Page 12

A sha’s D ivine I ntervention.

Asha Avery

“I barely have any service out here,” I said as I looked at my phone.

“Yeah it’s kinda a dead zone once you venture outside of the school,” Souxie replied from the back seat. Maggie sat up on the wheel of her car, driving down a dirt road with nothing but headlights guiding the way. “But this is where I read about the sacred waters…Some of the first bodies of water created here in the Underground.”

“Leave it to Souxie to always read something,” Maggie muttered. “I can barely see anything. It’s just grass and dirt. Do y'all even see the school anymore?”

I looked back before ducking my head to peek through my window at the side view reflection. I could barely see Drew Collins in the background but the rest of this place was just open fields. If we went into another direction, it might be the highway that led to civilization but right now…it was a deadzone in every sense of the word.

“How much gas do you have?” I asked, leaning over to check.

“Namir keeps it full so we have some time to get lost if we need to. ”

“We’re not lost.” Souxie said in her usual but unnecessary seductive tone. “We just don’t know where it is but we are not lost.”

“However you wanna word it.” I sat back in the seat with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Sacred waters…” Souxie read out loud. “The very first natural spring that formed on its own in response to the magic being born here in the Underground. Just outside of Cedar Park, if you walk within the whispering trees, and prickly vines…you will see blue waters that breathe on their own…this natural spring contains hidden secrets, magic, and qualities only known to certain sirens when touched…”

“And what if this is just some bacteria infested puddle?” Maggie asked with a sarcastic flippant tone. I could see the bags underneath her eyes and the distressed white hair, still and dry to the touch. That sorority was running her ragged. I told her she didn’t have to come. It could have just been Souxie and I but she insisted, claiming she didn’t want to miss anything and thought she too could learn something about herself.

“Y'all look…” Souxie said as she looked back. I turned around before leaning to the side to peer out of my window. “The school is completely gone. I don’t even see any lights…”

“Ahhh shit,” Maggie muttered when the road became bumpy. We were traveling on a dirt path as the crumbling pavement faded into a few rocks here and there. Everything ahead of us was pitch black outside of the ray of lights from the car. I decided to roll down my window, feeling the sharp wind hit my skin but I smiled when I was able to feel the moisture in the air.

“We’re close,” I said. “I can smell water.”

I stretched my hand out with my fingers wiggling in the blowing air. I captured the wet moisture, slapping my skin as Maggie drove further into the darkness.

“Do we just follow this path?” Maggie asked.

“Uh huh,” Souxie replied. “According to this old map. It’s a single path that will eventually come to a stop. Then we get out and trek through the woods.”

“You better get in this damn water too, Asha,” Maggie said through her teeth as she looked at me. “I mean it. You better dip a toe, a foot, an arm and doggy paddle in that bitch.”

“Maggie!?” I laughed. She always catches me off guard when her watered down Atlanta accent comes out.

“I’m for real! This place gives me the creeps…Whatever this…place…is.”

“It’s not so bad.” I smiled as I watched my hand take in the water droplets from the air, soaking into the skin. I sat up and peered through the side view mirror at the darkness behind us, chasing behind the car like a cloak or shadow.

“Does anybody know we left?” I asked. “Did y'all tell Lovely?”

“I did,” Maggie nodded as we slowly turned the corner of the path. We started to come up on a row of trees on each side of us, turning the dirt path into a slither of space for one car, maybe even smaller. We were squeezing into nature’s darkest corner as Maggie rolled her window down to smell the air with a long inhale and exhale of her chest.

“It smells so fresh and clean out here…”

“It does,” Souxie agreed. “Which means that water is probably just as nice.”

“Oh!” Maggie freaked at the same time that I sat upright. We came to a slow stop where the edge of the woods met the pathway. It was a total dead end. There was nothing but the looming trees that shot into the air, swaying gently from side to side and us…in this car staring back.

“Alright so do you have the flashlights?” Maggie asked as she cut her car off. We started to gather our things, having packed a small bag with a change of clothes for all of us. I would never say it out loud but anybody would kill to have the type of homegirls I have right now. They were about to get in the water with me without pressure from me. As much as Maggie talked, there was no doubt she would at least attempt to get in the water with me.

“I have the candles, the lighter…some sage,” Souxie muttered, counting everything in her duffle bag. “We should be okay.” Maggie nodded with a scratch of her head.

“You think this spell is going to work? ”

“I hope so… Maybe Asha talking with her ancestors…and seeing her family might change something in her,” she said.

I stepped out with a stretch, feeling like we’d been riding for days before looking around.

“I’m going to try and record as much as I can for Isis. She would love anything to do with witchcraft and water,” Souxie said as she pulled out her phone. My head turned to the sound of a stick breaking, snapping in half like someone stepped on it as I turned towards the woods for a listen. Maggie and Souxie were busy recording themselves in the camera but it was something in the air…something other than water. Did they not realize it?

“ Hey guys, welcome back to our channel…Water witches… We are here in no man’s land .” Maggie said into the phone as Souxie laughed. “ I’m the moon witch…”

“ I’m the black witch ,” Souxie said. “ That over there is our very own water witch…The very first siren ever created … Asha, come say hi to the camera…”

“I don’t think we’re alone,” I said suddenly as Maggie’s face fell flat.

“Don’t start your shit–––”

“I’m not joking!” I laughed. “I really think something else is out here! ”

“Well let’s hurry up and do this so we can get the hell back,” Maggie said as she let the chirps of her car alarm go off.

We peered over Souxie’s shoulders as she stayed in between Maggie and I, holding up a torn paper of the map she took from the book. Maggie had her flashlight from her phone pointing straight ahead while I constantly kept my head on a swivel. I don’t know where the fuck these girls grew up at, but I didn’t play these kind of games. Anything and everything could happen if we weren’t cautious of our surroundings.

“Do you hear it?” Souxie whispered. “Listen…Stop walking.”

We came to an abrupt stop as I closed my eyes, listening to the sway of leaves and branches. The light crackling noise of sticks and twigs breaking but just in the background of all of that, I could hear the water running. The three of us stepped forward, keeping close to each other until we came up on a small opening where we could see water stretching out like a dark field.

“This is it,” I whispered, pushing past a low hanging branch. I ducked my head as I came up on the edge of the woods that overlooked the body of water. “It has to be it. ”

There was a wooden dock that stretched out towards the middle of the lake that looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. The wood was chipped and dented like the boards could snap in half at any given moment or hint of weight.

“Let me set up,” Souxie said as she dropped her things on the ground. Maggie came up to the edge as she bent down. She didn’t touch it but simply stared close enough to where the water rippled around her. Her white hair fell against her backside, coming down to the sides of her face as her fingers lightly hovered over the dark water.

“Do you feel anything?” I asked.

“My spidey senses are definitely tingling,” she said. I sucked my teeth with a roll of my eyes as she laughed. Never serious, this girl. “Well go on… You said you’re getting in.”

“Aren’t you getting in with me?” I pleaded with a pout.

“I already said I would dip a leg in now, come on.”

“Birthday suits ladies,” Souxie said. She reached to take her black sweatshirt off. “The way we came into this earth is the way we need to enter this lake.”

“I can’t believe I’m about to do this shit,” Maggie mumbled. “If I’m not getting in all the way, can’t I just pull my sweat pants up?”

She stuck out her leg from the black joggers .

“All of us have to get in and use our energy to channel her ancestors. Asha won’t be able to do it on her own,” Souxie explained. “If we’re kind…the lake will not let us drown.”

Maggie and I looked at each other, sharing the exact same face, but said nothing. I stripped down to my bare feet, and pulled my locs up, letting my scars be exposed to the cool crisp air. I felt myself picking at my face, feeling the dry scar become crusty to the touch. Maggie tossed her bra and panties by the bag. Souxie was already nude and busy lighting the candles to take to the edge of the dock. She walked first, feet bare with a slow but determined strut before kneeling down to place three white candles together. She took a piece of chalk to draw a star and whispered a few words to herself.

Maggie was scratching at her thigh when she looked around before looking up at the sky.

“This is really some white girl hollywood movie shit,” she said. “Somebody is going to die–––”

“Why would you say that?!” I fussed before laughing. “Nobody is going to die. This isn’t the movies.”

“Y'all come on,” Souxie beckoned. “And walk slowly… the dock is literally a floating board at this point. ”

The moment I stepped onto it, I felt it shift to the left before gently floating back to the right. She was right. The water was right underneath it.

“Asha wait,” Maggie called out. I reached back without turning around as my hand waved in the air for hers until I clutched her fingers in mine. Souxie lowered herself down onto the dock before turning around to dip into the water.

“Be careful of the candles…” Souxie warned. “The flames are used as guided lights for your ancestors below…We want them to feel comfortable enough to come to the surface…”

“Whatever the hell that means,” I heard Maggie mutter behind me. We came up to the edge as I slowly lowered myself down, seeping one leg in before the other. “My cooch is all exposed to the damn wind–––”

“We never got to talk about Namir pounding that cooch did we?” Souxie asked Maggie with a daring tone and a raised brow.

“She said she had sex with him in his final form,” I repeated. Souxie let out an airy gasp.

“Nooooo!”

I laughed before briefly closing my eyes, feeling the shot of cold water hit my body as I lowered myself into the lake. I quickly turned around to hold on to the edge of the dock. Maggie was the last to get in as she clumsily stepped in the lake like she was stepping in a tub of ice. She too held on to the dock seeing as neither of us could swim but Souxie gently floated on her back closer to the center of the lake.

“Let go,” she egged on. “You’re not going to drown. This feels…different. Can’t you feel it? It’s not like any other water we’ve ever experienced…”

If I was going to push myself, this was part of it. So I slowly pulled away, letting go of the edge of the dock and froze. My body felt like it was being carried by the water, keeping me upright before Maggie let herself go.

“I told you,” Souxie said with an uppity tone. “Now come on…let’s call on your ancestors…I want you to relax, Asha… Breathe and open yourself up…”

I closed my eyes as I felt Souxie take my hand and Maggie take the other. We were floating in a makeshift circle. I could feel my scars pulsating, breathing and taking in the water.

“This is craaazy ,” Maggie whispered. “We’re literally just standing in the water…My feet aren’t touching anything…but I feel like something is holding me up.”

My eyes flew open at the thought but Souxie squeezed my hand .

“Please ignore her and just concentrate, Asha…I don’t want to say the spell without you being present and ready…”

“I’m ready,” I told her before peeking one eye open at her. “I swear I am…I…” The words fell from my lips. I watched the ripples surround Maggie like rings circling her body but instead of flowing out, the water was flowing towards her, pulling towards her as she let her hair dip all the way into the water.

“Maggie is the energy we’re going to use to call your ancestors,” Souxie said with growing excitement.

“ I’m the what now ?” She let out but Souxie jerked my hand for my attention but she too was changing. Her eyes were blacked out with not a hint of white or human left in them. She looked demonic when she grinned, pressuring me to sink deeper into the water and think about my past. They were both changing. Almost as if the water was showing their true form and before I could say we needed to get out, I felt a body…a presence come up behind me in the water.

“We need to get out of this water!” I shrieked, trying to cling towards Maggie with my arms flailing. Suddenly whatever was holding my body up was no longer there. When out of nowhere, a large webbed but scaly hand reached up from behind and wrapped around my neck to grab my face. Maggie screamed as another hand came up to wrap and cover my forehead, pulling me all the way back into the water to be dragged beneath the surface .

That light … The flicker of flames from the candle above the surface and the legs of Souxie and Maggie wading in place were the only thing I could see. I panicked, fighting the invisible weight that was trying to sink me deeper into the water as everything started to become darker. Something was pushing my forehead down, fingers cornering my face, and pinning me down far into the depths. I was struggling to hold my breath until it became pitch black. I felt a hand squeeze at my jaw tight before attempting to pry my lips apart with their fingers.

“ Breathe…Asha …”

I gasped, sucking in the water as my body jerked, wriggling about in the water until…I felt weightless. I was just floating. Did I drown ? Naaah because I’m still conscious…I know exactly what the fuck is going on…I opened my eyes at the murky dark green water, seeing remnants of structures made of stone before watching a shadowy figure of something swim towards me. There was no face but the body moved like something that only belonged in water. I watched in complete awe the wisp of black scales, as dark as oil, glide above me. Beautiful brown arms stretched with scars the same as mine going down the spine, breathing. You could see water floating in and out of her body and the outline of her legs and feet within the dark tail fin before she disappeared.

“ Breathe…Asha …”

The voice was telling me to release another breath into the water. I suddenly found myself gasping for air as I broke through the surface. Panicking, I looked around before clinging to the edge of the dock to pull myself up before collapsing on the planks of wood. Coughing, I rolled over on my backside as I stared at the night sky. No stars. No moon. Nothing. Just darkness and trees surrounding it. I sniffed as I sat up before coming to my feet.

“Maggie?!” I screamed. “Souxieeeeeeee?!”

There was nothing. I started to walk back towards the woods when I heard something. It was faint but it made me pause for a listen. Screams… Someone was screaming. I slowly turned around to face the lake again before walking back down to the edge to stare at the dark water. There were screams…cries. Thousands of cries coming from the water. Slowly, I kneeled down to get a closer look when a tiny brown hand shot out of the water, breaking the surface barrier. I jumped back, covering my ears from the high pitched screams before looking to see dozens of black faces pressed against the surface pleading for help. Some of the women had scars like mine slashed across their face and the scales. Those same scales that looked rich in color and made of glass…some even looked to be made of pure gold and silver were pressed against the surface like a cage. They began poundi ng and slapping at the water, I shook my head as I backed up.

“I can’t…I can’t help you!” I screamed, trying to yell over the cries. “I CAN’T HELP YOU! I CAN’T GET IN THE WATER TO HELP YOU!”

I heard the tiny voice yell please and it sounded vaguely like it belonged to me. I was drawn back to the edge of the dock with one hand sticking out. The webbed fingers clenching and squeezing at the air and then I saw her face. The round cheeked face of the baby girl with scars identical to mine being pushed to the surface by dozens, hundreds… If I looked further out into the lake, there were thousands of bodies beneath crying for help. Her sharp brown eyes had a certain glow burning like a flame was lit within her.

With my trembling voice, I cried out. “I’m sorry! I can’t… I can’t help you!”

The glowing light was dimming, falling deeper into the child’s eyes like she was becoming distant. So I touched her tiny hand in mine. Hoping to hold on to that little light, even if I felt like I couldn’t do anything, touching her would feel like I was trying to save her, but the screams of the lake turned to high pitched shrieks. Violent splashes of water began hitting in different directions. Something was happening. Something was happening! I could see the deep red clouding their bodies as scales began floating like pieces of skin being torn off. They were being attacked! Why weren’t they fighting back?! Why were they just looking to me to jump in and save them?!

“FIGHT!” I cried as their eyes pleaded within the water. “FIGHT BACK!”

Something was terrorizing and killing them off one by one as the cries became less and less. I tightened my grip on the girl’s hand, searching for that faint flicker of light in her eyes as they began to cling to her.

“Let her go!” I screamed. “LET HER GO! I CAN’T SAVE ALL OF YOU!”

Why was she the only one who could stick her hand out in the water and the rest stuck behind this invisible barrier. “I SAID LET HER GOOO!” I cried, desperate to pull myself away from them until I saw the attacks coming closer and closer. Then I heard the voice scream out, brEATHE ASHA ! Without hesitation, I pulled her body up at the same time I fell in. Trying my best to shield her as we sunk deeper into the water with bubbles forming around us. The water was so loud, so strong, and thick against my body but I held on to her, protecting her from whatever was killing them, killing us.

I didn’t know or care about knowing how to swim. It didn’t matter anymore. Breathing became natural to me like it was air above ground as I held on tight to her frame until she disappeared like black liquid smoke in the water. There was nothing…nobody but me… I slowly spun around, feeling so natural in the water as I looked down at my body, seeing the faded scales. I hadn’t even noticed my scars even when admiring my body in its natural state.

It was so quiet…My thoughts…the voice inside my head was whispering for fear of disrupting the space. I never thought water could feel like this…Just…I stretched my arms as my body arched back, dipping into a full circle before spreading my fingers to see the webbed skin. I felt the weight of something wrapping around my legs, propelling me forward like a tail fin but looking down at my body, I was still as naked as I came into the water.. I felt my true form like a protective cloak around my body. Even my locs began to grow like vines, soaking up the water as they danced. I have never felt more beautiful, even with my scars. They fit so beautifully in the water that I couldn’t help but smile through the water, releasing bubbles through my teeth.

How could I not love myself when I look like this? Ughh…I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cuss myself the fuck out because why ? Why did I let myself fall so low when I look like this?! I slowly spin around in the water, taking command of the lake as my own domain before catching a glimpse of the small orange glow of light. I began to feel the growing weight of energy behind me…clinging to me but it didn’t feel heavy… I felt power. Strength. I felt like the presence of every screaming voice, cry, and plea from before was suddenly behind me, pushing me forward towards the surface. These are my ancestors…My family, and I was carrying them with me when I broke through the water for that candle light, hearing them collectively say,

“ Breatheeee Asha …”

I am the last of my kind. I now had some sort of understanding and knew how I needed to carry myself going forward…