Little Missy Latoya (Part seven)

T h e  V i s i o n

Just after dawn, a mournful call awakened Little Queen Missy. She scowled toward the sound to see the damp morning rippling down the window panes. She sat up and took stern barefooted steps toward it and peered through the mist. A lonely mourning dove balanced on the dripping phone wires singing its woeful song. Missy Latoya blinked against the strange sensation welling up in her throat. She perked up instantly, as a sudden vision obliterated her thoughts. A rush of adrenalin pushed through her veins. She pinched her lips together and her nostrils flared. Her fingers formed fists at her sides and her eyes narrowed. There was trouble lurking in her queenly domain. Her breathing quickened.

“MOTHER!” Her hard voice penetrated the quiet and she stomped toward her closet. She began whipping through her dresses, shoving one hanger aside after the next. She stopped. Yes, the black satin one. Just as she was about to bellow out to her mother again, the bed-headed woman had shuffled to her doorway.

“Baby doll…” Her voice was hoarse and pasty. “Why you up so early on a Saturday, precious?”

Latoya sent an annoyed gaze toward her mother’s face. “Breakfast. Now. I have important matters to attend to this morning.” She returned her gaze to the closet.

Lifting the hanger ever so gingerly, she drew the black dress from the rod and placed it on her bed, running her fingers over the glistening hand-sewn bead and sequins patterns. The deep pink beads were placed for romantic distraction among the swirls of glistening black.

“What can I do to help my sweet little princess? What’s wrong, baby?” She began moving toward her daughter with her hand on her heart and the other outstretched.

Queen Latoya turned on her heel with her jaw clenched. “I said, make my breakfast!” Her mother’s face fell and she quickly raised her reaching hand as a peace-offering, as she took slow steps backwards.

“Okay, baby, okay…So special. My baby Queen…” She shook her head as she turned away.

Missy’s voice softened. “Thank you mother dear. And I’m just fine. I have the Ancestors to protect me, remember? You just worry about your job.” She manufactured a sparkling smile, then erasing it as her mother nodded with understanding and exited the room.

Missy spread the full skirt and bodice open over her quilt, ensuring that not a bead or sequin was loose or missing. Today she had to be perfect. Everything must be perfect. Troubled by an abrupt thought, she dropped her head and flared her nostrils. Something vital was missing.

She grasped at her arm. “Oils!!” She hissed the command.

And the hands came, with whispers of joy and giggles of delight. And the husky voices spoke. “Oh, yesss, yesss!” Our Queen does know…oh, yes she does!”

A sound of slick liquid warming between rubbing hands joined with the voices and the pungent, earthy aromas swarmed among them. “New oils, our youngest Queen…more powerful than the last! Our foremother’s recipe for dominant power, and it is yours now. Yours now…”

Little Missy Latoya (Part 6)

S o m e t h i n g  B l u e

The light glowed soft at first, then expanded over the water in a resounding flash.  The sound of chimes ran across this light – as blue as any clear and vast sky could be.

Little Missy recoiled.  The light burned her eyes, and horrified, she scrambled away from it.  She tried not to look, but the voices insisted, so she kept her gaze through squinted lids.  Up from the watery incandescent blue, a form began to rise.  A slow and rippling movement was ascending as a mirage would rise from hot pavement.  The form took on a misty, almost human shape as it grew taller from the ripples.  At last it stood before her, an angelic being as blue as the light it grew from.  A pink glow came off of the being in radiating pulses.

The misty pulses reached Little Missy.  She had become almost statue-like and her eyes began to relax open as she stared.  But a horrible pain began to rip through her chest and her groping hands found her nightgown over her heart and pulled and twisted the fabric.  Great sobs lurched from her belly as she shook her head and tears poured down her cheeks.  Her face began to ache with its contortions and her body went weak and filled with some kind of grief.  For what, she didn’t know.  But the pain was unbearable and she screamed out in agony.  All that would come out of her was “No, no, no!”  She tried to stand but her legs had turned to jello.

In a sudden flash Little Missy was taken over by rage.  She snarled and roared in guttural sounds and her teeth shone in the moonlight.  Wild-eyed, she scrambled toward a scattering of rocks and began hurling them toward the angelic being.  The stones sung right through her, and still she beamed with her pulsating light.  Running out of rocks, Little Missy grabbed up handfuls of mud and sticks – all the while shrieking from deep in her gut.

In one sudden moment, the angelic figure was gone.  The only sounds were the softly clapping leaves, and the only light was of the radiant moon.  Through her waning sobs, Little Missy glanced around her.  Immortal boney hands came from between the saplings and flowers she sat in and touched her with their soft darkness.  She breathed a deep sigh of relief and gladness that her guides had come back for her.  The feel of oils being applied to her face and hands and the sound of rapturous singing enveloped Little Missy.

A husky voice emerged from the singing, and the Grandmothers stood before her.  “Congratulations, Our Queen.  You’ve passed the test!”

“Test?”  Little Missy’s voice trembled.

“Yes, our precious little gem of the light.  We had to know of your deepest loyalty to the ancestors and the ancient ways of the Kali Yuga.  There can be no lingering doubts, you see.”  They raised her up from the dirt and she floated among them.  Their deep purple light woven into fabrics that had a rustle of ancient and magical powers.  Little Missy was soothed and filled with joy and delight.  For she was the Special One.  The Chosen One.  The almighty Queen of Darkness.  Her spirit soared and she recalled the vision of herself holding that dripping skull and she nearly wept with joy.  For this would truly be her future.  She would be the most beautiful woman in the world.

She awoke to a full moon smiling down upon her from her bedroom window.  A hard rain was falling and wispy clouds moved across the sky.  All was calm and beautiful.  That nightmarish angel was gone for good.  And the horror of becoming that awful thing had left her.  She smiled and closed her eyes.

To be continued…

Little Missy Latoya (Part 5)

S c r i e s  i n  t h e  D a r k

That evening, Little Missy fell asleep in a state of bliss.  And then the dream came.

She was led by ghostly forms through a forest of breathing trees, their leaves clapping softly as if a million green hands in the clear night air.

“Where am I going?”  She inquired of her guides.

A flow of whispers rasping out hushes replied.  And so she walked along the moonlit trail, her bare feet feeling the coolness of the earth and her nightgown rippling in the breeze.  At last they stopped as the woods opened up to a fresh spring forming a sweet smelling pool.  Nudging hands touched her back, moving her closer to the edge of the pool.

The husky voices spoke.  “This is the scrying pool of your future, our Queen.  Look inside and see what your future holds for you.”    A black and gold ball filled with sparks was tossed from behind her into the spring water.  It touched the water with an great clap of golden iridescence and dispersed with a rippling blackness.  The guides moved away and left her alone by the pool.
Little Missy leaned in to see her future, licking her lips in sweet anticipation.  And the watery visions came to her, dimly at first, but as she concentrated they began to become clearer.  She saw herself in long black garb.  There were dried barks and other withered matter tied into her hair, and a necklace of bones rattled around her neck.  Bracelets of twisted hides and small animal skulls and other charms clattered in soft sounds over her wrists and hands.  Rings of precious metals and stones gleamed from her fingers.  Eyes closed and head back she uttered chants in guttural tones, while holding a human skull stuffed with earthy scented flora and dangling with some sort of animal innards.  Before her in the flickering candle light was an ancient bowl filled with blood and sprinkled with rare flower stamens and special oils.  There were all kinds of deities, daemons, and effigies in carved bone, hardwood, and stone circling upon the altar.  Enemies would suffer and die tonight and then the great ceremonies of fire would begin.

Little Missy gasped with utter elation at this supreme vision.  The Highest Queen, she was!  The power of the darkest corners of the universe were hers to conjure and divine upon.  Such rapture she held in her ancestral soul of black magic!  Bats started coming around her, piercing her with tiny arrows.  She was falling so in love with herself that she could barely breathe; her knees grew weak and she fell with a guided gentleness against the pool’s shore.

But, the scene began to fade and something else was happening.  A strange and frightening light began to appear in the ripples.

To be continued….

Little Missy Latoya (Part 4)

T H E   O N L Y   P E A R L

As Little Missy stepped into the classroom, the noisy morning bustle turned to hush.  She breezed by the stunned faces while her newly assigned spirit guides scattered rose petals in her path.  Children stumbled backwards, feeling invisible shoves from ghostly hands and elbows.  She reached her cubby and placed her lunch inside before turning to face a sea of eyes, caught in the glimmer of her diamonique tiara.  A well of rich and bubbling light rose within her.  She raised her chin and moved along her rose petal path, as long bony fingers caressed her hair and brow and she glanced over the group with illuminated eyes.

Glory be to the queen, bestowed with the power to rule the earth.  A hot and raspy whisper in her ear sent chills up her spine.  It said “You see, my High Queen?  The world is your oyster and you are the pearl.  The One Pearl.  The Only Pearl.  You are special above all others – see how they adore you.  Feel your power, Little Queen.  For one day, you will be upon the highest pedestal.  And the destiny of all of your subjects will be in your hands.  Try your Queenly Caul power.  See!  See what you can do!”

Teacher had turned from the chalkboard to see what the hush was all about.  She followed Little Missy with her eyes, which had grown wide and limpid.  She watched her glide across the floor, yet her polished mary-jane’s met the linoleum with a spellbinding clicking rhythm that had somehow become in unison with her heartbeat.

In slow motion, Little Missy turned her head to meet Teacher’s gaze.  Their eyes locked and the deep black gloss of Missy’s eyes became a portal whispers and laughter that drew her in, like dark waters sucking down a drain.  Teacher’s head grew light and the corners of Missy’s lips drew up into a gratified smile.  She licked them and Teacher grasped at her chair to sit down.  Her knees let go just as she reached it and she collapsed at her desk.  A sharp pain came fast in her skull and she gripped it with horrible moan.  Her breaths came fast and shallow as she cried out.

The children flocked around her.  Little Missy stood by and watched the commotion with a great curiosity and elation. Celebratory voices echoed all around her as she was patted and stroked by phantom hands, blackened with smoke and oils.  Their aromas carried Little Missy Latoya to the Kali Yuga realm of magic, where she was swarmed with spheres of black fire and shuddering sounds of jubilation.

The sensation passed, and the principal came to help Teacher to the nurse’s office.  The vice principal took Teacher’s place and the children scurried to their seats.  Little Missy sat at her desk with her hands folded upon it.  She smiled sweetly as he delivered worksheets to each desk and droned out the instructions.

How lovely was this day – she had cast her first spell of Kali Yuga black magic.  It had been a glorious success!  As she retrieved her box of crayons from her desk and began to color in the star shapes on her worksheet, she glowed and shimmered with pride.

To be continued….

Little Missy Latoya (Part 3)

A   C A K E   F O R   A   H E A V E N L Y   G E M

She moved with all the grace of true royalty to her mirror.  She gazed upon herself.  Yes, she did look different!  More beautiful and shining than ever before.  Her eyes were deeper and more flashing; their color turned from deep chocolate to nearly black.  And was it her imagination, or were the outer corners of her eyes tilted just a little more upwards?  Her skin, always smooth, had taken on a dewy iridescence.  She touched her arm – beneath the skin was the hint of a rippling energy.  As if the anointing oils had come alive inside of her as a fresh layer of liquid.  Ancient as her ancestors’ home, somewhere in the stars.  It pulsed beneath her flesh, alive and humming.

She stared into her own reflection as a person may look upon a field of flowers, or the beach at twilight, or a birthday cake with sparklers among flickering candles in a darkened room.  Everyday would be Little Missy Latoya’s birthday from now on.  And everyone would know that she was the Queen.

Little Missy flounced down the stairs and into the kitchen where her mommy and auntie sat having coffee and gossiping about the ladies at church and the whores and drug addicts littering the streets.  They turned to see the child approaching.  As their eyes rested upon her, they widened.  Their mouths went silent but their lips remained parted.  Little Missy was more beautiful than ever before.  She was glowing from the inside; a deep purple with sparks of pearl white radiated from her flesh.  Her eyes were so deep, they could not hold her gaze for long, as it made their skin begin to sweat and their arms grow week.

“Good morning, Missy…”  Her mother’s voice went dry and the women’s hands fumbled with their coffee cups.  “You sure look like a gem that just came down from the sky this morning, little girl.  Doesn’t she, auntie?  Just like a precious little gem.”

Auntie nodded, her eyes fixed upon Little Missy Latoya.  “Like a sweet gem, right from heaven.”  She nearly whispered.

Little Missy gleamed as she tilted her head back to observe the women.  “I know who I really am now.  Last night the grandmothers came to me.  They showed me my caul and rubbed me with ancient oils.”

In unison, the women’s quivering fingers moved up to their mouths.  “Oh, my lord.”  Missy’s mommy managed to whisper.  Their eyes met with a tremble that they both understood.  “Our little baby girl is the high Kali Yuga Queen…”

Aunties eyelids fluttered briefly before her eyes rolled back in her head.  She slumped over, passed out cold.  Mommy stumbled from her chair to fan auntie’s face and pat her cheeks, all the while shifting glances toward her daughter.

Little Missy Latoya grinned.  This was even more than she had hoped for.  She was falling more and more in love with herself with each passing second.

“Fix me a cake.  I want a cake fit for a Queen.  Make it beautiful, mommy.  Make it a red cake with cream cheese icing.  And I want pearls and roses on it.  Like in the magazines.  And a diamond tiara. And fix me a bubble bath.  I’ll be waiting in my room.”  She shot a look toward her auntie who moaned as she was coming to, as she turned to leave the room.

To be continued….

Little Missy Latoya (Part 2)

T H E   H I G H   Q U E E N

For Little Missy had dreamed that her grandmother ancestors came to her, dressed in visions of a kind of deep and dark light, as an eggplant or a bruised eye might glow.   The old women were so beautiful in their shimmering layers of sparkling woven fabrics that Little Missy Latoya was mesmerized.  Their hair a soft and wiry white moved as tiny snaking reeds.  Though they had no faces, their voices were sensuous and heady, as if steeped in moon-aged wine, dark as blood and smooth as a midnight lake reflecting a starless sky.    They cooed over her and adored her and lifted her by invisible forces to a lit throne made of gold and precious jewels.  They showed her a dried and withered sheet of membrane, and said to her that it was her sacred caul.  That her caul was sacred above all others, for she was to be the anointed high Kali Yuga Queen.  They stroked at it with their fingers; their nails sharp and glistening.  Sounds of chimes rattled out from the depths of the room, cast in shadows with smoky soundless forms drifting through them.

Little Missy stretched and yawned as the morning sun beamed in upon her.  For today she was a Queen and her caul was the magical winning ticket that had clung to the flesh of her skull at birth.  The grandmothers had anointed her with dark and potent oils, massaging it into her scalp, hands, and feet as they chanted a haunting ancient lullaby.  She could still smell the oils on her skin.

She thought of her aunt and mother – how proud they would be of her.  And she simpered at the image of the other girls and boys at school eyeing her with jealousy for her royal position – her very own birthright that nobody could steal from her.  She moved her fingers to her face and stroked her features, seeing herself as her grandmothers had seen her.  She was so perfect in every way.

To be continued….

Little Missy Latoya (Part 1)

G O D ’ S   S P E C I A L   C H I L D

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Missy Latoya.  Her family all called her “O’boya Latoya” because she was such a naughty little girl.  They never knew what she would do next.  But it didn’t matter…she was God’s special child.

Missy was born with the caul and was believed to be a very special child.  She was praised and doted upon by her mother and her auntie, for she was a rare and precious gem.  Missy could do no wrong in their eyes, for not only was she a special child of the caul, but she was also exceptionally beautiful.  Her eyes were deep brown and sparkled under long dark lashes.  Her skin, her nails, even her hair was silky soft and unlike any of  her family members.  Oh, she was a very special little girl indeed.

Each morning her mommy took her time fashioning the child’s dark locks of hair into sausage curls.  When she was finished they would bounce like ebony ringlets.  The family sacrificed many things to adorn her in the finest of dresses.  Pearly white, with petticoats jingling with little silver bells.  Whatever little Missy wanted, Little Missy got.  No matter what the cost.  For this child was a diamond in a sea of dirty old pebbles.  How she did shine.

Her daddy was gone away, to where, nobody knew.  But it mattered not, with such a child in their midst to tend to, he wasn’t missed at all.  They could take care of their own without him – and his trashy women and drinking.  He could stay gone as far as they cared.

They carried Little Missy to school each morning, for this child would have an education.  She would shine and shine and make all of the other children jealous, and the teachers proud.  Little Missy sat at the head of the class with her nose in the air.  She would slit her eyes and shift them to the left, then shift them to the right.  She examined the children around her and it was clear.  She was better than all of them.  They were raggedy and had dirty nails, and picked their noses.  While she, Little Missy was perfect.  A glowing star in a field of trashy, broken old toys.

When recess came, Little Missy marched outside with the rest of the children.  She didn’t even try to play with them, she was above their silly games.  If a child dared ask her to play, she would sneer at them and laugh.  “Why would I play with you?  Look at me – surely you can see that I’m better than you.”

When she would go to bed at night, Little Missy would gaze up at the stars out of her window.  Each and every one of them shone just for her.  And the moon, and the daytime sun all shone just for her.  For she was special.  God loved her best.  None could match her gifts, her talents, her intellect; for she was Little Missy Latoya.  She was born only to the likes of God.  She was perfect.  And God loved her best.

To be continued…