Black Girl Magic

Chapter 3

All I felt when I woke up was an excruciating headache and body aches all over the place. I groaned as I came back into reality quite unpleasantly. I felt a cool hand touch my arm gently and say, "Kaveri, sweetie, don't move too much." Then the voice yelled out, "Harper, she's awake!"

I opened my eyes slowly, recognizing the voice of my aunt Lisa. She reached up and smoothed my hair back from my forehead, where I finally realized a cool towel was resting on it. I reached, pulled the towel off, and tossed it to the side. After a few more moments, I realized I was lying in my bed underneath the covers. Someone had changed me into some pajamas and tucked me in.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and my mom rushed to my side, saying, "Oh, Kaveri, my baby! How are you feeling?" I tried to speak, but only a horrible rasping noise came out of my mouth. Mom said, "Here, have some water, baby." She reached toward my nightstand and handed me a glass of water that had been sitting there. I took several deep gulps and then sighed in relief. I was finally able to croak out, "Mom, what happened? Who was that woman? What is going on? What did I do?"

My mom's eyes suddenly filled with tears, which was very surprising. My mother rarely cried, and I only really saw her break down when dad died. After a few years, even that had turned into a wistful smile when she thought of him. Her being ready to cry meant that whatever we were about to talk about was bad... really bad.

She said, "I promise I will tell you everything, but first, let's get some food in you and get you in the tub. Then we will talk, ok? I need you to get your strength back, honey. I promise that we will talk, ok?" I nodded, knowing that my mom would keep her word, only she was worried about me right now.

She said, "Lisa, can you go down and grab Kaveri a bowl of that vegetable soup? You can bring it up here to her on that tray I keep in the cupboard." Lisa stood up, kissed me briefly on the forehead, and said, "Welcome back, baby girl." She then left the room. My mom turned to me and said, "You've been knocked out for quite a while. You had no major injuries except a few bumps and bruises. It's already 6 p.m. You've been out of it all day."

I just looked down at my hands in shock, still trying to wrap my mind around all that had happened. I didn't want to speak again quite yet, quite sure that the only thing that would come out of my mouth was a scream. The memories of the night kept flooding my brain, and I was pretty sure I was seconds from a full-blown panic attack. My mom grabbed my chin gently and turned me to face her from where I was lying; he said, "Kaveri, baby, breathe. I know it's a lot to grasp right now, but I need you to take some deep breaths for me. I promise nothing will happen to you. I will do whatever I need to protect you. Just relax, baby."

Looking into my mother's eyes, I let out a quick breath. I inhaled deeply and then exhaled again. Mom smiled encouragingly, beginning to breathe with me. After a couple of repetitions, I was feeling a little better, barely, but it was an improvement regardless.

Lisa returned with the bowl of soup, and I sat up to begin eating. Mom ran out to run me a bath in my bathroom. Once I finished eating, I tried to get up by myself, but I felt weak. Mom and Lisa helped me up carefully. Mom wrapped my hair and tied it up so it wouldn't get wet, then she led me carefully into the bathroom and helped me out of my clothes and into the hot, scented water. She had added some bath salts, and the water felt wonderful on my skin and helped ease the tension in my muscles. My mom turned the lights low and told me to call her if I needed her. I took the time to soak for a while, feeling much better in hot water. I felt a little of my strength returning to me.

When I was ready to get out, mom came back and helped me out and led me back to the bedroom. I was feeling stronger now, so I told my mom she could leave me while I got dressed. She said, "I called Stella and Terrance to come over; they should be here shortly. Besides them witnessing the event and deserving an explanation, they are your best friends. The strength and comfort your friends can provide will be a good thing...I smiled weakly and said, "Thanks, mom." She smiled and said, "When you are finished, come on downstairs if you think you can make it on your own. If not, one of us will come up and help you. I nodded, and she backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.