One Blood

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

 

18 years earlier

1984

Houston, TX

 

Amir couldn’t sleep. There was too much noise coming from his parent’s party in the backyard. He crept out of his bedroom and down the hallway, following the loud frenetic drumming.

The backyard was right off the kitchen. Amir crossed the chilly linoleum floor and peeked out the screen door. Someone had built a bonfire and ten or eleven people were dancing around the fire pit. He located his mother. Juanita wore a loose-fitting, white summer dress with white flowers in her long, curly brown hair. Beautiful and free, she swayed to the drum’s rhythms, dancing so close to the fire her flowing locks appeared to be ablaze.

Amir searched for his father. They needed to warn his mother about the flames. Amir stepped onto the porch, not taking his eyes off Juanita for an instant.

She turned to face him and her eyes opened knowingly. Then, a shadow crossed over her features as she gyrated with greater urgency.

Amir screamed and ran toward her. His fingers touched the soft cotton of her dress and then he was flung back to the porch. It took him a few seconds to realize he was being held in his father’s arms.

“Let me go, Dad! Something’s wrong with Mama!”

“Shh, Son. Everything is okay. Your mama is okay.”

How can Dad say these things?

Juanita jumped up and down like a human pogo stick. She was dangerously close to the fire again.

“What’s wrong with her, Dad?” Amir looked into his father’s dark, lined face and saw not a trace of worry.

“Nothing is wrong, Son. Your mother is just being ridden.”

“Like a horse?”

“Exactly. Except she’s being ridden by a spirit. A loa.”

Amir was confused.

“This is a special moment for your mother,” his father explained. “She’s finally accepting the teachings of Vodun and now she’s joining with her special loa, Loko.”

“Loco?” Amir asked, reminded of the Mexican kids at school. “Mom’s going crazy?” 

She looked crazy bouncing around the blaze like a human moth.

His father looked confused for a moment, but then his face lit up. He chuckled. Whenever he laughed, his eye patch shifted.

Amir reached up and gently corrected it. “What’s so funny?”

“Your mom’s not loco, Amir. Her loa’s name is Loko, with a K. He’s the loa in charge of nature, sanctuaries, and most importantly, justice. Do you understand?”

Amir understood his father’s words, but he didn’t get how a ghost could ride a person. “Loko is a ghost?”

“Not a ghost. A spirit. Do you remember your invisible friend? What was his name again?”

“Arnold.”

“Arnold, right. Well, was Arnold a ghost?”

“No way. It was just that I was the only person who could see him.”

“Exactly, Son. The loa are just like that. You can’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.”

“But why is she dancing like she’s possessed or something?” Amir asked.

“Because she is. Your mom’s been possessed by Loko. But it’s okay. Look at her. Does she look like it hurts?”

Amir focused on his mother. She appeared happier than he’d ever seen her.

“Okay. I get it. Do I have a special spirit, too?”

His father smiled down at him. “You are a descendant of Simba, and Simba rules the sea. When you are older, I will show you how to contact him and many other loa.”

“How many spirits are there?”

“Too many to count. There may be as many loa as there are humans. Whole families in fact.”

“Are they all good like Loko?”

His father looked away and stared at Juanita for a long instant. “No, Son. They’re not all good. But they all have a purpose. Like you and me and your mother.”

“What’s my purpose, Dad?”

Again, his father turned away as if in deep thought. “Son, I think you and Loko have a lot in common. You both exist to make sure there is always justice.”

Amir thought about his father’s words and asked, “Dad, when I’m older, will I have to dance around a fire like Mom to talk to the spir…I mean, the loa?”

“No, Son. Loa just like a good party. But if you ever truly need a loa, you only have to call them…”