Ronald sat in his room biting his nails. He changed his pants as soon as he got inside. He was worried that the Bug Lady would capture his sister. He was about to go back outside and watch for her but the fear of being caught by his mother kept him firmly planted on his bed.
After about half an hour Ronald jumped from his bed and ran through the kitchen into the backyard. He couldn't let his sister be captured even though she didn't like him and broke his arm. When he opened the door Latoya was standing there covered in dirt. Ronald screamed when he saw her and almost slammed the door. She fell to her knees and began crying.
"What happened?" he asked her. She tried to open her mouth and tears flowed from her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Say sumthin'!"
"I…" Latoya said before placing her hands on the ground in front of herself. She coughed a little bit. Suddenly she wretched hard and vomited worms all over the back porch. Ronald screamed and slammed the door, peeking out the small window at his sister. She was starting to gag on the amount of worms coming out of her mouth. Ronald opened the door and slapped his sister on the back. She gagged again and one very long worm came out her nose. She spat up a bit of blood and wiped her mouth. "What's wrong with me?" she asked Ronald.
"I dunno," he replied. "What happened at her place?"
"I don't know. I mean, I got to her yard and the last thing I remember was the gate was locked. I wanted to jump the fence but something happened." Latoya clutched her head and a bit of blood ran from her nose. "I can't remember what else happened after that."
"I wanna call daddy," Ronald said.
"Daddy ain't here," Latoya said while standing and looking at the pile of worms on the ground. "Let's clean this before your mama gets back home," she said while kicking the pile into the patch where flowers should grow. "Help me do this."
"What's that?" Ronald asked suddenly. He ran into the kitchen and saw his mother trying to open the front door. Latoya kicked the rest of the worms onto the dirt that passed for the lawn and followed him, opening the door for Lucia. She walked past the two of them and sat on the couch. She lit a cigarette and exhaled it quickly, hands shaking. She hissed and the kids saw that her front teeth were missing. Latoya went into the kitchen to grab some ice for Lucia. She returned and Ronald was sitting next to her holding her hand.
"I don't want neither one of ya'll goin' over that lady's house," Lucia said. "Ever." Latoya could not even begin to imagine what happened to Lucia but seeing the look of fear in her eyes was more than enough proof as to how strong Miss May was. Latoya forgot about the pain she was still in.
"What happened, mama?" Ronald asked.
"I looked the goddamn Devil in the eye."
Miss May drove home slowly. She looked in her rear view mirror and smiled to herself. She had wanted to do something to Lucia for years now. She knew of her drug use and prostitution. She knew that God did not approve of Lucia's lifestyle.
"'A prostitute is a deep pit; an adulterous woman is treacherous. She hides and waits like a robber, looking for another victim who will be unfaithful to his wife," Miss May said aloud to herself. She turned onto her street and slowed down when she passed Lucia's house. She saw no movement inside and smiled as she continued on her way home.
Miss May was not a large woman. If you were to see her brown Oldsmobile Brougham it would appear to be driven by no one, her large hat and dark black knuckles clutching the steering wheel.
Inside Lucia dropped her cigarette on the carpet and covered her eyes as she began weeping. Latoya looked at Ronald who in turn looked at her. They had never seen Lucia cry before. Latoya took a step forward to place an arm around Lucia but thought better of it. Ronald placed his arm around her instead but Lucia swatted it away. Ronald placed his hands on his lap and sighed to himself. Latoya rolled her eyes.
"That crazy old bitch did this to me" Lucia said while pointing to her teeth. "Did ya'll do something to her?" she asked. Ronald looked at Latoya who was at a loss for words. "If ya'll did say sumthin' now or I am gonna beat the shit outta of the both of you!" she screamed at them.
"We didn't do nothin'," Latoya said. "For real."
"I went into her yard" Ronald said silently. Lucia looked at him and slapped him hard across the face. Latoya took a step forward and Lucia picked up her now half burnt cigarette and pointed it right in her face.
"Take anothuh step and I will burn the fuck outta you!" she screamed. "I ain't payin' for yo fuckin' mistakes! Look at me!" she shouted while holding up her cracked nails. "I don' need this shit…" Lucia said as she stood and ran to her room. Ronald followed her. Latoya sat on the couch and stared at Lucia's door.
"She's lost her mind," Latoya whispered. Ronald stood at Lucia's door and scratched at his cast.
"What you doin', mama?" he asked.
"I am getting' the fuck out of her!" she said as she shoveled clothes into a shopping bag. "I don' know what ya'll did but I need to be gone till this shit's over!" Latoya ran into the room knocking Ronald out of the way.
"So you gon' jus' abandon us?" she asked Lucia. "First daddy now you?"
"Shut up, girl!" Lucia screamed. "You ain't even my chil'!"
"So are you takin' Ronald?" Latoya asked.
"Jus'…shut up" Lucia said as she ran past the two of them and went outside. She walked to the front yard and stood there before falling to her knees.
"Where's ya car, mama?" Ronald asked from the front door. Lucia turned around and burned holes through him. Latoya looked down the street and saw a police cruiser slowly approaching. Lucia stood and wiped her knees off. The cruiser stopped in front of the house. The pastor was in the passenger seat and his wife was in the back seat. Ronald stepped back inside while Latoya took a step on the porch.
"This is jus' perfect," Lucia muttered to herself. The officer stepped out of his car and held the door open for the pastor's wife. He looked at Lucia as if she were a roach that he had discovered at the bottom of his bottle of cola. The pastor just shook his head in shame at Lucia.
"May I speak to you for a moment, ma'am?" the officer asked Lucia.
"Do I got a choice?" she asked.
"Not really," he replied as he stood in place near the front of the yard, waiting for Lucia to make her way towards him. The pastor waved to Latoya but she did not return it. She rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip.
Lucia slowly made her way towards the officer. She licked her lips, the sting of her gums finally hitting her. She wished that she had drank something to kill the pain. The officer smiled at her. Ronald thought he looked like a cat that had cornered a small mouse under a porch.
"What?" Lucia asked.
"My name is Officer Stevens. Your pastor here…"
"He ain’t my pastor. He's my boyfriend's pastor" Lucia corrected him.
"Right" Officer Stevens sighed. "Either way, he said that you left the church service in quite a state. Can you tell me what happened?" Lucia looked down the street towards Miss May's house. Miss May was in the front yard watering her lawn. She looked over at Lucia and waved to her.
Lucia gagged for a moment.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Officer Stevens asked.
"Yeah," Lucia replied. She gagged again and turned away from the pastor, his wife, and Officer Stevens. She looked at Latoya who stood at the porch. Latoya knew what was about to happen and covered Ronald's eyes. Lucia looked over at Miss May again who was still waving politely. Latoya covered her own eyes just as Lucia fell to her knees and began spitting out small worms.
"Jesus Christ!" Officer Stevens said as he crossed himself. "What is wrong with you?" Lucia looked up at him as a worm slowly crawled out of her nose.
"The Bug Lady…" Latoya said as Lucia arched her back while still on her knees, her spine popping loudly as if someone cracked their knuckles against a wooden door, and lurched forward, worms pouring out of her mouth too quickly. She tried to cough but her throat was too full to get air though.
Officer Stevens took a few step backs as the pas
tor jumped back into the cruiser. His wife began gagging and covered her mouth with a napkin she pulled from her purse. Lucia began clawing at her throat. Her jagged nails scrapping her raw gums. Now blood and worms poured onto the walkway. Ronald moved Latoya's hand away from his eyes and screamed.
The front of his pants wet once again.
Latoya looked over towards Miss May's house but she was now gone. Ronald ran over to his mother and began patting her on the back. Lucia shoved him away and rolled over to her side. Officer Stevens stood frozen in place. He had never seen anything like this before and hoped that he never would again. Lucia now rolled over to her back, her eyes bulging almost out of her skull. Her hand kept pulling worms out as she kicked at the ground. Latoya walked over and pulled Ronald way from her. He did not protest.
"'You shall sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleaned'" the pastor's wife said. "'You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, according to your great mercy! Glory be to The Father, and to The Son, and to The Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.'"
"She ain' t dead!" Latoya screamed.
"Yet," Officer Stevens said as he removed his gun and aimed it at Lucia.
"Stop!" Latoya shouted at Officer Stevens. Latoya ran over to Lucia and rolled her back onto her stomach. Lucia continued gagging, the flow of worms seeming to never stop. Officer Stevens cocked his gun and shoved Latoya away with the heel of his boot.
"She is dying!" he screamed. He could not stop staring at the worms that would not stop coming out of Lucia's mouth. "Haven't you ever heard of a 'mercy killing'?" he asked Latoya. "Now move back!"
"There has to be something else we can do," the pastor said. He was still near the police cruiser, refusing to get any closer. His wife was sweating profusely. The pastor knew that she would be talking about this for months afterward
He knew that he would not be able to sleep for months after this.
"What? Do you know how to perform an exorcism?" Officer Stevens asked. Just as his finger was squeezing down on the trigger he dropped his gun. He fell to his knees and gagged. "No…" he said just as spit a worm out onto the ground. "Please, God…" he muttered to himself. One worm. That was all he needed to be convinced not to shoot Lucia. He quickly got to his feet and ran to his cruiser, his tongue feeling for any more visitors.
"Get away!" he shouted at the pastor and his wife. They looked at him in stunned disbelief. "I am not kidding!" he said as he waved his gun back and forth between the two of them.
"What are we supposed to do?" the pastor's wife asked. She still had her hand on the doors handle, ready to leap in. Her husband had his hands in the air, afraid to put them down for fear of being shot.
"Pray," Officer Stevens said as he sped off, pulling the pastor's wife to the ground as he left. Pastor stared as the car vanished, hands still in the air.
"Mama, stop doin' this!" Ronald said as he squatted over Lucia. Her eyes rolled behind her head, her chest starting to rise and fall too quickly. "Mama, stop!" The pastor's wife tried to stand and fell back down. Her knees were bleeding and her husband still had his hands in the air as he finally noticed that his wife lay on the ground.
"What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay, Terry?"
"No!" she shouted as she finally got to her feet and rubbed her raw knees. "What were you doing? Why didn't you stop him?"
"What was I supposed to do? Fight him? I am a man of God!" he said. He noticed his wife looking at Lucia. He ran over to her and sat her up, more worms spilling out onto her chest. "This is impossible..." he said to himself.
"She did it!" Ronald screamed while pointing towards Miss May's house. "She did this to my sister, too!"
"Miss May?" the pastor said. "She has been a member of the church for over fifty years, boy! She wouldn't hurt a fly!" Latoya rolled her eyes and smacked Lucia on the back. The stream of worms doubled. "Let me pray for your mother…"
"She ain't my mama," Latoya said.
"It doesn't matter! She is dying and needs help! Call 911!" the pastor's wife said. She approached, covering her mouth. The amount of worms on the ground was far greater than seemed possible. Lucia weighed no more than 100lbs. The pile of worms on the ground had to weigh at least a quarter that.
"I'll do it!" Ronald said as he ran into the house, jumping the four steps in one leap. Latoya walked over to the porch and sat down. She placed her arms on her knees and looked at Lucia. She did not know how to feel about what she was seeing. It was something out of a bad movie for sure.
Worms? She knew that if it had not happened to her less than half an hour ago that she would have been more afraid. One of the joys of being a child was the "been there done that" mentality one could afford to have.
In her kitchen Miss May was washing off collard greens and boiling water. She looked over at the young boy sitting in his high chair a bit to her right. She smiled at him and he stopped swinging his legs in the air. She walked over to him and smiled again. He frowned and began sniffling. Miss May laughed lightly and went back to the sink. Another child, a boy perhaps 9 years old lightly tapped on the doorway. Miss May wiped her hands on her red apron and faced the child.
"Can we eat today?" he asked her. His face was swollen around the eyes as if he had cried for days at a time only pausing long enough to ask for food.
"I'll thank about it" Miss May replied. "Where are the rest of 'em at?"
"Upstairs," he said. "We're so hungry…" he whispered as he began to walk away.
"Who tol' you you could leave?" Miss May said. "I didn't say I was don' talkin'! That's rude." She grabbed a large pan from the counter and let it hang low at her side. "Give me your hand." The child shook his head "no" while slowly backing away. "Did you say 'no' to me?" The child shook his head "no" once again. "So I'm lyin'? You sayin' I'm lyin', boy?" she asked no one. "Give me both hands now" she said, slowly approaching as the child backed into the living room.
Suddenly he sprinted up the stairs. Miss May threw the pan at him, just missing his head as he rounded the top of the stairs. She heard multiple doors slamming. She smiled to herself and looked at the ceiling.
"Lord, grant me the strength" she said as she slowly made her way upstairs. She stopped at the third step and snapped her fingers. Walking back into the kitchen she grabbed an even larger pot and began filling it with water. She turned the stove on and placed the pot on the fire.
"'And that servant who knew his master's will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating.'"
Ten minutes later and not a siren could be heard. In this part of Los Angeles the police were never around when you needed them. Even at the age of 12 Latoya knew that. Lucia had stopped struggling to get the worms out of her mouth six minutes ago. The pastor and his wife stood over the body. They would look at each other, talk low, look at Latoya, and then back at Lucia.
After fifteen minutes and no ambulance or other form of assistance arrived Latoya stood and walked into the house. She saw Ronald on the phone. The look on his face seemed very strange to Latoya. She walked over to him and pulled the phone away. She was about to put her ear to it when she saw a small grub crawl out. She threw the phone down and grabbed Ronald by the shoulders. His face was blank. His eyes were full of tears that would not fall. Latoya wanted to scream for help but did not want the pastor or his wife to come inside.
She figured that what they were talking about was taking them away from home. Yes, Latoya hated this place but it was better than where she would end up. She doubted that orphanages were as lively as that movie "Annie" made them out to be. She ran Ronald into the bathroom and threw him into the shower. She turned the water on and let it run all over his head, specifically his ear. Small grubs poured out and down the drain. Latoya gagged a few times, not from another invasion of worms, but from the sight she was witnessing. She left him and grabbed Lucia's tweezers from her bedroom.
&nbs
p; "Another butt whippin'," she said to herself before remembering that Lucia would no longer be hitting anyone ever again.
She did not know how to feel about that.
When she returned to the bathroom Ronald was smacking the side of his head, clearing out the last of the grubs. Latoya tilted his head this way and that just to make sure all was clear. Ronald coughed and spit water on the floor. He looked at Latoya, his eyes asking, "Is mama okay?" Latoya just looked down. She handed him a large towel that hung on the door. Ronald jumped out of the shower and ran outside. The pastor saw him and grabbed him before he could reach Lucia.
"Lemme go!" Ronald screamed as he kicked at the pastor.
"There is nothing you can do, son!" he said. "Calm down and I will let you go."
Latoya stood at the doorway watching Ronald cry. She had never felt close to him. Growing up with her father she was used to being bounced around from place to place, woman to woman. She never allowed herself to get too close to anyone. But right now she felt close to Ronald. She believed it was the kind of closeness that men like her uncle Ronnie talked about when he spoke about Vietnam. She and Ronald were bonded by anger, hurt, and blood. But now she felt as if they would soon be bonded by revenge as well.
"Let him go," Latoya said. The pastor looked at her and released Ronald. He bent over his mother's body and touched her cheek. As a worm slithered out from her nose he gasped and fell backwards. He looked at Latoya and she motioned for him to come inside. He ran to the porch and took one last look at Lucia.
Miss May sat in the kitchen staring at the heating pot of water. Completely ignoring the old saying of "a watched pot never boils" she would walk over to the pot and stare at it before sighing and returning to her stool, alternating between humming to herself and digging in between her teeth with her nails. After a few minutes she saw smoke rising from the water. She walked over and placed her hand in the boiling water.
"Not yet," she said as she sat back down, the steam from the water rising off of her hand.
Miss May looked towards the stairs and smiled. For the last six decades she had adopted children from all over Los Angeles. The city, never short on children in need, always sent them her way. She would show up quoting the Bible and talking herself up as the second coming of Mother Teresa. The children would always be too terrified to speak of their fear of Miss May until it was too late.
The state rarely ever checked up on the children after they were in the care of Miss May. If they did she would put on quite a show. They were at Disneyland with her "sister." They were at camp. They were all resting and could not be disturbed. Once a child called Child Protective Services. When they arrived Miss May told them that the child had run away. They just shrugged and left, not knowing that twenty feet away in the backyard the child was indeed still there.
Not alive, but there.
The water was boiling. Miss May turned the fire off and grabbed the pot by its metal handle. A sizzle could be heard as it seared her hand, the skin cracking and peeling. Miss May just hummed to herself as she slowly made her way upstairs. As she turned the corner near the stairs she closed her eyes. The hallway was long and almost pitch black. The only light coming through a small opening in the curtains.
There were eight doors, four on each side. She shuffled past all of them before stopping at the last on the left. She heard the sound of a chair being propped against the door. She smiled and placed her hand on the door, lightly tapping it with her knuckles.
"Go away!" the small child screamed. He made sure that the chair would not budge and ran under the bed. He heard a lighter rapping on the door and covered his ears. "Stop!" He closed his eyes and placed his face on the floor. "Why are you doing this to us?" He removed his hands from his ears and there was silence. Feeling it was safe for now he opened his eyes. He could not see Miss May's feet underneath the door. He waited a few moments more and slid from underneath the bed and stood up, brushing dust from his shirt and pants. He walked to the door and placed his ear to it.
"Both hands!" Miss May shouted as her arm burst through the door.
The child screamed and tried to jump away from the door. Miss May caught him by his collar and yanked him back against the door, his face slamming against it breaking his nose. She began pulling him through the small hole, the wood splintering as he came through. It appeared as if the door were giving birth.
The child continued screaming as Miss May pulled him until just his feet were left in the room, at which point she dropped him to the floor. Now in a very vulnerable position, hanging by his feet, Miss May sat the boiling hot water on the floor. "Hush" she said as she bent down and slapped the child across the face. She then took the water and poured it slowly on the child's body starting from the crotch.
The child yelled so loudly that all of the other doors opened. Three children in every doorway. Twenty-one of them watched as the child struggled to free his feet unsuccessfully. Miss May smiled and a large cloud of smoke issued from her mouth. Even in his pain the child was still in awe of the smoke that appeared from Miss May's mouth though he'd never seen her with a cigarette.
"We should do something," a young girl, perhaps 14 years old, said to the two smaller girls with her. They looked at her as if to say "Well, you first!"
Miss May ran out of water just as the child fainted. She then took the pot and smacked it hard against his stomach. The pot left a circular burn on his exposed stomach. She then struck him again, smiling.
"Don't!" Smack. "Evuh!" Smack. "Dis!" Smack. "Obey!" Smack. "Me!" The sounds of sirens were in the distance. Miss May smiled and disappeared from the hallway. She was gone before the pot finished clattering on the floor. The doors all slammed in unison. Miss May went to her front porch and watched as an ambulance arrived at Lucia's residence. She smiled as she looked at her hand. The pot had left a deep, dark burn.
"'Jesus said to her 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever believes in me will never die.'" She rolled her hand into a tight fist. When she looked at it once more the burn was gone
"Amen."