Power of Spirit

Chapter 9: Revelations

"My mother!" Maybe she was outside the house or something. She was physically around the house when Nyakeh saw her. I figured she drove and checked on the girls and I, from time to time since we lived alone. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! When she saw me she wasn't happy. She wanted to know what I was doing there and to get out!" Nyakeh was talking like he really saw my mother. "I visited you last night to give you something, but she fought me." I thought my mother had to know something. As a mother, we have some inclination about our children. If I was this lost girl, my mother would know something about it.

"You encountered my mother while traveling in the spirit? Is that what you're saying?" I could hardly get the word out. I looked at the wall in front of me. Nothing was there. My gaze was fixed on nothing, but my mind was spinning.

"Yes, she was traveling in the spirit."

I looked all around my bedroom. I looked out the window into the woods. I could only let out a sigh. Nyakeh gave me time to think.

"Did she know what she was doing? Did she understand what was going on?"

Nyakeh giggled, but nothing was funny. "Your mother was well aware of what she was doing. She has always been able to travel in the spirit. "

"Are you sure?

"Yes! Your mother was afraid you could see or hear us. She doesn't want you to know about this."

My mind was racing! I went back to every moment as a child. Did I miss anything? Were there signs?

Nyakeh kept giving me instructions, "She is afraid you heard us. She will start giving you signs. Be mindful of things. Eventually, she will show you exactly who she is."

"Yeah, sure." I was out of it. "Um, what am I looking for?"

"Just pay attention, my Dear. You can put things together very well. I'm starting to see this as one of the things in your character."

"Thank you." I was still going through year after year. Nyakeh's voice was in the background, as my childhood played back in my mind.

Ding-Dong

"What was that sound?" Nyakeh caught my attention.

"Oh that's my doorbell!" Who would be at my house this early. My legs were heavy with all this new information. I didn't want company. I wanted to think. Walking down the stairs took more time than usual. I was heavy. My body finally got to the door, looked in peephole...are you serious? It was my mother!

I walked away from the door, as I opened it. I walked into the kitchen, pretending I had something to attend to. I turned the corner and we never looked each other in the face.

"Good morning, what are ya'll doing this morning?" She didn't follow me into the kitchen. Her voice traveled from the foyer. I wasn't a punk, so I hit a u-turn, sliding my house shoes in a perfect pivot, and walked in her direction.

"Oh nothing, the kids are still asleep. You're out and about early this morning." My mother never looked me in the face. I made my way back to the foyer, she turn towards the downstairs den.

"Yeah, I came so Simone could braid my hair. " My oldest daughter was learning to be a cosmologist. She went downstairs, I walked upstairs and waited. We said nothing else. I messaged Mr. Lahai.

Me: Hello

Mr. Lahai: Hello, Ndolagei. How are you and the children?

Me: We're all fine.

Mr. Lahai: Are you confused about your mother?

Me: Yes, sir.

Mr. Lahai: Nyakeh had some trouble with her last night.

Me: Does my mother know she can travel in the spirit?

Mr. Lahai: Yes, your mother knows what she is doing.

Me: Do you know my mother?

Mr. Lahai: Yes, I know your mother very well.

He knows my mother very well!

I walked back to where my mother was with my daughter. Everything was smokey. I guess, my daughter was burning incense. I looked down towards the den and the entire room was filled with clouds of white smoke.

"Oh my goodness, Simone what are you burning?!"

My daughter jumped, "Nothing! Why are you screaming?"

"You don't see all this smoke?" I walked down into the room. I couldn't smell smoke, but it was visibly everywhere!

"Are you sure you aren't hallucinating?" My mother's comment made me think back to Nyakeh's warning. "Girl, it's no smoke down here." She looked towards me over her eyeglasses. "You seeing things. Are you sure you're alright?"

Just like that I knew it was the truth. She had never used the word hallucinating when describing my actions. Well, not until today. She wanted to plant a seed. Everything must be a hallucination. If I HAD seen something last night, I was hallucinating.

I looked my mother directly in her eyes. " No, there's smoke in this room." My mother was still looking over her eyeglasses. Her eyes made sort of a squint, then she looked away.

Going back upstairs a specific mother-daughter experience flashed...

"Momma, why does the Bible tell us not to join in with witchcraft and sorcery, if all that stuff is make believe? Why would the Bible tell us not to do something that's not even real?" The little girl was playing with her doll, but she stopped and waited for her mother's response. "Because there's something to it." The girl's mother did a little squint with her eyes looking directly at her daughter. "There's something to it. That's why."

My voice whispered to me as I walked back up to my bedroom, "and where's there's smoke, there's fire."