Hoodwinked Read online

  “Wants you to marry your cheating boyfriend,” she nodded. “For the sake of money. Something you can’t live without, but can’t take with you in the afterlife. Shame…”

  I stared at my nails as the silence circled us before Delilah continued her story. Studying the mixture with a small knowing smirk like she just figured something out.

  “So, I made a deal with the woman...Told her to keep the baby in exchange for beauty, confidence, perfection…Any man that she wanted, she would have. They would fall in love with her for her, and everything else will fall into place. That was a while ago. Now she’s raising her beautiful daughter with a boyfriend who is deeply in love with her...Father has no idea, just yet...that the woman he’s been promised to, gave birth to his daughter, and has already moved on with her life. She was free considering I did it out of the kindness of my heart...You're paying at a discount---.”

  “A discount?” I repeated, brows raised. If she thought 800 dollars was cheap, she was surely mistaken, even for me.

  “What I do, and what I am is priceless...Dates back hundreds, thousands of years. Practice, technique, respect, and a strong foundation with my ancestors has no price tag on it. Drink all of this, and then leave,” she said, holding the cup out for me. “Moment you walk out of the door, it will begin.”

  “You want me to drink---.”

  “Now before it's no good.”

  “What if I throw it up or---.”

  “Not my problem, now drink.”

  “It has his pubic hair…” Grabbing the cup, stomach already turning as I watched her boyfriend walk from one end of the apartment to the other. Like everything was suddenly rushing me at once with Delilah pressuring me to drink, her boyfriend calling out for her to pack up, and help move things into the hallway.

  That noise! That damn ticking noise! There it goes again. I quickly gripped my nose, eyes shut tight, and tossed the brown liquid back. Nearly gagging at the smell before turning away. Tongue sticking out, I felt like a million hairs were in my mouth at once, teasing, and tickling my cheeks, and tongue.

  “I’m gonna be sick,” I gulped, gripping my stomach as Delilah reached in the cup for her ring to put back on.

  “Baby!” Her boyfriend yelled. Voice echoing from the apartment hallway. “Babe, the truck is here, let’s go!”

  “I’ll make arrangements to check on my work, but you can leave now,” getting up. “Go home, and get some rest. Don’t let anyone bother you. You’ll feel better when you wake up. May not happen right away, but one day?”

  “One day?” I repeated breathlessly, tapping at my ear to block out the ticking noise. “One day?”

  “One day, you will receive a phone call in the middle of the night that will change everything. When you do,” looking hard at me. “When you do, wait. Something strange may occur, but you wait until it's your time to start your story.”

  “Wait? Strange? What do you mean strange, and wait for what?”

  “For your story to begin. You’ll know when it's your time. Something may click or you’ll meet a nice guy or possibly a random knock on your door. Something you won’t expect, but it has to happen after that phone call. Timing is everything with these deals. Spirits move at their own pace. Since we’re connected somehow in the same circle, it's very possible you’ll see me again. Everything you asked for, friends, sex, and love will begin, in that exact order. Take full advantage of the situation before you spend the rest of your life with your boyfriend as he is. Not what he will become when you two realize you’re meant for one another. If Karma doesn’t appear, email me---.”

  “What? How will I know what karma is...or…. Wait a minute,” I gagged, holding my mouth to keep from throwing whatever it is back up. My vision was starting to become blurred as I felt her help me up from the floor. “My boyfriend? You just said take advantage before I…. my boyfriend? I want true love, I don’t want to be----.”

  “That will be your soulmate. Not as he is now, but he will become the man you’re asking for,” she whispered with a grimey smile. “He is the one you’re meant to be with it----.”

  “I didn’t pay you to tell me-----!” I gripped my ear on the right side, hearing the ticking grow louder as Delilah cut in with a rush.

  “But you did,” she said, moving my body forward. “We’re running out of time Jasmine. Remember, you will get a call in the middle of the night. Letting you know the spirits are cooking in your favor. Wait to be served.”

  “I paid you good money! I want my money back! I want a refund!” I yelled over the timer before everything came to a deafening stop as the door slammed shut in my face.

  Before I knew it, I was standing back in the hallway. Staring at the door in shock before kneeling over to the side to cough, and gag. Nothing. Nothing was coming up, but I felt my stomach hurl, and twist into knots like it was ready to release whatever.

  “I paid you good money! Just so you could tell me I’m stuck with him!? Open this door or I’m calling the police you thief!” I yelled.

  “Miss? Ma’am, are you alright? Do I need to call someone?” I heard a voice say as I looked around the hallway. A cracked apartment door was just across from me with a pair of glasses peeking around the corner.

  “What?” I let out, wiping my mouth of spit.

  “Do you need help?” She asked. “Nobody has lived in that apartment for a few months now. The couple that last lived there got engaged, and moved into a house,” she said. My eyes grew wide as I looked back at the door.

  “I just came out of here, you saw me...I just...I was just in there,” I declared, stepping away from the deserted door. The woman shuffled her way out of her own apartment with a set of keys, and a heavy sigh like this has happened too many times before. The older black woman with greying hair, and wide glasses slipped her keys into the lock to open it.

  Nothing….Entire place was clean from top to bottom. Freshly laid carpet, the smell of lemon and the strong scent of Pine-Sol.

  “Mmmm hmm, they were a weird lil couple if you ask me,” the woman spoke. Hunched back looking around the place to make sure it was as spotless as she said it was. “But you was just out here hollering and screaming. Banging on the door for a good hour...Then you sat down and started talking to yourself, rocking back and forth like one of them crazies you see in the movies. You ain’t the first to do it so don’t feel bad. People come here all the time talking to that damn door. Talking crazy. Shouting, hollering, screaming, and whatnot. Oh yes chile,” she continued on. “We done had the police come up in here to investigate why folks keep showing up...Why folks come up here crying, and carrying on. Got nothing.” Throwing her hands in the air. “That’s why nobody wanna move in here you know, but you get used to it. They say it's the gateway to the other side...Them folks that lived here before had the whole neighborhood scared. Especially of the girlfriend...She looked funny you know...Like a wild cat in the face...Ain’t right. Not God’s work, but between you and me...I think it was the boyfriend who did the funny business,” she whispered, hand smoothing up against the walls of the fresh paint. Like she was feeling around for something. The apartment was cold, and stale in the air with not a stain in sight. “Mmmm hmmm, it was that boyfriend who wasn’t right but I mind my own business...Do what I do, watch my stories and stay indoors.”

  She continued to talk as I looked around the apartment. Walkway was the same, everything was the same. I felt like I should be able to catch a hint of the sage or incense that was burning, but nothing. It was empty.

  “Thought I would come out, and get yo mind right...Before they call the cops on ya. Neighborhood ain’t safe, but this part of the complex...it's quiet and we like to keep it that way.”

  She turned, peering hard at me through the glasses as she motioned for me to walk out the apartment.

  “You gon be alright now?”

  Everything was so weird. The time was the same. Same date. Even got a confirmation email that the session was over, so what is this? What�
�s going on? Am I dreaming?

  “I’m fine,” I said in a low voice. “Just need some rest is all.”

  “Well next time you find yourself banging on these doors looking for someone, just come holler at me,” the woman spoke, pointing to her apartment door. “I live right across the hall. Just knock, and I’ll come. Probably in the kitchen just making me something to eat as always, and watching my stories…”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name,” I said, clearing my throat. Liquid finally settling in my body. I needed a strong drink to chase whatever the hell I just took.

  She started for her door, keys jingling in her hand all the same before turning to answer over her shoulder.

  “They call me Karma. Mama Karma.”

  ...

  She lied, you know ... that scammer of a woman. A year later, and here I am.

  “Mr. Milton is currently tied up at the moment. He said he would be available when he gets home,” Anita said to me. Avoiding eye contact as I stood in front of her oak wood desk that circled the back wall of his office. Everything from the paintings of the city of Atlanta hanging on the wall to the accomplishments Percy liked to show off before anyone entered his office. Everything was black from his clients to the dark grey, white, and black decor. Anita was even dark skinned like me with dark, almost jet black waves that hung past her shoulders in bundles. Every detail counts when it came to how Percy wanted to be perceived. High class black wealth, young, intellectual, and important when he was really a nerd that sat in his underwear on his off time playing games.

  Bright makeup with gold powder on her cheeks for a highlight his assistant didn’t need, Anita began to get anxious in her seat. Something I recognized all too well. Percy told her to make me leave.

  “I just spoke with him. Never told me he would be suddenly busy afterwards,” I said in a low voice, eyeing the engagement ring I never picked out. Large diamond piece with the matching band around it. “Is he occupied with someone else or is he just choosing not to see me, Anita?”

  She cleared her throat, looking nervously around before leaning over her desk. Eyes refusing to look directly at me.

  “Jasmine, you know I need this job---.”

  “Just tell me if she’s in there with him,” I whispered back. Looking around the office at the only other waiting client too busy on his phone to notice. “They’ve been at it for over a year, but never in the workplace...never in public. I just had lunch with her.”

  “I cannot lose my jo---.”

  “Is she in there?” I stressed through my teeth. “Just look at me. You don’t have to answer but you will look at me.”

  “Why are you choosing to stay with him if you already know the answer? Why put up with either of them for this long?” She asked before her eyes burst with regret, shaking her head as she sat back in her seat. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t----.”

  “No,” shaking my head as I inhaled. With a simple nod, I turned and walked out. Deciding today wasn’t the time. This wasn’t the time to confront my fiance and best friend about their relationship. Not like this. Didn’t want to cause a scene.

  I felt a hand suddenly grip my arm as I turned around to see Anita had followed me from her desk to escort me out of the office. Leaning in so close, her body spray was overbearing to the point of nausea.

  “If I were you?” She whispered as we stopped in the middle of the hallway. “I would sit pretty, collect his coins, stack em with yours, and do your thang. Find you a side piece, be safe about it, and enjoy yourself. She’s not the only one he deals with, and she won’t be the last...”

  Anita gave me one last stare before turning to walk back into the office. Gripping her hair up high to wrap in a bun, she revealed the tattoo on the back of her neck. A broken red heart split in between with the word KOVE reading in the middle. Just underneath, the words Love & Karma.

  Hoodwinked

  By

  Desiree

  This book contains a lot of… I really don’t know to be honest. Really hard to describe it, but I wouldn’t mind seeing something like this on TV one day.

   2019

  Pia Milton

  “You got this Pia Mia,” I said to myself in the square mirror. Finger combing through my hair that fell to my shoulders as my round cheeks burned with red in constant anxiety. “You got this, stop bitching...Stop acting crazy. Nothing is going to happen. Life will continue as it usually does...You got this woman…”

  The fogginess of the mirror began to blur suddenly as I blinked a few times. Knowing it was my mind playing tricks on me, but even still...I saw my unofficial best friend who is a self-proclaimed witch, Delilah Skye appear in the mirror like she was on the other side. Fixing her dark red lipstick. Thick locs hanging low from the high ponytail. Dark complexion smooth with no foundation needed, and her cat-like eyes turned towards me as she parted her lips to apply her lipstick. Full face slowly putting on her pregnancy weight in the most natural way possible.

  “Why are you talking to yourself in a public bathroom mirror Pia?” She asked dryly. In her usual not caring tone.

  “One, you’re not real so I’m not even going to engage in this conversation. If this is one of your magic tricks, good job. Looks real enough,” I clapped sarcastically as she stared at me.

  “It’s a mirror trick I learned when I was little. Write the name of the person you wish to see a reflection in the mirror. Say a prayer, and wait...Not hard with you since you talk to yourself all the time. Must be that guilt of your daughter not knowing her real father----.”

  “Because of you!” I pointed. “You told me not to tell him!”

  “No, no no my basic friend,” she corrected dryly. “I made a deal with you in the store that night. For beauty, the man of your dreams, and perfection in exchange for you giving birth to your daughter, and raising her. I never said raise her without Homer knowing...I even told you to name her Violet Skye, but you decided she didn’t deserve any identity from her father’s side of the family, did you not?”

  I remained quiet, staring at the stained mirror as she continued to apply her lipstick in a slow plump circle. Looking as evil as they come. She was lying as usual. I know she told me specifically not to tell him. Maybe I couldn’t remember in exact detail on how she said it, but I know she did. Why I went along with it, was a whole other concept I wasn’t ready to grasp.

  “Guilt is starting to set in, years later...You’ve fallen in love with the man of your dreams...Violet only knows him as the man in her life, and Homer still has no...idea...One night stand turned into a web of lies,” she laughed slowly as I looked up at the flickering of the lights above before glaring back at the mirror. “That's not my doing. I just wanted Violet born. Besides, when she’s ready to meet her father...I’m sure the time will come when they cross paths.”

  “When I’m ready for her to meet him,” I reminded as she cut her slanted eyes at me before she looked around the mirror.

  “Where are we exactly?” She asked suddenly.

  “I’m taking Violet to the movies with Piru, and Percy at Atlantic Station. Get out of the house on a Friday night, and let her bond with her uncles...”

  Delilah smiled at me as if she knew the real reason why I was hanging with my psychotic brothers.

  “Felt so guilty today that you brought your daughter out for a family outing...Pia Mia…” She sighed. “I would be careful if I were you.”

  “You’re not real, and neither is this bewitched mess you’re pulling. If this is what I have to look forward to with Violet meeting the other side of her family, I rather not.”

  “The Skyes are connected and intuned with our ancestors more so than the average person. No magic involved. We don’t fly on broomsticks and don’t howl to the moon at night. We are raised to remember and respect our past and keep the tradition alive. It’s our reality. Violet is the same way, already showing signs, but you couldn’t possibly understand. You slept with Homer...that’s about as close as magic as
you’ll get----.”

  “What do you want Delilah?” I groaned, wishing all of this would stop. “I’m not versed in the ways of our people and ancestors...Yes, I know slaves had a religion and belief system before they were brought over here---.”

  “No,” she laughed. “That’s where the Skyes disconnect from one another. Two separate tribes. My ancestors were never brought over here, we were already here first. Violet and the bloodline she shares, we were here first----.”

  I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, hearing her lecture me in a public restroom about her people, and spirits, and what have you but she finally got down to why we were having this crazy talk in the bathroom in the first place.

  “You know I wouldn’t have you talking to yourself in a rank bathroom unless I was here to warn you of what’s to come.”

  My eyes grew wide, heart began to pound as she popped the lipstick closed with a click, and faced me directly.

  “Homer is actually ther-----.”

  The wooden door suddenly creaked open as a cashier wearing a green vest with a name tag saying Publix clipped in the corner walked in. Chewing, and popping her gum loudly. She smiled at me, pushing her glasses up before heading to the only three stalls available. Opting to go for the handicapped.

  I looked back at the mirror. Nothing. Not even a hint that I was going crazy. Seeing my flustered expression before smoothing my hair out once more, and eyeing my face. Small eyes, chubby cheeks that will forever stay with me. My black leather jacket was cropped with my denim jeans...Giving me that thick hourglass shape, and black matching boots. I looked like a badass.