The Light's Calling

Chapter 7

As we waited for my mom to pick us up, he asked me if what I felt was my gift, my light. But, I had no idea. I was obsessing about it ever since Destiny took the picture, but I couldn't even fathom what it could possibly be because I wasn't doing anything special when Destiny took my picture.

I remember it clearly, and I began to describe that moment that my light came out in hopes that maybe Anthony could figure out what was making it do that. What brought out the

light? I didn't know what to focus on and what to not focus on, so I just started to tell him every detail that I could remember about that moment.

He smiled as he pieced together the moments. To him, it was like a jigsaw just waiting to be put together. All of the pieces wanted to be together in that moment only to make sense of what had happened at another time.

"Tell me more" he requested, but I told him that it would need to be saved for another day.

Before I knew it, my mom was pulling up in her car, and we were jumping in.

I felt warm and snuggled into my seat. My head went back and next thing I knew I was home.

Anthony wasn't in the car, and I woke up to my mom's jingling keys.

"You like him, don't you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"Anthony, honey. He makes your heart skip, doesn't he?" She said with a grin on her face.

"Mom, please. He is just a kid I talk to." I responded.

"C'mon, honey. You can tell me if you have a tiny crush on him" she said.

"Oh no! Never. Boys are like so ewwww,"I answered.

"He must like you then" she said.

"Mom, can you change the subject please? I really don't want to talk about this, especially with you". I replied.

"Okay, okay!" she exclaimed.

I ran into my room thinking about what had happened, but before I could reflect on it, my mom burst through the door and told me to get ready because she wanted to take my brother and I out for dinner.

I wore the prettiest dress I could find because she was taking us to a fancy restaurant in the city. As we piled into the car, I looked over, and I noticed that my mom looked amazingly beautiful. She had fixed herself up, and she looked as though she were part of an elegant painting like one that would be hung up in a Nubian palace. My mom was the person who gave me my unconventional beauty. My mother had the looks of an Egyptian queen. She had this full head of hair that she loved to wear in locks, natural, or nestled under a scarf. Her hair was down to her shoulders, but when she let it out of the locks, you could tell, if it was straightened, that it would go just under her elbows. She rarely straightened her hair, and she mainly wore it natural like me. The texture was a mix of course and soft, and the feel of it could be seen in its movement. The way her hair felt reminded me of the comfort of wool, and I loved to help her put it into locks when she was styling it. I felt the texture, the oils, and the products my mom carefully picked off a shelf every 3rd Sunday of the month when we went to our local beauty supply store. When we went to the salon, she would never take less than 2 hours to get her hair done, and she always came out looking like her idol, Iman. I couldn't wait until I had enough money to get my hair done like her. I imagined all the different styles I would do, and I loved looking through black hair magazines at these beautiful women who were all shades of brown; From the lightest model to the darkest, each one of them had this rich, flawless skin without a single blemish.

"Mom, what's up with the new look?" I asked.

"What do you mean, honey?" she responded to me as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Where did you get that dress?"

She quickly answered, "What do you mean by that?"

"Where did you get it?"

She smiled and told me that it was an old dress she bought with my dad, but she never got to wear it out anywhere. It made her feel like there was hope for a new life when she wore it. It reminded her of dad while still giving her a sense that someone else could love her at least a little close to the way dad loved her. I didn't think it was possible, and to be honest, I didn't want it to be. My mom was meant to be just for my dad, and no other man should like her because she was technically never divorced.

When we arrived, there was a man sitting at the table where Destiny and her mom were. I looked through the window and waved at Destiny when I caught her looking around for us.

There were 4 empty seats, including the ones for my brother, mom, and I. As I walked slowly behind my mom, a man walked up to our table and introduced himself to all of us. He said he was Karma's brother. Who is Karma? I thought to myself, but then I noticed he resembled Destiny's mom, and I found out that was her brother. It's nice to finally find out her name, considering I am going over to her house to raid the fridge and leave no tip for every wonderful meal she had prepared for Destiny and me.

"How cute is my uncle?" Destiny said as we lowered ourselves into our seats.

"What do you mean? And why does it matter?" I replied.

"Elijah" he said. At least that is what I think I heard. He was a well-dressed man, and he looked to be about my mom's age.

He kept saying nice things to my mom, and I know it was because she looked absolutely stunning. My mom seemed to want to stay with him for a date. I know it had been a while since she had been out without us, but it just didn't feel like the right time, not today. As I sat there wondering about the interaction between my mom and this strange man, next thing I know, we are walking away from the table and out of the door. Karma offered to take us home, but it didn't make sense because my mom had brought us, and it only made sense that she take us home too.

"I will see you all later tonight, honey," my mom said as she waved at us from the table.

What is happening? I thought to myself. Why was Karma even trying to find my mom a boyfriend. She was perfectly fine without one, and what about my dad? What would he think if he knew she moved on so quickly. I know it's been like 4 years since dad died, but still, that's just not enough time, and why is this guy even single at such an old age?

I jumped into the car next to my brother even though I didn't really want to, but I was not happy on the ride home. Destiny sat in the front with her mom, and all I could hear were clicks of the camera.

We were finally home, and my brother opened the door to let us in. I'm happy we can finally stay home alone because my brother is 15, but it sucks at the same time, especially at this moment because while we are stuck at home, mom is on some last-minute date with some man we have never met.