SIN

Atop a sunny hill rested a large radiant house, a comparable mansion to its surroundings. In this house, in the master bedroom I, an occasional resident, crept in. I still heard my stupid words in my head, What do you need? I heard Europa answer, Just some perfume and oils. Come on, little sis, you said your mom is never home. I always smiled when she called me that. 

I silently moved into the master bathroom and saw a beautiful and ornate bottle with a large gaudy peacock feather cap. Its label read ‘Teleia Anointments.’ I stared for a moment and began to hyperventilate. I grabbed it and dashed away.

I quickly but without slamming closed the door behind me. I felt the house stare at me. I stared at it, backing away slowly. I ran.

Europa was waiting in the car for me and she barely noticed when I nearly threw myself in. I looked at the house again and it glared back at me. I turned to Europa for comfort. She was supermodel pretty. The type of attractive that everyone knew she was so far and above the rest that she was near untouchable. She was checking her makeup in the mirror and was completely unfazed by my panting and furrowed brow. I handed her the bottle, “Here.”

She took them and when our hands were right next to each other I looked at her flawless pale skin next to my tan hand. I forgot for a moment that I was this color, that I didn’t look like her. Not even a little. I was 16 and she was 19 and until I saw our hands a part of me had thought that I could look like her in three years… well… maybe.

“Thannnnnk you!” she said with glee and no mind to the anxiety attack I was having. I looked back at the house. It looked closer. “Oh come on. Your mom won’t notice them missing.” Under her breath she added, “Bitch has tons of it, probably.”

“You don’t know my mom. She could- she would kill me!”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t need it. She probably doesn’t even use it. I will. Trust me, Angelaaaa, it’s worth it.”

“You gonna tell me about the guy at least? I mean other than the details I didn’t ask for.”

Europa looked at the house and smirked.

“Maybe. Probably. Eventually.”

I rolled my eyes at her, and Europa cackled.

BIRTH

Sunset. A simple urban lower class neighborhood in LA. houses tightly packed with too many cars out front and endless cracks on the street.

I was running down the street in sheer panic. I kept looking over my shoulder to look for it. I knew it was following but my eyes saw this empty street. 

I ducked behind a car and caught my breath for a moment. I peeked around back from where I was running. Still nothing.

I looked up. The dark clouds invaded the sky coming from the direction of the house. She knows.

From behind me there was a woman’s voice, “Are you okay?”

I turned to see an extremely pregnant woman in front of her house watering her plants.

I was on the verge of tears. The woman looked at me deeply concerned. She groaned a little as she bent over to turn off the hose and walked over to me.

She placed one hand on her stomach as she attempted to crouch down. As soon as she was in reach, I gave in. I put my face on her legs and wept. 

“Oh! Oh… oh, sweetie. Shhh… It’s okay. It’s okay.” 

I was comforted.

She brought me into her home and sat me down at her dining room table. She gently stroked my head and made a quiet shhh sound. I did my best to stifle my tears for her. She placed a glass of water in front of me and rubbed my back.

She said, “Here, sweetie, take a drink. Crying dehydrates you bad.”

I took the glass with two hands and shoved it, and I saw the amusement in her face. 

She sat down next to me and asked, “OK… I just want to ask if everything is alright. You were… I mean…” she gave a small but incredulous chuckle and leaned in. “ What’s your name?”

“… My name is… Angelia”

“What was that?  Angela?”

I just looked at her. 

“OK Angela, do you want to tell me what happened“

I took a few more short breaths, and I tried to speak, but there was a hand covering the speaker on my voice box. “I- I- I… My…” I felt the emotions bubbling up again, ready to start leaking out of my eyes. 

“It’s OK. You don’t have to talk yet. I just need to know if I should be calling someone… The police…? “

I cleared my throat. “No… No… They can’t.” 

“Your mom then?” 

I jumped up, and my voice found me “No!!!” I tried calling myself and repeated, “no. Definitely not her.“

“OK… Definitely not her then… Can you at least tell me why you were running down the street? You don’t look tweaked out or anything what are you supposed to be on medication”

I sat back down. “ No… I’m not crazy“ I looked up at her and couldn’t help but glare. A new emotion overcame me. “Do you know who I am?” 

That was rude of me. 

“I’m sorry. I’ve never actually said that before. My parents are important people… But they didn’t raise me. They sent me off to school as quickly as they could to let some tree… to let some people… raise me.“

She nodded, “I’m sorry… Is that what you said to not call your mom? She wouldn’t care?”

“It’s not that. She would hate me if you know what I did.”

“What did you do?”

I thought back to that house. I thought about my mother, throwing things across the room in anger. I thought about her vendetta. I thought about her kicking my brother out of the house for far less. Maiming him for just existing. 

The woman continued, “ sometimes mothers can be more understanding than you think.“ She placed her hand on her belly. “I know mine was. But I know the fear.“

I looked at her. How young was she? Pregnant? Started to shake. Otherworldly screams started to fill my ears. Beasts. Tigers, birds, women, my mother. Her screams were more terrifying than any beast. It cracked through the air like lightning splitting the sky. I started to get dizzy. “You don’t know my mother. I’ve been afraid of her my whole life.” I looked at her belly. “I am too afraid to have a kid because of her. I’m too afraid to be married or even be around boys because of her.“

“Why? Does she hate you?” 

I started rubbing my head in my face. “I feel dirty. I feel dirty. I feel so dirty!” 

The woman recoiled and pulled her arms close to her body. “What about a dad?”

“My dad… My dad?” it finally dawned on me. My mother really will kill me. “Europa, you bitch! My dad?! He would send people for me and everything the way he wants it. But he won’t do a damn thing himself. That asshole!”

“Dad isn’t an option either then… OK, who can I call them? Do you have a place to stay?” 

I noticed an older lady standing in the corner of a hallway. I gave a short YELP! But the pregnant woman softly embraced me, and stroked my hair. She said, “It’s OK. It’s just my mother.”

I started sobbing. I didn’t want that lady near me. In between crying breaths, I managed to make out a, “Please… no…” 

“It’s OK. Here. Drink some more water.“ She pushed my water cup towards me.  She walked away to talk to the lady. 

I overheard them. 

The lady asked, “who is she?“

“I think she said her name was Angela. She’s really distraught. I don’t know what she did but she is deathly afraid of her mother.“

“Why? What did she do?“

I thought the woman rolled her eyes, but held back a bit of laughter. “Ma!!“

“What? I’m just making sure you didn’t bring any drama into my house.“

“Oh, you love drama! Go back to your Novelas.“

Suddenly the woman braced the wall. 

“Sweetie, are you OK?“

In pain, “yeah, yeah. My water broke.“

Her mother and I looked at her legs. They were dry.

“What?“ The lady said, “I don’t see anything.“

Through clenched teeth, “yeah, a few ago, I already changed.“

“Change?! Why would you do that?! You need to go to the hospital, you are having a baby!“

My eyes went wide. Under my breath, I muttered, “no…“

The woman screamed from a long and painful contraction. “That was a big one,“ she quipped while out of breath. 

“How many minutes apart are you?“

“What time is it?“

“We need to get you in the car.“

“OK, OK. Just let me sit down a minute.“ The woman slides down the wall to sit on the ground.

“I’m getting my car keys“

The lady ran off and the woman screamed in pain again. I somehow made my way over to her, and with her scream, I put my arms up as if I was going to be hit.

“No, no, you can’t.”

She put her hands on her head and Doug and slightly with her fingernails into her scalp.

“Stop it! Stop!!! You’re calling her!”

The woman took another deep breath in and yelled in pain.

“You’re calling her! She will find me! Do you know what she can do?!”

I move back and forth in the hall. I crouched in.

“Stop it.!!!!! She will hurt you too for helping!!!”

The woman wasn’t listening.

“She will do worse than kill us!!! Stop it!!! T-terror!!! Madness!!!“

The woman screamed again. I lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck. I squeezed to make the noise stop coming out of her mouth.

“Stop screaming. Stop giving birth. She will hear.“

The lady came back in and gasped. She didn’t understand why I had to attack her daughter. She moved in and tried pulling my hands off, but the adrenaline made my grip too tight, then she tried shutting me away, but still nothing. Finally, she took her keys in her open hand and whacked me in the head with them. I fell back and felt the blood already dripping from my forehead.

“I’m so sorry.” I looked at them with tears in my eyes. “I hope she spares you.”

I got up and sprinted out the front door and down the street the same way I was running before. 

MARRIAGE

I never ran like this before. Twilight faded into night. I came over a hill and saw a hospital in the depression between this hill and the next. I jogged along the hills towards the back of the hospital and saw a series of large containers lined up, refrigerated, to deal with the overflow. I stumbled down the hill towards the containers, and I ran to one, placing my hands on it and touching my forehead to its cold exterior. I needed to catch my breath.

In between breaths, I muttered, “please stop… Please stop… Please stop….”

I heard voices in the distance. Male. 

I crept alongside the container and picked around the corner. Towards the end of this empty row were a pair of men opening the doors to one of the containers. Beside them was a gurney with a zipped up body bag. 

“I’ll go get the other one,” one man said before walking away. 

“Well well well! You weren’t leaving me alone with this thing,” the other men complained.

Then both men walked away. 

I kept staring at the gurney and my eyes refused to look at anything else I needed help with. I knew that with this I could find help. I cautiously tiptoed to the gurney. I placed my hands on top of the body bag. “Please help. Please help me. Polydegmon, Unseen, take me in and hide me.” I slowly unzipped the bag. About a quarter of the way open, the corpse’s left arm sprang out. It hung lifelessly to the side. I jumped from the air and 12 feet back. I stared for a moment, making sure it wouldn’t move again. 

I stared at the hand. There was a wedding ring. I heard her voice again. I didn’t know if it was a memory or from far away she activated every nerve on my back. My eyes swelled again. I didn’t know my body could produce this many tears. “No… Don’t… Hera…” 

I reached towards the wedding ring, but 3/4 of the way there my hand felt like it had touched a hot stove. I recoiled again. I spun around and vomited every last thing that was in my stomach. I heard the sound of gurney wheels on asphalt return to see the shadows growing and I dashed away.

I heard on the far side of the container again while the men stored the body in the container. I whispered to myself, “Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.”

I heard one of them say, “Did you hear something?”

Still, I whispered, “Not you. Her. Don’t see me. There’s nothing for you here. Nothing you care about. The end of your work. The contract to oversee. Hide me, Death“

I closed my eyes and pictured the house again. Its vibrations, its hollow pitch of anger building and building until… Nothing. It fizzled out. The moment of anger had passed. I fell to my knees and pressed my forehead to the container again. “You’re gone? You aren’t angry anymore?“ I gave the greatest sigh of relief. “Thank you.“ I kissed the container and smiled.

I heard the sound of dripping water. Tripping off of soaked bodies. What? Thunder echoed. I turned around and saw them. Those things. The single street light cast two dark shadows making them seem even less human. I know they aren’t human. Their crab-like claws. Their unnatural movements. Kabiri. 

DEATH

I couldn’t believe my eyes, my words escaping in disbelief. “No… Oh Lord, no… Why…? Why did you send them?” I stumbled backward, seeking refuge in a container.

The figures suddenly exhibited awkward movements, as if still adjusting to the earth and air. My panic, previously filled with hysteria, transformed into a more strategic and measured state. I could hear my own breaths echoing through the air as I sprinted, my eyes scanning the surroundings. Spotting an abandoned building, I paused to contemplate. Yes, that would be my destination. With determination, I sprinted toward the dilapidated structure.

Inside the abandoned building, the broken window provided me with a slender passage. Once safely inside, I cautiously distanced myself from the windows and doors. My gaze swept across the desolate interior, revealing nothing but dried-out paper, broken planks, and shards of plastic. However, my eyes remained fixed on the broken window, searching for the slightest hint of movement.

Time seemed to stretch as I waited, my eyes locked on the shattered frame. The tension built as I peered out another window, catching a glimpse of their shadows—horrifyingly hideous shadows. My gaze darted from window to window, my mind playing tricks on me, until a sudden crash shattered the silence. A claw burst through one of the windows, causing me to yelp and cover my ears. Determined to escape, I hurried toward another window in the distance. With desperation, I removed my shoe and struck the glass, but before I could break free, another claw shattered the window, invading my sanctuary.

Wiping the glass shards from my face, my only option was to flee upstairs. My eyes darted across the surroundings until I discovered a door. I entered swiftly, slamming it shut behind me, hoping for a respite from the impending danger.

Desperately trying to catch my breath, I pleaded, my voice trembling with fear. “Please! I’m sorry! I… I’m okay! I don’t need you to be here! I am sorry! I… I am sorry. Is it…? But why? Am I Truly that horrible? Do I deserve this? Am I someone deserving of such persecution? I don’t know if this is an appropriate reaction. I felt… I felt calm. I felt you… not forgive but… pull. I felt you were tired. Is forgetting not the same as forgiveness? At least in the context of natural and divine law. That this offense is dropped, and I can go home. Ha! Home! Home?! What does that mean? You sent me away! You… you sent me away…”

As I poured out my confused thoughts, the sound of thunder rumbled once more, causing me to tilt my head in bewilderment. Suddenly, footsteps reverberated on the stairs, their weight shaking the room with each thunderous stomp.

“No. I don’t want to be here. I want to go. Send me away again. Please. Let that be it. Send me away,” I pleaded desperately, my voice tinged with desperation. Yet, my confusion intensified as I heard the familiar sound of thunder, and I took a step back.

“Mom? This isn’t you. Dad? Why?” I crouched against the wall next to the door, my trembling hand pressed against my forehead, trying to make sense of the chaos unfolding around me.

In an instant, a claw tore through the door, shattering any semblance of safety. My scream pierced the air, echoing my terror. The Kabiri burst through the door, their presence undeniable. I attempted to crawl away, but it was too late. The Kabiri seized me, their grip unyielding, sealing my fate within their grasp.

HOME

The lakeside lay sweeps, consumed by fire, with lifeless trees as witnesses. The sky bore an otherworldly hue, unlike any place on Earth I had ever seen.

The Kabiri held me captive, gripping my limbs tightly, suspending me above the ground. I fought with all my strength, my feet, head, and forearms flailing, but my struggles proved futile.

I attempted to maintain my screams, but I found myself in a desolate realm where no one could hear me, and the Kabiri remained indifferent. They carried out their master’s will, leading me into the waters of Acherusia Lake for the cleansing.

Their hands descended, attempting to submerge me. The cold sting of the water elicited an unintended reaction, granting me a momentary respite from their grasp.

Momentarily released, I seized the opportunity to resist, bringing my head above the water’s surface. Yet, it became a harrowing struggle as the Kabiri redoubled their efforts, pushing me back down into the depths. They succeeded in submerging my head, and I fought against the suffocating pressure.

The two of them, united in strength, kept me submerged. I fought to hold my breath, but the desperate struggle drained me. I was compelled to open my mouth, gasping for air that eluded me. The water engulfed me, and I succumbed to its suffocating embrace.

After what felt like an eternity, the struggle ceased. The Kabiri emerged from the water, leaving me motionless in its wake. The water grew calm, mirroring the serene reflection of the moon upon my face.

Am I finally somewhere…? A home? My eyes opened.