Everything Started Here With You

The Beginning pt.1

When Sha'Kera lost her parents....

"Alright, Keke," Mia scolded and crossed her legs Indian style. "Do it again and I'll hit you in the mouth."

"I didn't do nuftin," Sha'Kera said and crawled around her mother. "That was--that was daddy."

"The lies you tell, my little munchkin." Mia smiled and closed her eyes. "Come join mommy in her afternoon meditation, little one."

"B-but, I don't wanna. It boring."

"I didn't ask that, now did I?"

"...No."

"Good. Now, come join me or you won't be getting that surprise I was talking about earlier."

"Rweally?"

"Yes, really. Come now, Keke."

Sha'Kera bounced over to her mother and sat in front of her. It had been a couple of months since her mother became a full-fledged hippie. It wasn't bad, but she continued to make her daughter meditate over nothing when everything was going well. Her father didn't care for this and chose to work all the time.

"Mommy, what are we mediating for?" Sha'Kera asked.

"Meditating," Mia corrected. "We're just thanking the universe for our existence."

"The unaverse ain't a person. How will it hear our thanks?"

"...Keke, darling, I don't have time for this. Just cross your legs and close your eyes. Think happy thoughts, my little munchkin."

Mia cleared her thoughts and thought about the problems that were happening all around her. It was wrong to keep her daughter a part of such a world, but she had no choice. José wouldn't let her choose to give their child away to keep her safe. After five years he chose to keep her around. Keep her in harm's way everyday.

"I'm boooored." Sha'Kera got up and began dancing around her mother. "Will the unaverse hear my thanks now?"

"Sha'Kera Michelle Nicole Alvarez Davis!" Mia's eyes snapped open. Her daughter stopped dancing and hung her head in shame. "I'm about to call your papa to tell him you need a spanking. Do it again."

"What did she do?" José asked as he walked into the living room. "Refusing her afternoon meditation again to the universe?"

"That's not funny, José. She needs to learn to obtain peace in her heart and mind. If she continues to disobey me, I'm going to turn into a true Black mama."

"Please, stop with this hippie stuff. The next thing I know, Keke is going to be prancing around the house yelling, "Peace and love, my father". I don't have time for this."

Mia got up from the floor and went to hug her husband. She knew that he was stressed about everything happening too. He always got a little antsy whenever he had been thinking about something. Especially involving the safety of his family. José hugged Mia and breathed in her scent.

"Ew, get a room," Kera yelled and gagged. "Can I eat now? Mommy wouldn't let me eat lunch."

"Again, Mia?" José sighed and smiled. "The girl is only five. There's no way she can survive four hours without any lunch."

"She can and she will. We had a huge breakfast. I'm not even hungry yet," Mia said. "Are we going to talk to Jessie tonight?"

"...Unfortunately. Hopefully it's just a short meeting. We'll be back in time for Keke's baptism."

"You're still going through with that?"

"Yes. It's a part of the Catholic religion."

"I'd rather my daughter be an atheist than a Catholic."