you dwell for a second on what your crooked parents say. Mom told me how confused Auntie 'Yetha always was—so don't you get twisted up in it.” I laugh at that tidbit, but quiet when Chaila said, “You the shit and the realest thing in that house. You are wonderful—you need to get away from them jacked face clowns, you always got a spot in Mochai. You hear me?”
I smile up to my angel of a cousin.
“You feel me?”
“I feel you cuz.”
“Now, that we got that out the way—what's some mess we can get into? 'Cause I'll be damned if I come back near this house before night fell.”
I stand up. “You always wanted to see Zabahzkn (Zah-bahz-kin) Rirta (Weir-thuh, roll the R).”
“Zuh what?”
“The coatin' process.”
She agrees to it, we have to cross the water, so my cuz gets on my back. Chaila locks on my back. I mean LOCK. Arms around my neck, chokin' me, a leg wrapped around one of my legs.
“Dang girl. I wanna breathe.”
She eases on my neck, but gives me a look, then goes back to keeping her lids shut tight. I shake my head with a small smile, knowing how scared of flight she's always been. Lucky for her—I can't go that far with so much weight on me. My wings flap us over the stream, I land as soon as I come up on grass. We using feet the rest of the way.
The two of us joke and talk about all the crazy stunts jumping off in our life as we move through high grass. I knew we was close to the Reirta field when I spotted a hill in the close distance. Chaila was mad at herself for agreeing to all this walking with no places to stop for a cool drink—food or somethin'. I smile to her, shrugging my shoulders. We climb the hill with the strength of the stank from my folk's attitude.
On the other side of the hill I see my friendly familiar stump down below, and a strange unknown puff of smoke floating in the air. We ease on down the hill, I lead us to the familiar stack of hay. The stack is lookin' a little out of touch. Use to be nice hay seats, where the older kids would come and watch. Don't look like there's been any visitors in a long while.
I wonder why. Then again its been a long time since I even been out this way.
“Are you sure this the place?” My cousin voice hits my ear.
“Yeah,” I answer, looking over the land, “I think so.”
“That's not sure.”
I look to her, “Chaila, shut up.”
Where there use to be pillars and arches, tables, candles, tents, firehouses, and open grass plus trees, now sits a big plain pasty white building. The smoke was coming from it. There was little to no windows on the upper levels, a few big ones on the first floor. When a group of men in gray hazard suits with a symbol I never seen on the backs of the suits came into view from the window, I pulled Chaila down behind the lump of hay. We popped our heads up from behind it, noticing a small peanut brown boy being shuffled down the hall by the men.
Men! Not even Yerosai men! The group stops at the end of the hall, there was a high seat and thickener bin behind it, churning the gold. One of the scary men picks the boy up and drops him in the chair. The little boy was whimpering, tears wet his tiny face.
His insides already got coated, I could tell from the spill. Gold spilled from his ears, the sides of his mouth and gold tears stained the rim of his eyes. This is wrong. They doing the outer coat too damn early. It's not set inside if it's still spilling.
Shit, it don't even take that long for it to settle. Why they in such a hurry? By now the boy's cries raised a few decibels. I would be crying at the sight of them men around me too. Why are they wearing full body suits, like the gold is toxic?
Maybe it is to humans at this stage.
“You see that?” Chaila points to an opening on the side of the thickening machine. One of the men was pouring some gunky greenish white substance in the liquid gold mix.
I couldn't take no more. If they hurt that kid—I'm a be runnin' up. Probably get the boy, me and Chaila hurt. I pull my cousin away from this depraved, now desecrated land.
We land back by the Auiji stream and sit near it, with our toes submerged under the water.
Chaila breaks the silence, “You went through that Khez?”
I shake my head fervently, it takes effort to stop. “Naw. No. Never. I don't even know anybody who went through that shit! That place was not there when I went through Reirta! It wasn't there when Martika went through it!”
After that little episode, the two of us had nothing to say. No jokes, no stories, nothing. We was quiet for the rest of the day. Auntie Chyjan was worried about us, but didn't press the issue, knowing we wouldn't answer. The symbol I spotted on the backs of those suits found me months to come.
And would not let me out its grip. Oh yeah, let me not forget, it brought my ass a whole lot of trouble. Trouble of an exotic flavor that my taste buds were not ready to acquire.
###
Thank you for reading my short story to its end! It is much appreciated. Drop me a review, comment, a hello, anything would be lovely indeed. This is the final episode of the 1st segment. And I truly hope you enjoyed it. The season of Khezzy is far from over. The second segment is on its way! Be on the lookout baby baby!
Thank you much!
DhNAi Divine
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