The Decks and the Road
book 1- Freeborn
The Final Chapters- Chapter 30
(Two and a half years later)
Natalie- We were off for Miami.
It was our first spring break as college freshmen. I’d been to Miami once with my mom and dad, but
it was no adventure. Back then I was
more like a piece of luggage, and my father kept me close. This time he didn’t even know I was
going. Wisdom and I were still
inseparable, and Radiance and I were becoming like one another’s shadows. Our eyes had stumbled on each other one day
as we were both getting our campus I.D.’s made.
We had a way of resembling each other, and we certainly enjoyed all the
confusion it caused. I’d been excited about
the trip for weeks, but the moment we entered the highway, there was a nervousness
that came over me. I didn’t let it show
and continued to sing along with the radio.
We were all singing along actually, for the first two hours or so—then
it must have hit us; we had more road to cover than we all had voice—and we
eventually all tapered off. Radiance and
I both retired to our phones while Wisdom drove. Every now and again she’d interrupt the quiet
with a random thought or question about a memory we’d shared, or what we might
do while we were in Miami. Radiance
usually stayed quiet. Perhaps she
thought Wisdom’s outbursts were meant to be kept between the two front
seats. Whenever I remembered, I’d look
back to make sure she hadn’t gotten lost in all the history.
I’d let my mother in on Miami, but we both thought it best
to leave my father out. I knew he’d
think it was too far for us to drive, and he would instinctively think to reach
out to family. Needless to say, that
wasn’t the trip any of us had planned.
When we finally made it to Miami I was in the driver’s seat, and
whatever fatigue I felt seemed to instantly disappear. Funny, we’d picked back up singing some miles
back without even noticing. There were a
few other groups we’d plan on meeting up with at the hotel, and that was just
about the length of our plans. It was
right about six when we arrived for check in, and there still seemed to be more
day waiting on us. We dropped our things
in the middle of room, and headed back out.
The streets were filled, but not with many groups that looked like
us. There were more of what appeared to
be locals than visitors. They were all
about walking their dogs, riding bikes, and lounging on their phones. We joined them in their carefree living, and
walked on without taking any notes or referencing any maps. We walked for blocks, and it was fun to see
how much further along we got than some of the cars. It was also interesting to smell all the
different foods that lingered in the air.
After a while it seemed we were just following the natural flow of the
crowd. At some point in our following,
the crowd had changed, and I could see more groups like our own; young and
free. We turned down one block and found
ourselves surrounded by high end shops and boutiques. After every few one of us would feel the draw
to go in. We’d buzz around for a few
moments, and then back into the open we’d go.
We reached to one corner and found a woman sitting out front an art
gallery with a young girl about six years old.
She sat in a folding chair at a wooden table with a few cards spread out
on top, while the girl’s chair was positioned diagonally away from the
table. She sat playing on an electronic
device with both thumbs pressing on the keys rapidly. The woman was plainly dressed in jeans and a
tank; no earrings or rings or bracelets.
Her hair was pulled up high on top her head and twisted into a
knot. The girl on the other hand was
brightly dressed and did wear earrings. Her
hair was braided into a single French braid with her bangs left out. Radiance felt the draw and led us into the
gallery. I however was drawn to the
woman sitting at the table, and wandered back out. When she saw me, she stood up and extended
her hand out the way a crossing guard would.
I stopped instantly. The young
girl was also startled and ran off into the store.
“Don’t sit down.” She warned.
I didn’t understand. I quickly
looked around hoping to locate the danger.
There was none.
“Sometimes it’s best to just let
life play out naturally.” She tried to
warn again, but her behavior only made me more curious. I overlooked her warnings, and reached into
my backpack for my money.
“I’ll like to have a reading.” I laid the ten dollar bill on the table, and
she sat down. I took the empty seat in
front of her and felt my eyes close. She
didn’t touch me. She didn’t ask a single
question, and then I heard her voice.
“The man you believe to be your
father is not, and your real father is about to die. You’ll need to protect your sister, and
remember to forgive.” My eyes had been
opened since the word father, and it felt as though my heart had boarded up all
its windows since about the same time. I
should have sat a while considering the weight of my shock, but I didn’t. I could see her reaching down to make my
change, but I couldn’t take another exchange.
I rejoined my friends on the inside as they were marveling over a
painting signed by M. Shepherd. They
hadn’t been worrisome, and must not have even noticed my absence. I thought it best to keep it that way, and
continued on in my own amazement.
At the end
of four nights and three days, we headed back north. I’d enjoyed the busy moments of the trip, and
had tried to steer clear of the quiet ones.
It only made for a more exciting stay.
Now, I had to endure seven and a half hours on a long road. I’d agreed to start the drive, and I took
advantage of the control I had over the air waves. I kept the rhythms loud and navigated pass
all the quiet listening stations. I had
no real reason to trust what I’d been told except I couldn’t shake the way the
reader had tried to warn me. When Radiance’s
phone rang we were more than five hours into the drive. Wisdom was asleep in the back. We hadn’t had much ringing phones among us in
the last few days. We were all usually
texting. I assumed it was a check in
until I heard the words, “What happened?”
I gave a quick glance, and saw that there were tears. I didn’t hear much else, and then the phone
was placed in the cup holder. I was
still driving. I’d found it helpful to
me. I didn’t ask what happened. I didn’t want to repeat the dreaded
words. I checked for the next exit, and
we still had a few miles to go. We both
sat in silence. When we got to the rest
stop, I put the car in park but left it running. She didn’t demand that I asked, and gently
let me in on her pain.
“My father. He’s gone.”
She released herself from the seatbelt, and laid her head in her lap,
with her hands covering her face. It was
finally clear to me that it was okay to turn the engine off. As I did, her words rang out to me. I hadn’t acknowledged it, but I had also lost
my father just three days ago. I rested
my hand on her back, and the moment I did, she cried out. I’d never been in such a position. My own heart was heavy, and I envied her
ability to express her pain. I thought
maybe it was the dignity of her pain that helped her to openly express it. Either way, I knew she needed me, and so I
was sure to let her know I’d be there.
By the next rest stop, Wisdom was awake and could probably sense that
she’d missed a beat or two, but neither of us was willing to roll back to fill
her in. We continued on with our
individual doses of reality, and I tried to see my way through to the next part
of my story. It wasn’t exactly clear,
but I knew that the very next step was to accompany Radiance to her father’s
funeral. She’d asked, and I didn’t feel
like I could say no. After that, I was
intent on getting a meeting with the truth.
For me, it was the only way forward.
Begin "The Final Chapters" with Chapter 29:
Freeborn, a novel
Freeborn
© Grace Call Communications,
LLC
Copyright © 2017
by Natisha Renee Williams
All Rights Reserved
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