At Mrs. Watson's house Latoya and Ronald sat opposite her in a very large living room. There was a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a large pitcher of milk on the table. Ronald crammed two cookies into his mouth as Latoya fumbled with one than ate it. Mrs. Watson sat patiently waiting for the children to speak.
"I wanna ask you somthin'," Latoya finally said.
"Okay," Mrs. Watson said. "You know you two can ask me anything. Well, almost anything" she added while laughing to herself.
"What do you know about the Bug Lady?" Latoya asked.
"I know her name is Beatrice Eleanor Hannah May" Mrs. Watson replied. "Not 'Bug Lady'."
"That's a lotta names" Ronald said between mouthfuls of cookies.
"She's a 'lotta' woman" Mrs. Watson said. "She has been in this neighborhood for well over sixty years. I remember her when I was a little girl."
"Man, how old is she?!" Latoya asked with far too much enthusiasm. Mrs. Watson raised her eyebrow. "Sorry."
"No offense taken, Latoya," Mrs. Watson said. "The thing is that she looked as old now as she did then." Mrs. Watson sat forward, leaning closer to the children and speaking in a lower voice as if even from the comfort and safety of her own home Miss May would be able to hear her. "I am talking about when I was a little girl Miss May was around 70 years old."
"That doesn't make no sense though," Latoya said. "That would mean she is way over 100 years old."
"I'm not saying anything. Just that she was old when I was young" Mrs. Watson said while leaning back on her sofa. "And I am now over 60 and she still alive and well. Take that however you want."
"Last night and this mornin' I was thinkin' about what happened yesterday," Latoya said.
"I am so sorry about what happened to Lucia," Mrs. Watson said.
"Thanks, I guess," Latoya said, shrugging . "Uh, anyway, I got to thinkin' 'bout how she couldn't kill my daddy with the worms like she did with Lucia and that policeman."
"Uh-huh," Mrs. Watson said.
"Well, I think its 'cause he ain't scared of God and ain't religious like Lucia was" Latoya said.
"Hmm. You're very bright," Mrs. Watson said.
"Thank you," Latoya said, trying not to blush.
"But you're wrong," Mrs. Watson said, the smile vanishing from Latoya's face. "No, child, you are on the right path. Do you know what those worms represent?"
"No," both children replied.
"Sin," Mrs. Watson said. "Well, sins more specifically."
"I ain't never sinned and I did the worm thing," Latoya said.
"Baby, we all done sinned at some point in our lives," Mrs. Watson said.
"Even you?" Ronald asked.
"Yes, even me," Mrs. Watson said. "You ever notice how Miss May looks at me? Its because she knows that I know more than I should. I have watched kids go in her house and never come out for decades now. I don't pretend to like her like most people at church do. I know in my heart that she is evil."
"Then how come she ain't tried to kill you?" Ronald asked.
"Because I have made peace with the Lord," Mrs. Watson said. "She could not kill me if she tried. Lucia, well, led a life that is not favored by the Lord." Latoya nodded while Ronald shoved another cookie into his mouth. "Who knows what that policeman did with his life? Nathaniel, as much as he has done, did everything he did for you two and Lucia. Just because a man steals bread for his family does not make him a thief."
"I think I get it," Latoya said. "Since Lucia was the way she was she, like, choked on her sins. Same for the policeman."
"Exactly" Mrs. Watson said. "'Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
"What's that?" Ronald asked.
"Matthew 5:1,12," Latoya said. "Come on, Ronald. Thank you, Mrs. Watson" Latoya said as she shoved her notes back into her backpack.
"What do you plan on doing, Latoya?" Mrs. Watson asked.
"Somethin' good I hope," she replied. Ronald hugged Mrs. Watson as they left. Mrs. Watson waved and closed the door after them.
"Or something none of us succeeded at," Mrs. Watson said as she watched the kids walk towards Miss May's house. She wished she could tell the kids more but already felt she had said too much.
As they neared Miss May's house Ronald grabbed Latoya by the hand and turned her around. She looked at him with impatience as he danced in place. She knew that he was about to wet himself and did not want to run back home and let him use the restroom. She had a feeling that if they did not go to Miss May's house right now that her mind would find a reason to put it off for another day.
"Don't!" she screamed at Ronald.
"Gimme a second!" he said as he grabbed the front of his jeans while dancing in place.
"You know I stopped peein' myself when I was like 2, right?" Latoya said.
"I ain't you, so leave me alone!" Ronald said. After a few more moments he stopped and took a deep breath. "Okay."
"You sure?" Latoya asked.
"Yeah," Ronald said.
"Then let's go," Latoya said as they made their way towards Miss May's house.
They arrived and looked at the home. It seemed much larger than either of them remembered. As soon as Latoya took a step on the walkway the sprinklers came on. Latoya smacked her lips and continued forward. A few drops of water hit her arm and legs and she screamed and jumped back onto the sidewalk.
"It's hot!" she said while rubbing her legs. "Like, hot hot!"
"Won't that kill her grass?" Ronald asked.
"If she kills people I don' think she will have a problem killin' her stupid grass" Latoya said. "Let's see if we can get aroun' some other way."
They went to the side door that led to the backyard. Ronald stopped mid-step and listened. Latoya put her ear to the fence and listened as well. She heard nothing but Ronald stayed where he was. Latoya motioned for him to come closer but he shook his head and pointed towards the door. Latoya turned around and saw the outline of someone behind the gate.
"What ya'll thank ya'll doin'?" Miss May asked before the gate exploded off its hinges. Latoya grabbed Ronald and he fell to the ground. She tried to pull him up be he would not budge. She grabbed him by his broken arm and he screamed. Suddenly he was on his feet and making his way back home. "I don't want him anyway," Miss May said. "I want the daughter of the whore."
"I wasn't her daughter," Latoya said. She tried to look Miss May in the eye but could not because of her large hat. "She was my step-mama."
"You still stink of her," Miss May said. "That's close enough for me." Miss May flew towards Latoya far too quickly for any human to have been able to. Latoya ducked, just missing a garden claw that Miss May pulled from no place Latoya could see. Latoya landed on her knees and spun just in time to see Miss May turn to face her. Smoke bellowed from her mouth and nose. "You sho' is fast."
"So are you, Bug Lady" Latoya said as she ran into the backyard. She tripped on a mound of dirt and landed hard, smacking her chin on the ground. She rolled to her back and saw Miss May slowly coming towards her.
"Your mother was not a very good woman" Miss May said. "No shame. Bringin' men into her home at all hours of the night."
"She wasn't my mama!" Latoya screamed.
"I got sumthin' special saved up for you, chil'," Miss May said. "It won't be the hot water or the worms like it was with the others" she said as she seemed to glide towards Latoya. "I am gon' savor this. I am gon' take my sweet time."
"You ain't gon' do nuthin'," Latoya said while rising up and holding her fists up.
"You gon' try an' fight me?" Miss May asked. She smiled and placed her hands in her pocket. She pulled them out and threw fistfuls of worms at Latoya. She ducked and ran towards Miss May. At the last second she ran to the le
ft and out of the backyard. "If it was that easy dont'chu thank them kids' woulda got away from me?" Miss May asked. The sprinklers shot water out at twice the previous force. The water was now so hot that there was more steam than liquid coming out.
"My daddy said you were a demon," Latoya said, trying to keep some distance between her and Miss May. "But you ain't a demon."
"You're right, chil'," Miss May said. "I ain't."
"You're an angel," Latoya said. Miss May stopped walking towards her and smiled.
"That's so sweet of you to say that," Miss May said before she continued to approach. "But I'm still gon' get you." Latoya threw her backpack down and pulled out some scraps of paper. She found one and read it aloud.
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" Latoya quoted. Miss May smiled. "Samyaza, Urakabarameel, Akibeel, Tamiel, Ramuel, Danel, Azkeel, Saraknyal, Asael, Armers, Batraal, Anane, Zavebe, Samsaveel, Ertael, Turel, Yomyael, Azazyel…" Latoya shouted rapidly as Miss May got within three feet of her.
She hoped that by saying the names of the original fallen angles, cast from heaven for revealing to man the sins of astrology and lust would do something to Miss May. Turn her to dust or make her burst into flames. But Miss May continued living.
"Ain't heard them names in a long time, little one," Miss May said, "What you know about them?"
"I know that you are evil and that God will help me get rid of you somehow," Latoya said as she tripped and landed hard on her bottom. The steaming water burned her hands as she grabbed at the grass and mud.
"Penemue!" someone shouted from behind Latoya.
"I suggest you run along home," Miss May said. "This ain't none of yo business."
"But it is" Mrs. Watson said. Ronald stood behind her, clutching her hand. "This has been going on long enough. It's time you went Home."
"I am home, you whore!" Miss May shouted as she glided towards Mrs. Watson. "Shamsiel?" Miss May said as she stopped within inches of Mrs. Watson's face. "No. You ain't Shamsiel. But you some kin, ain't you?"
"They nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee…" Mrs. Watson said. "…as a man."
"You won't be doin' nothin' to me, 'Mrs. Watson'," Miss May said. The smoke coming from her mouth so thickly now that even her face was obscured. "You teach these people sacred gifts and have the nerve to judge me?" Miss May laughed as she took a few steps away from Mrs. Watson.
"What the hell is goin' on?" Latoya asked aloud. "Are you an angel, too?" Latoya asked Mrs. Watson. Ignoring the question Mrs. Watson walked over to Latoya and helped her up. When she touched her arm Latoya felt a warmth she had experienced only once before.
When she was maybe 3 years old she had gotten separated from her mother at a grocery store. Just when she thought she would never find her again she appeared around an aisle and ran to her. She picked her up and gave her a hug that seemed to absorb her. There was so much love in that contact. Pure love. This is what she felt right now. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head it felt so good.
Miss May smiled and screams could be heard from inside her house. Everyone looked up and saw flames licking at the curtains like hungry snakes.
"You do a lot of talking for a scribe, Penemue" Mrs. Watson said. She moved Latoya behind her and closed her eyes.
"'Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church'," Miss May said while smiling.
"You twist your own words" Mrs. Watson said.
"'If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son then shall his father and his mother bring him out unto the elders of his city. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die'," Miss May said while looking at Ronald who ducked his head behind Mrs. Watson.
Latoya stepped from behind Mrs. Watson and looked directly at Miss May. "You changed so much of it to make it look like He was the bad one, huh?" she asked.
"As only an entrusted scribe could," Mrs. Watson said as she looked at the children. "I want you two to go and help those kids inside, okay?" Latoya and Ronald nodded. "I don't want you to see what is about to happen." She knew that she was only delaying Miss May for the time being.
"What's gon' happen?" Latoya asked.
"Sumthin' cool," Ronald said with a tinge on disappointment.
"Go now," Mrs. Watson said.
"You let them go an' they ain't comin' out alive" Miss May said. She removed her hat and dropped it to the ground. "How long you know sumthin' 'bout me? Huh? You stay 'round lettin' all those po' kids die, for what? You too scared to stop me? Yeah, that's it." Miss May rubbed the back of her neck and coughed into a cloth. She dropped it, worms dripping over the sides. "Thang is...you don't know everything 'bout me."
Suddenly a flash of light hit Mrs. Watson. She was being bombarded with so many images and sounds that she almost prayed for death. Miss May wasn't just an old servant of God. She was a plague on humanity.
She saw Miss May naked in what appeared to be Africa. She saw her being burned alive, laughing, as hundreds of villagers called her a witch.
She saw Miss May, hunched over, covered in filth, but smiling being brought over on slave ships to America.
She saw Miss May standing alone surrounded by hundreds of dead slaves as the ship arrived. Miss May being whipped by slave masters and not only smiling, but laughing.
Miss May being hung yet not dying.
Miss May buried alive and digging herself free.
Miss May at the funeral for Abraham Lincoln's son.
Miss May hiding in the hills watching the country expand West. Miss May settling in a young Los Angeles.
Miss May's multiple marriages.
Miss May digging hundreds of graves and humming to herself
Miss May watching Mrs. Watson as a child.
Inside the house Latoya and Ronald held hands as the smoke began to fill the downstairs area. They heard shouts and screams from upstairs and slowly made their way up. Holding onto the handrail they found their way to the hallway where all the children were kept. Ronald grabbed one of the doorknobs and pulled his hand away screaming. It was so hot it glowed red.
They felt the house shake. Latoya thought she heard Mrs. Watson shout. Latoya ran to a closet and found some towels. She almost dropped it when she saw it was crawling with grubs. She shook off as many as she could and wrapped it around the doorknob and twisted. It would not budge. Ronald tapped her on the shoulder. Latoya turned and saw he had a large ax in his hand. She took it and reared back, holding the ax over her head.
"If you by the door, get back!" she screamed as she brought the ax down on the center of the door. It made a vertical hole in the door. Immediately it was filled with crying eyes. Pleading eyes. Dying eyes. "Move back!" she shouted as she hit the door again. Hands began pulling away at the crack in the door.
"Do it again!" Ronald shouted as he began to cough from the smoke. The house shook once more. Latoya motioned for the children to move as she swung the ax so hard the handle broke in the center. The door cracked even further, enough to allow arms to reach through. She and Ronald now helped the children pull the door apart at the hole. Suddenly a small boy of maybe 3 was shoved through. He lay limp in Latoya's arms. The hole got bigger. Two more small children were shoved through. Latoya kicked the door making the hole large enough for the four children inside to squeeze their way through.
"Who left?" Latoya asked while covering her mouth. Not just because she could barely breathe due to the smoke. But also because the children smelled so terribly.
"That's all of us," a boy of maybe 13 replied. "She took the others last night."
"How many others?" Latoya asked. She did not actually want to he
ar the answer.
"Ten," a small girl said. Latoya felt tears well in her eyes. Not so much from the thick, choking smoke that filled over corner of the house than from the fact that if she had done something sooner ten more kids would be alive right now.
"Everyone make a chain," Latoya said. "Don't let go, no matter what!" They all held hands, Latoya holding one of the smaller children and the older children holding the others under their arms. They slowly made their way down the stairs.
"This is the part of the movie where the stairs buckle underneath us and we all dangle above some huge hole filled with fire" Latoya thought to herself. But the stairs held fast. They made it towards the front door when suddenly there was a scream from the back of the human chain. It was Ronald. His pant legs were on fire. "Somebody grab some water!" Latoya shouted as she handed a child to one of the children and ran to her brother
"Help me!" Ronald shouted as he tried putting the flames out with his hands and his "cast." The plastic on his "cast" burst into flames as well. One of the children shouted from the kitchen and ran back into the living room.
"The waters too hot!" he shouted.
"I can't let my brother burn to death!" Latoya screamed as she tried to put the flames out with her backpack. Ronald rolled on the ground as he was taught in school to do if you ever found yourself in a situation many prayed they never would. "Stop it, Ronnie! You jus' makin' it worse!" A large beam from the ceiling cracked from the extreme heat and landed on Ronald's back, just missing Latoya. The flames burned her eyebrows it was so close. Ronald stopped moving. His face was frozen in fear. His mouth moved a few times like a fish that had been suddenly removed from its tank. His eyes fluttered and his mouth closed as his head thumped against the floor.
"We gotta go!" one of the children screamed as he stood near the door. "It's about to burn down!"
"Not without my brother!" Latoya shouted. "Help me! Somebody…help me" One of the boys grabbed her by her underarms and dragged her through the front door and out onto the porch. She tried to punch and kick herself free but the boy held her. They all landed hard, coughing and spitting soot from their mouths. Some blowing it out of their noses. All around the front yard neighbors stood and watched. None of them had intentions of helping.
People still talk of that day. The day it rained fire and thunder on one street in Los Angeles. Over time it became more of a myth than of a day where lives were lost far too soon. On that day one child died saving seven. Latoya still visits Ronald's grave every month to place new flowers. She still sees Mrs. Watson sometimes but it is not the same.
Latoya is in college and it gets harder and harder to make time for lengthy conversations. Coming to her old neighborhood always fills her with dread and regret of what happened that day. Her father Nathaniel told her to never speak of what happened. At least not what really happened.
"They'll lock yo ass up in the puzzle factory talkin' that crazy shit!" he would say.
Once in a while Latoya will go to the spot where Miss May's house was. A church was built in the location where Miss May's house stood was burned down before the first sermon could be spoken. The city tried building a playground there but no child who knew of the Bug Lady would play there and the stories of her kept new kids from even attempting to venture further than its fence. After much searching and investigations they discovered the remains of over seventy-eight bodies. Two adults believed to be Miss May's husbands.
The rest children.
Years later at her fathers funeral Latoya sat with Mrs. Watson. She looked much older than Latoya remembered. She still had the same smile but the warmth she had felt that day so long ago was not the same when she touched her.
"It's almost time for me to go Home," Mrs. Watson said to Latoya.
"Are you scared?" Latoya asked.
"No," Mrs. Watson replied. "No one should ever be afraid to go home." She sighed and took Latoya by the hand and looked her in the eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No one."
About the Author:
Dante D. Ross was born in Los Angeles, CA. After being spat out onto Earth he decided to spend most of his free time reading, podcasting, blogging, drawing, and avoiding the pitfalls of boredom. He hopes to one day grow up to become Batman.
And he writes. He writes a lot.
E-mail:
[email protected] Blog:
www.dantania.blogspot.com
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