Last night, it took me forever to fall asleep. I had all different manners of questions in my head, and the only person who could answer any of them is a magical talking bull. Therefore, it is imperative that I speak to him. Strangely, I find myself eager to do so. Outside, in the darkness of the early morning, the cold bites into my skin, even with me wearing a sweater, and Kwamé is no where to be seen.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8x8cm4IsRE
"Kwamé-"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYhdk0auaa
"Right here," he tells me, his voice startling me as it comes from behind. I turn around quickly.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GDn2xdwEU
"Listen, I believe you," I admit. He doesn't look at all surprised by this revelation. I clear my throat and continue. "I believe the things that you've said. I want to trust you, but I know next to nothing about you. All I know is that your mother named you after the day you were born, which was a Saturday, and that you probably weren't the nicest person when you were alive, hence your current state."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8Rdg2dmZ0
"You looked it up."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYsb8VdxWb
"What?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKi6D5uq1s
"The meaning of my name. I never told you that I was born on a Saturday."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACX1ERSlWf
"I was curious," I say defensively.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUtYHQvNUK
I expect him to make some remark or comment on it. Instead, he acts as if I've said nothing. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYqVZrbDfG
"What else do you want to know about me?" he asks me, wrinkling his moist, pale pink nose.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbl1hI9ksr
"Do you kill people?" This is something that has plagued my mind for a while now, and his answer will determine how comfortable I will be around him from now on. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghYiPMzWdi
"I don't make a habit of it." I don't miss that he hasn't directly answered my question. Despite the newfound chilliness in the air, I choose to ignore it. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdwF1rUdTg
"What did you do to make you this way?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBQ80uTiMd
With that, any amount of playfulness vanishes from the atmosphere.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fFC09AJv9
"I betrayed the people I loved. Now, I'll never see them again; not even in death."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoxxEDTaqY
"That sounds messed up." Lame, I know, but it's all I can think of in this situation. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuzwPAxVBH
"It is. And once you hear the full story, you'll never look at me the same way again."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnqBp7IyoE
"I'll try not to judge." Even if I do, I won't hate him. I know that. I don't hate people. Resent, yes. Dislike, yes. Hate? No. Not even my mother. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflYaQnHUW7
He laughs without humour, and then exhales deeply.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNQcImSKtn
"That's a story for another time, darling. I'd rather have you not turning against me today."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTnD6DX4Xq
I crack my knuckles out of habit, trying to look for something else to say. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5GgNSzElm
"Have you ever tried letting all of that negativity go?" 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPuGQv8V7u
"Are you asking me to forgive myself?" he asks quizzically, almost looking as if he's raising a brow at me.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmELQ4Syvg
"Maybe."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMK7IRnATTy
For a second, I think that I can make out a half-smile on his face. Then, it drops.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2EVU6iZmx
"I can't. The very thing that I am is a ever-present reminder of what I did." 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVXuEICRSN
"Fine. Let's talk about something else," I suggest, deciding to let him wallow in his misery. It's none of my business, anyway.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmyKQobGFp
"Let's."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiXcRTJyMK
I know that I'm going to regret my next question before I ask it, but I do it anyway. "What does this woman, my mother, want from me? She has ignored me for twenty years; I hardly see why she should care now." She shouldn't; she should crawl back to wherever it is that she came from, and leave me alone. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUPNy2WOL2
"She loves you. She wants to be with you. Wants to help you."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlLXkGjPWR
"Really? She loves me?" I question him, sarcasm dripping from my voice. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhr8jTwFIvw
"Yes."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtsIXBkHOw
"Well, I want to believe that her intentions are good, but she was never really my mother, was she?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3SstJLnhZ
"Nya-"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMptyo95bUH
"I grew up with no mother. What makes you think that I'd want to see her?" I just want to find out what she really wants. Is that too much to ask? Either way, after about 25 seconds of speaking about her, I am already uncomfortable. It makes me wish that I had picked a nicer topic. Like favourite type of cheesecake or something. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOP8CGV2Xb
"She can mentor you. Wouldn't you want to see the extent of your powers? She's not just any obeah woman, she's powerful, and that power lives in you, too."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXLdZMS2ip
"If what you say is true, I can look up obeah spells on the internet. Hell, maybe I'll even try voodoo." Not that I actually would do this but I'm just saying, if I wanted to, I could. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSuoIrurPC
"It's not like that," he says patiently.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgyDX1B7eL
"Like what?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6s0zH2Rqaf
He exhales with a huff. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnXBTGA4B7
"Many people can do obeah - you just have to have the right energy - but only a few can do what you can do. Your mother doesn't need spells to do extraordinary things. And you have that very same thing in your blood. Obeah isn't something that you can look up on the internet and master, either. It's something that you feel, something that comes from within."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuxRV1ANp5
"So she can move objects with her mind?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXPQaJTrSq
"Maybe."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlyl43PrYU
"Shut up." I roll my eyes at him. Either he's a pathological liar, or this word is limitless in its insanity. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuP5ye6ul3A
"You need guidance." Guidance. As if I want guidance. What I want and need is for things to go back to normal so that I can live my life the way I always have. Yet here I am, trying to get answers from a rolling calf. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7v6ZqbKmM
But wouldn't that mean that Kwamé would cease to be a part of your life? Do you really want that? 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11m5slbg04
I gulp, because despite me barely knowing him, he's some form of entertainment to me. Since I stopped fearing him two nights ago, the idea of him has become more fascinating. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3z2JFK15T
"Like Hogwarts, then?" I ask quite seriously in an attempt to clear my mind of negative thoughts. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqB5U1W5Tfr
"This isn't a joke." He speaks as if talking to a small child. If he were human, he'd probably be rubbing his forehead right now. I'm tired of this, too. Feels like this conversation is going in circles. Partly because of me. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BbeBjxgrp
"What if I don't want to explore my powers?" I ask him. They seem so pressed on getting what they want; have they, for even one small second, asked themselves what I might want? I'm afraid of obeah. I don't know if I want to unlock whatever is brewing inside of me, if that is what it is.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzgiDTQbUf
You also like him, Nya. As annoying as he may be. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFC50rvUgl
I shake my head, trying to clear it. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAOir7ETu8
"Why wouldn't you?" He sounds as if he knew that there was a chance of me not wanting to explore some magical, mystical side of myself. I really would rather not. I've seen all the different ways that people die in Harry Potter, The Originals, and some other magical movies and shows that I can't remember right now. My point is, the magical world seems dangerous, and I'd much rather be safe. And unaware.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡck3EpJvt2J
"Because I'm quite content with life the way that it is."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HyNq4XCiv
"I'm aware. But are you sure that you'll always be content with this? All alone? No friends, no family? Even then, are you going to go back to pretending that you didn't become acquainted with me? You're going to forget me? Or will you convince yourself that this was just a bad dream?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpei5oIQHQV
"I don't know. All I know is that I don't want to run away with you to meet some obeah woman claiming to be my mother." Just then, I think of another reason to not meet her. If this woman is so powerful, she probably has a lot of enemies. I don't want to be killed by some enemy of my mother, probably a real life version of Voldemort.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RZtMOznbP
"Don't you want to at least know, Nya? Know why she left you, why you grew up without a mother?" 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlVEha0yU0
Why she left. Why she abandoned me. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAU745PcFrx
I've lived for twenty years, happy to be away from this woman. So why am I suddenly so tempted by his words - these words in particular? Nothing else he's said, nothing else at all has made me desire to meet this woman, but this specific question has done something to me. He must see it, too, because I can see the glint of hope spark in his eyes, too human of the face of an animal. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVquCieGXP
"Tell me why she left," I demand. Maybe if I simply have the knowledge, I won't have to meet her, and face whatever dark foolishness exists in their world as a side package with her.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFra8aiw1z
Oh, my God. What if they have more than one Voldemorts? Like an entire army of dark obeah kings who hate her, or something?595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosXznW7vN3
I shake my head to clear it. Why am I even thinking about that?595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RVfBBrYz1
"You'll have to find out from her."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWZ8rWBmQP
I keep telling myself that I don't care; I can't afford to care. I've made it this far independently, luck ever on my side, but now this woman has to come and screw everything up. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0p2JbmUZy1
Truthfully, I don't care about her, or want any form of relationship with her, but I care about me. I want to know what the hell happened to me. In this moment I realise that if I don't go, I'll be plagued with "what if"s for the rest of my life, wondering what would have happened if I just said yes.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMPBKe1cRE
"Fine."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPhdc1On4P
"Fine what?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLzmTN32M5n
"I'll come and find out the truth behind my history. That is all. No magic, no vampires, and no Voldemort."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRZmKhAYjU
"We don't have a Voldemort," he tells me, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. He clears his throat and gets serious once more. "When?"595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4htXrDxqgn
"Is it within walking distance? Because I'll probably change my mind by tomorrow."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2O9hW7r4F
"Yes, it is actually."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZgz0Cer7r
***595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRZyFjZgrq
"When you decided to live on your own, you were drawn to your mother's energy."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OKmT0dIRo
"So I ended up across the street from her. Right, that's just perfectly normal, isn't it?" I reply as we walk to another set of apartments across the street. Then, I stop walking and turn to him. "Kwamé, I'm not sure about this anymore." The closer that I get to the front door, the more afraid I become.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DaaunBWrU
"Just at least say hello," he insists. "Apartment number seventeen. Tell her that I'm outside."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iFvId6N62
I continue to walk around and search, until I finally find the right door. It's a white door, with a garden like all the other houses. The only difference is that this one has a rather extensive collection of orchids. Apart from that, there is nothing outstanding about this house. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv2XcUFqbB
Nervously, I give three loud knocks. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7seCknuCn
"Nya," I hear a calm, female voice call out. How does she know that it's me?595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYEdcvAHca
"Yes."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECZTc07uSb
"Come in. Please."595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY4HyHLFsyM
Briefly, I wonder why she doesn't open the door. She probably wants to make me feel as if I'm doing this on my own terms. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3e0SoKKVq
I enter the apartment, and feel my heart in my mouth. I can hardly breathe. It feels as if the air is clouded with some unscented chemical, causing me to asphyxiate as I walk. The feeling is somehow neutralised the second I see her. I feel an array of emotions, including but not limited to confusion, awe, and curiosity. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXiuSlro62
"Nya," she purrs, walking out of a room into the open so that I can see her. Its like looking at some weird mirror of desire. She's my height, my size, shares some similarities in terms of a facial features, but she is definitely more beautiful. Additionally, this woman cannot be older than twenty two. How the hell is she my mother? Sister, maybe, but mother?595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuvFKMDAw5
I can't sense any insecurity as she stands before me, looking as sure of herself as anyone can be. Her beauty is honestly very distracting, and I find myself wondering if I'll ever be this beautiful. Would be nice. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXEBb2KYCx
She pulls her lips into a gentle smile as she looked at my stunned form. I don't know if it's for my benefit, or if it's because she sees the awe in my expression, or if she's truly happy to see me. There's no way of telling. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGLs8Y7AeR
She continues to look at me, assess me, before speaking again, her voice as relaxing as warm breeze and the scent of the earth right after it rains. That's what it reminds me of, the kind of voice to tell a bedtime story to an infant, soothing the child into unconsciousness. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIv4kwAjF1
Her next words seem to come naturally, with enthusiasm but gentleness in her voice at once. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGE88hhueL
"I've been dying to meet you," she says, the corners of her lips turning up even more. 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QeWfyOcb5
I don't know what to say to her, but somehow, I know that she knows that the feeling is not mutual.
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