FOU: Until Death Do Us Part

.FOU INTRO Part 1

Intro I always knew I was different. Not only because of the fact that I was "yellow," or had dark brown curly hair which refused to stay in the bun my mama used to style my hair in on those hot summer days. No matter how many times I tried to slick down the annoying little frizzy hairs, they would just never slick down. They would rest wildly over the top of my head, the same dark color until the summer hit and lightened my hair to auburn red. Papa and I sat on the front porch as I sipped my iced tea. I looked over at him as he peacefully rocked back and forward in his rocking chair. Sticking my tongue out, I licked the water condensing on the outside of the glass jar as the ice melted, watering down my sweet tea. Papa told me to hurry up and drink it before the wasps smelled the sugar and came to sting me. Papa was always right. Those darn wasps always stung me. I should've drunk it faster. My perfect bun and a perfect jar of sweet tea weren't the only things that wouldn't stay. Something was different about me, perhaps strange ... My name is Summer, and that's pretty strange, or should I say ironic since I was born on the coldest winter night Louisiana ever experienced in '92.

It was the worst snowstorm in Louisiana's history. Actually, it was the only snowstorm Louisiana had ever experienced. My mama said as soon as her water broke, she got dressed and was ready to step outside the door until she realized that she was snowed in. She called upstairs to my papa, who rushed downstairs. After seeing all the snow, he informed her to call 911.

Three and a half hours later, I was born into the world on my papa's living room floor. Mama birthed a hazel-green eyed, unique baby with a sunny smile on what seemed like the coldest night ever. Nobody knew if I was Spanish, Black, mixed, or even white, until I got a little older and would tell everybody... I'm Creole.

I'll never forget that time I went crawfishing with my friend, Abby, and her mama. I was so happy because Papa never let me go anywhere. It was always just the two of us after the loss of my dear mama. Abby and her mama lived not too far from us on Sea Street. We had been friends for over eight years. I was 14 years old and she was 15 years old. I couldn't wait to catch some big ole crawfishes to bring back to Papa. Making sure he was happy was what I always did. I loved to see a smile painted on his handsome face.

We had been out all day, and we hardly caught anything. I started to cry. Upset that I wasn't going to be able to make Papa smile, I wanted to give up, but my determination wouldn't allow me to do so. Abby and her mama told me to stop crying. I wasn't paying them any mind. I had my own agenda, one that they probably wouldn't understand. Abby had everything in the world, including her mama, and sometimes she just didn't understand me....

My tears immediately dried up when I saw something over by the moss trees, not far from the mud we were getting crawfish from. I squinted, and it seemed as if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

"I caught another one, Mama!" Abby screamed.

I glared at the big crawfish that she had just caught. A bit envious, I must admit.

With tears in my eyes yet again, I stared down at my shoes. My shoes were wet, and the sun had started to set, making the sky a grapefruit color so red you would think it was bleeding love... I stared at the tree, and yet again, I thought I saw something. Maybe I was just hot and bothered. Or maybe I didn't see anything at all. I wiped my eyes. Grabbing a stick, I began playing in the mud, waiting for my something to bite my line. There was no way I was going to go home without bringing back any crawfish for Papa.

Hopelessly waiting, I felt myself getting angrier and angrier about not catchin' one dag on crawfish for Papa. I stared at Abby, who was walking over to me.

"Summer, you look funny. You are very pale, you just don't seem like yourself," she told me.

I stared at the front side of my hands and noticed the paleness instead of the high yellow complexion my skin normally was. GOOD! I thought to myself. I was tired of being called yellow, and red. Now I was pale.

"I HOPE ALL THESE CRAWFISH DIE!" I yelled as I jumped to my feet. "I WISH ALL THESE CRAWFISH WOULD JUST DIE!" I repeated with my fist balled up.

Abby and her mama got real quiet, a strange look crept onto their faces. As if they were frightened. Maybe my outrage shocked them a bit. At first I didn't know why, until I turned around and every crawfish in the field rose above the muddy water to catch the last bit of sunlight that God would grant us on that spring day. They weren't moving at all. It was apparent that they were dead.

I got really excited and jumped up and down. I ran over to grab a few crawfishes. I couldn't wait to take the fishes back to Papa and to tell him what I had done. He always told me that I was some sort of special. Now I understood what he meant.

"I got some crawfishes," I yelled to Abby.

When I turned around, I realized Abby was dead too. She was pale, and her face was frozen in an awkward smile. Her mama started going crazy. Started calling me a witch, calling me a voodoo queen. Saying I killed her daughter and the crawfish with black magic. The hurtful phrases hit me like punches.

"NO! NO! NO!" I cried. "I JUST WANTED THE CRAWFISH DEAD!" I yelled in my defense.

All I wanted was the crawfish dead, not my best friend. My only friend.

Abby's mama ran toward me and tried to hit me. She missed and knocked me into the swamp. She didn't stop.

"I LOVED ABBY! I WOULDN'T WANT HER DEAD!" I screamed.

Abby's mama didn't care. She swung at me again.

This time, defending myself, I grabbed her by her head, pulling some of her hair out. She grabbed a big branch off the moss tree and tried to knock the daylights out of me. It was evident that she was tryin' to kill me. Just when she went to swing at me, her arms stopped in mid-air, holding the thick branch up with no strain. She looked scared, frozen. Not even looking at me, her stare was focused behind me.

I turned around, and that's when I saw it. The thing I had seen earlier. It was a shadow. My shadow. I couldn't understand how I had seen my own shadow by the trees earlier, or how I saw my own shadow after sunset ...

__________

My papa was happy when I got home. He wondered how I got so much crawfish. After we had boiled them, I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I was yellow again. Thinking about Abby and her mama, tears began to run down my face. I was human and only wanted to be normal. I hurt just like another one would. The only difference about me was that I was some sort of special. Getting ready for a shower, I took off my overalls, and inside my pocket was the hair I had accidentally pulled out of Abby's mama's head. I didn't even realize it. Deciding to keep it, I eased it back in my pocket. I loved Abby and her mama.

Abby and her mama's bodies were never found. Soon, I realized the things that I loved would never stay. No matter how hard I tried...