a signal or something that passes as a compliment—”

“You stupid,” I said, cutting her off.

“Hear me out. Then he starts talking about sports, he invites the prey over to watch sports or play a game that involves sports,” Denise explained, not taking her eyes off either guy.

“Okay, Nancy Drew, what happens next?” I said, skeptical.

“Shit, I don’t know! I don’t be there when he be crushin’ they cocoa beans,” Denise said.

All I could say was wow. I was speechless. Miles turned around and headed back to the store, fiddling with his phone. We jumped out behind him. “So…what happened?” I asked, being nosy.

“Did you get them digits?” Denise shouted as she slapped Miles on the ass.

“Damn, girl, let a nigga breathe,” Miles happily said, “and do you have to be so loud? He don’t know I’m tri.”

“Told you,” Denise assured me.

“What you mean he don’t know?” I questioned.

“How did you get the digits then?”

“I told him I had the new madden, boys and their toys,” he proclaimed as he admired the new addition to his many contacts.

“Told you again,” Denise said, rubbing her accuracy in my face.

“Oh, so y’all just gone disappear and y’all know the store is open. Jewelry cases unlocked, y’all just want us to get robbed, huh?” Josh barked at all three of us.

This dude was the corniest nigga alive: Worked in a jewelry store yet every piece he rocked was fake. Little black dude, I called him Gary. I really don’t have to describe him now, do I? You should really listen to this dude have a conversation about females or about anything. One time talking to Miles, Josh butted in and said, “I be having mad bitches at my crib. Tities all in my face. I had this midget bitch with the softest ass in the world. Made me feel like I was a pedophile until I start smacking that shit, then I felt like her daddy.”

“What? We wasn’t even talking to you,” Miles said, irritated at Josh for saying that irrelevant as shit. Josh always tried to stay face, knowing damn well his ass was still a virgin and he grew up in Perrysburg.

“Man, shut the fuck up and get out my way,” Denise barked back.

“I really wasn’t talking to you,” Josh cowardly replied, “but since I have your attention, can I please speak to you in the back about your tardiness?” Then he thought about it and said instead he wanted to stay out there in front of witnesses.

“Ain’t shit to talk about,” Denise said as she took steps closer to Josh.

“That’s exactly what I was gone say. Oh look, customers.” Josh hurried off to the nearest person approaching the store.

“That’s fucked up you got homeboy scared like that,” I said, feeling bad for him.

“Shit, it ain’t my fault he a pussy. He wanna be mad at somebody, tell him be mad at the pussy he came out of,” Denise expressed.

“Facts,” Miles chimed in.

That’s basically how my days went: sell overpriced jewelry to people while we cracked jokes on Gary Fakeman. Same shit, until ten days before my birthday.