"I'm so glad that you've decided to give our relationship a second chance," my mother gushes as I sit before her in the dimly lit living room. I've decided to make good on my promise with Kwamé, despite the high level of discomfort that I feel when in a room alone with this woman. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jS7NtW5ux
"I don't want to hate you anymore, and I'm trying to be a good example to Kwamé." When her eyebrows come together in confusion, I further explain the situation.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwYgzaOScT
"I want him to forgive himself."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHkrPNPJSd
"I wouldn't put much faith into that," she replies warily, as if it is not possible. This concerns me, seeing that she knows him much better than I do. So why would he promise... 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPYpzZbxxu
"Why?" I ask her, eager to understand. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡympeSjSFAM
"Because I've been trying to get him to do that for years," she informs me in a grave voice. "He's as stubborn as an ass. Nothing will get him to let that go."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PIzt0G1US
"Well, we made a pact." She looks at me as if the notion of a pact to change his mind is utterly idiotic. "Anyway," I say, changing the subject before I get upset with him, "I'm here now. So how about you elaborate on that tale you were telling me?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTZBy56aLS
Her face shuts down as she desperately tries to hide her emotions. Always hiding something from me. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Dp7FfRhim
"I told you a lot. Honestly, what else could you want to know? And aren't you curious about unlocking your powers?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibMmfQux8K
No, I'm actually much more concerned with the truth. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qwWzSzTCv
"Stop trying to change the subject," I demand. "I want to know more about this person who wanted me when I was a baby." I almost laugh out loud, remembering the ridiculous, pathetic excuse of an origin story that she fed me the last time we spoke. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIgu25O8Qd
"She's evil and she's in the past." 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIAMPk6kXl
Past my ass. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1C9aXfifWC
I stomp my foot on the ground and then throw myself further back into the couch, like a small child. Something caused by me not getting what I want, because I'm so used to getting what I want. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmiMYWRQk7
"Why are you still afraid of her?" I demand. "What is she gonna do? Come and kill you?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1Dw1dbp4m
"She might," my mother responds under her breath. I don't think that I was meant to hear that.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSflOwjqp4e
"So she's not in the past, then?" I challenge. I refuse to let this go. I have every right to know the truth. And the way she's contradicting herself means that she's obviously lying about something. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tbl7iVd4Z
"Yes, she is. I just don't think—"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnunZ1uhsB
"That I'm ready for it?" I ask. I swear, this us getting very old, very quickly. "Because I assure you, I am. I don't think that there's anything that you could tell me—"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzVz3GLPIz
"She was a River Mumma," my mother rushed out, only to look as if she regrets it right after. Regrets telling me the truth. On the inside, I'm shaking my head. I am surprised (I thought that she would be human), but I'm not freaking out like last time. I'm not surprised that River Mummas exist. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4N3C5RcIo
River Mummas are mythical — well, apparently not so mythical after all — creatures that live in Jamaica's rivers. If I were to compare them to another creature, I'd go with the siren. They often sit on rocks and comb their hair with a golden comb. They say that if you see one, you'll fall into a magical trance and that she'll drag you into the river. Some say that she'll force you to live with her for eternity.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7mUEb6KvW
There is also the legend of a golden table that they can use to lure the greedy.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIIL0maD9G
"The golden table—"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgTvIlPb71
"Isn't a myth. It's real. Is that really the first thought that comes to your mind? I tell you that you were almost abducted by a River Mumma and you ask about a Golden Table?" She's not trying to goad me into asking questions — I know that she doesn't want to talk about this — but I think she's just incapable of keeping her surprise to herself. I'd be surprised, too. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GuvPjBVoc
I sit and think of a better question to ask her, but one that she won't refuse to answer. If she does that again I might jump her. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQLQlrfhzB
"Um... if I'm human, how would she have gotten me?" What did she plan on doing? 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0NXryqzhi
"Turn you into one." I'm beginning to realise that the answers to a lot of my questions are far simpler than I originally thought. I still have to ask, though. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKmDyWK6PQ
"And our rivers aren't exactly wide or long," I continue. "They aren't all interconnected either. How come there aren't any news reports of sightings?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZEC2zBzr8
"We have underground rivers. Remember that Black River especially is deep. And they know how to not be seen." That's a good point. "Additionally, they're water spirits. They are connected to the rivers of Jamaica. They can teleport." Still, in such a tiny country, I would have expected someone to have seen one in recent history. I've heard lots of stories about Rolling Calves, but no one has ever told me that they, or someone they know has seen a River Mumma.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgHZATQtsF
I sit and think of anything else that I would like to know about in this situation.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zGKNEgPYT
"What deal did you have with her?" This is important. This, I have to know., but I also know that there's a possibility of her clamping up. Therefore, it's no surprise that as soon as the words leave my mouth, her face screws up.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPK2e7ntXrb
"Uh..."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgcNKxepFmK
"You have to tell me that. It's important." My voice sounds demanding, and I can see that she registers it on her face. She looks at me uncomfortably with the expression of someone who badly wants to shit. I would laugh if I weren't so on edge. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCi6hmmJdb
"It's complicated," she responds lamely. I have to fight myself to not roll my eyes at her. They do move, though, just a tad. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTLqkzLPy7
"That's the worst excuse in the history of life. You're starting to sound like Kwamé." When her face stays the same, I decide to let it go. "It's complicated" should probably be the new slogan for my life. Surprisingly, I don't feel like jumping her. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8uKqZlp2j
"So about my abilities," I begin, "what exactly can I do?" I guess it's only fair that we switch to something that she's more comfortable with. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhnN42mb7N
"A lot," she answers, becoming animated, glad to be speaking of something other than her dealings with some water creature. "You must have already figured out that you can manipulate situations."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPs0du9ymZ
"Yes." Except for my getting sick the last time we met. "I've noticed that since I was a small child. It's worked to my advantage since."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREsWhi4ZB8
"Well, you can manipulate more than that. You can make prophecies, and change them. The future is never set in stone."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSSwPtP9xE
Shit. That's a lot of power... the kind of power that I don't know that I want. I don't know if that's good for me — for anyone. That only makes me more interested.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEo2Wwp5vw
"Kwamé said... that you can move things with your mind."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTV09vzQZC
"Did he now?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7YHXzBct6
"It was implied." He didn't actually tell me that, after all. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPb6k0lxPA
She looks off to the side pensively as if trying to decide how to phrase her thoughts.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCZZgo7DxQ
"I'm completely at one with the universe," she begins, sounding more like a monk than anything else. "When that happens, you can feel everything around you — living and non-living. Then, with time, you can learn to... influence things. Without spells."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl52nd2Xol0
"So in order for me to do that—"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6nf6ydvfr
"You must first be at one with the universe," she answers. What the hell is this now? Avatar the Last Airbender? It sounds like something she just made up, pulled out of her ass, and knowing her, she probably did. On top of that, that sounds like a lot of work and effort. In other words, it sounds like something that I probably won't do.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56P8bldYPG
"I understand if you're reluctant," she tells me, guessing my thoughts correctly, "but it's best if you at least get to understand some of your basic powers better, don't you think?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIn10FPfmAl
I don't know. I honestly don't know how to feel about this. I mean, I'm now interested in learning, but I'm still unsure. It feels partly real, and partly like a scam. Let's say I do this: what if I can't handle the power? Too much power is never a good thing. Or what if I get sucked into some crazy war that's going on among the supernatural? Somehow, I get the feeling that this river mumma isn't done with us yet.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQTFG5pUJA
Isn't done with me yet.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfV5bqh7eE
In other words, I need to learn how to defend myself.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlqe9UjMBp
But if that is the case... then I'm going to need Akatua.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOh58u99yr
I feel so conflicted, a feeling that I am no stranger to, a feeling that I've been drowning in recently. It's probably because decisions and such usually come to me with an unnatural ease, but now I'm struggling to figure my life out.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dYyPi9gg7
But shouldn't this, of all things, come naturally? 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3olutUnWaP
Damnit.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIUkrHQwbQ
"Listen. Don't hurt your head about this right now. Just come back when you are ready to learn."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PXC7k3ap6
When she says this, I don't feel as conflicted anymore. I start to relax, and all thoughts of this river mumma fly out of my head. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRG0fDLSar6
"Yes. I will," I tell her, feeling myself relax already. See? I tell myself. No need to worry.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRBLgOjQaZ
I lean back into the couch and let my mind wonder — not about magic, but about the possibility of finally having a mother — someone who cares for me. Strangely, the thought makes me smile to myself for the first time, resentment taking a back seat. I've always heard the other children at school talk about the wonders of having parents, and the idea never appealed to me. Now, though, it seems rather... intriguing. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPSGQ76jqo
"Nya," she calls, pulling me back to reality. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCA5gaye9d
"Yes?" I ask, looking her in the eye. I see my own brown eyes looking back at me, smiling. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSopPhnIW6
Her face smiles warmly at me. "Thank you for coming."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNcE3tLOMg
It is in this moment that I realise how much this means to her, how unfair, how selfish I was being for letting my feelings get in the way of making the only person on this earth who possibly loves me happy. It's not even as if it's something hard. She just wanted me to give her a chance, and it is in that moment that I feel a guilt like no other bind up in my chest, making me feel sick. Additionally, everything that she's done — that I've hated her for has been in the name of protecting me. Still, I turned her away. I feel tears sting my eyes as I fight to keep them at bay.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwrSVAEavT
And Kwamé thinks that he is the selfish one.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHv1keEnHA
"You're welcome," I tell her, my voice filled with newfound friendliness, and wobbling slightly because of my guilt. Its not just my voice that has changed; my entire mindset is now different. I will not be selfish anymore. I will give this woman a chance, even if she tells lies of omission in a misguided attempt to protect me.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeWkS2NEgw
"Awe, Nya," she murmurs, "don't cry, hun." She wraps her arms around me and I return the gesture, tears still threatening.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMQQaKRCIL
"It's just, you know," I begin,"I'm sorry," I rasp.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmCv0pzjVe
"Your feelings are completely understandable, dear," she reassures me, rubbing my back.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2rHHFc6Hc
This is another thing that I'm not used to: affection. I've been hugged by people before, but it always felt so... unnatural. Akatua's warm embrace, however, is different. Hugging her feels natural. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDG8nHdcti
At least something feels natural around her.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4IfWYeA88
When it's over, I pull back and look at her. I have one request, one thing I need to ask of her.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdC4MGSP8qF
"Akatua?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOminEDCDRw
"Hmm?"665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtkWV9xwy0
I chew my bottom lip for a second as my eyes dry, trying to find the best way to word my thoughts.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAAqo4nXuQ
"When it comes to telling me things," I begin,"if it's absolutely necessary, for example, if this woman — river mumma — is coming back... stuff like that," I clarify as she nods her head, but still, I have to say it out loud.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJxRcNtAMK
"Please tell me," I ask as she continues to nod her head solemnly. I'm not even asking her to tell me everything, just the important bits.665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdvs2M1CRF
"That's fair," she agrees. "I will try my best to be honest with you about things like that from hear on out."665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4KAdADgaf
"Thank you, Akatua," I say genuinely. 665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8I1Oq2astm
"You're welcome, Nya," she replies. It is while looking into this woman's face that I think to myself:665Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YqYhBPbpG
Hey, I guess family can be fun after all.
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