Black Beauty

by Constance Burris

  His mouth felt suddenly dry and his tongue felt too big for his mouth. "I didn't say you were dangerous."

  "He's lying. That's why he looks so scared," Latreece said with a wry smile that stabbed his heart.

  Crazy Jade stepped to him, her freckles jumping on her cheeks. "What do you know about me?"

  Sean's heart pounded and black spots danced in and out of his vision. Run, Sean! he heard his mother say. He obeyed the voice from his past and ran.

  Sean paced in his living room. Fear induced adrenaline coursed through his body. He should have hated Latreece for what she'd done. But Latreece didn't know his past. No one knew. He'd listen to Latreece talk for hours about her mother's death. But he'd lied, and told her his mother had been killed by a mugger.

  Eva Accra was born with the cursed ability to see past magical illusions. She saw elves, trolls, and other strange fey creatures, who tried to hide within the human world. They used a magic called glamour to appear human. Most fey were harmless, but a few were dangerous. They were the ones who lived off the pain and suffering of humans. They were the ones who made it a point to kill any human they knew could see past their illusions.

  Eva Accra knew her three-year-old son had the same curse when he pulled the ears of a dwarf glamoured to appear as a child.

  Luckily, the dwarf had not been dangerous, but Sean was no longer allowed outside. Condemned to the house, he spent his nights studying literature, math, and history with his father. He spent his days learning to recognize and avoid fey creatures. Eva taught him to pretend that the wavering shimmer he saw over a fey's true form was real. He practiced not staring, while not completely avoiding the creatures either.

  On Sean's ninth birthday, his mother decided to test him. If he passed, he could attend public school and play outside with other kids. If he failed, assuming he wasn't killed, he would have to endure another year isolated indoors, watching other children play outside from his living room window.

  They decided the test would be at Times Square, the busiest place in New York. It was where humans, tourists, and monsters gathered to buy and sell everything from food and clothes to whatever fey bought whenever they believed no humans were looking.

  The ruckus of tourists talking about their plans and posing for pictures with Batman, Elmo and Mickey Mouse was like the sounds and sights of freedom to Sean. The smell of pizza, cigarettes, and body odor made him dizzy with happiness.

  He ignored the troll with green skin and protruding fangs that sold his caricatures for ten dollars apiece and the talking horse that everyone saw as Batman. He smiled and looked past the old, waif-like creature, glamoured to appear as an old lady while she sold magazines and newspapers. He'd spent most of his life learning about the fey, so these creatures were boring to him. He had not been taught about people, and that was all that interested him. He stared at people with olive-toned skin and eyes the color of sand, black African women with their brightly colored clothes and thick accents. There were guys cruising for guys, girls flirting with boys, and New Yorkers hurrying to and from work.

  By the end of the day, he had passed his test, and the following week, he was enrolled in the neighborhood school.

  A year and a half later, the Accras took a trip to the Boardwalk to spend the day at the beach. While William Accra dozed under an oversized umbrella, Sean and Eva left to buy peach sodas and candy from one of the cheaper corner stores a few blocks away from the overpriced vendors on the boardwalk. While his mother searched for soda, Sean browsed the aisles. Reggae music played over the loudspeakers and the spicy smell of jerk pork from the street vendor found its way into the store.

  The candy was on an aisle next to the bottles of scented oils and air fresheners. He was reaching for a package of sour apple flavored Laffy Taffy when he saw it.

  The monster stood in front of the Hershey milk chocolate bars. Sean had seen plenty of fey since being off house arrest, and it had been easy to pretend they were normal humans. But this thing was unlike anything he'd seen or had been taught to avoid. He couldn't tear his gaze away. The weak shimmer around the monster made it appear around the same age of his father. It had neat brown-tipped dreads that stopped at its shoulder.

  As Sean stood transfixed, a woman wearing a yellow bikini top and cut-off jean shorts smiled and winked at the monster. She couldn't see that he was actually naked and that black ooze dripped from all of its orifices, including the tip of his penis. His long, thin arms reached past its knees.

  It smelled of death and magic, and the scent made Sean's eyes water and his throat tighten. After the creature smiled and winked back at the woman, his gaze found Sean. Without warning, everything went black.

  Sean felt like he'd been removed from his body, as if he didn't exist anymore.

  The calming warmth of Eva's calloused hand pulled him back from nothingness, reminding his soul it existed.

  "Baby, are you okay?" she asked.

  Sean blinked away the confusion and looked up. Worry etched the creases of her black-brown eyes.

  "Is this your son? I thought he was lost," the monster said with a perfect New York accent.

  "No, he's not lost." Eva wore a strained smile. "I'm sorry. I hope he didn't bother you."

  "He had an accident," the monster said. They followed its gaze to the yellow puddle pooling on the floor around Sean's sandals.

  Eva's smile faltered, showing her own fear in front of the monster.

  "I'm sorry, Momma. I couldn't find the bathroom," Sean said, finally remembering his training. His heart thrummed in his chest, but he forced himself to relax. He hoped the monster would believe that he'd blacked out because he was trying not to piss himself and not because he's been so scared his bladder had released.

  "Boy, I told you to hold it," Eva said, faking embarrassment and anger. "Now, I have to take you home to get you cleaned up." Without saying another word, she dragged Sean out of the store.

  Once they passed the end of the street, they ran. Eva was a big woman with long, sturdy legs, but for once Sean had no problem keeping up with her. They rounded the corner of a building, a few yards from the beach, when the creature dropped out of the sky, blocking their path. It landed on all fours with a wicked toothy grin. Eva and Sean spun, turning to run in the other direction. It leaped, jumping over their heads to face them once again. Sean's heart dropped to his belly as he realized they were going to die.

  Eva let go of his hand and widened her stance. "Sean, run."

  The monster lunged. Eva grabbed its shoulders. It snapped its jaws at her, but the pair was matched in strength and his straining mouth couldn't reach her.

  It may have been a monster, but his mother was just as big and just as strong. She held it fast, locked in place while it fought her. Sean looked around for help. But no one paid them any attention. People passed by as if the three of them didn't exist.

  "Run, Sean. Go get your father." Eva's face was strained with determination. "This monster is weak. It only looks scary."

  He obeyed, running so fast he felt like his chest was going to explode.

  When he returned with his father, Eva lay on the ground surrounded by sobbing onlookers. Her throat had been ripped out and shreds of skin, muscle, and bone lay exposed for the world to see. Her eyes were open, and she still had the hard look of determination she had worn when Sean had left her. Blood trickled from her throat and eased towards Sean's flip flops.

  Sean and his father left New York that night.

  It took five years for Sean to stop waking in the middle of the night with nightmares. It took a year for him to gather the courage to step outside without expecting to see Eva's murderer. It took him another three years to stop seeing Eva's lifeless body every time he closed his eyes. But he never got over the guilt. It was his fault his mother had died. It was his fault his father was alone.

  There was no shimmer on Jade, but she still reeked of magic, and he'd seen fey creatures coming and going from her apartment. So, he'd kept his dist
ance from her. But Latreece had outed him, and he'd run, just like he did eight years ago. He was not running anymore. He wasn't going to let Jade hurt Latreece.

  Like his mother, he would stand his ground and fight. He was going to get Jade to fix Shemeya and Ashley, then he would get her to leave Latreece alone.

  When Sean gathered his nerve and left his apartment, Latreece and Jade were nowhere in sight. The empty playground and basketball court of Vista Apartments slumbered as if it waited for the kids and ballers to return and bring the complex back to life. His father had wanted to leave Vista a few years ago after he'd received a promotion from the hospital, but Sean had pleaded to stay. This was his home. Vista Apartments was the first place he'd felt safe after they fled New York. The people here were his family.

  "Andre?" Sean tapped his knuckle on the door. Andre competed with Sean on the basketball court and for girls, but he was the closest thing Sean had to a brother. He'd even tried to hook Andre's mother up with his father. But William had made it clear he wasn't having any of that.

  "What do you want?" A voice asked from behind the door.

  Sean turned the knob on the unlocked door and tried to walk into the apartment, but Andre pushed from the other side.

  "Andre, let me in," Sean insisted. He'd always been allowed in their home anytime he wanted.

  "Man, go away. I'm busy," Andre said.

  "I need to talk." Sean pushed the door. Andre may have been taller, but Sean was stronger. When the opening was wide enough, he hopped into the apartment.

  "Damn!" Andre cursed. He wore a black hoodie, and he kept his head down like he was trying to avoid eye contact.

  "Are you sick?" Sean asked. "Why weren't you in school this morning?"

  "Yeah, I'm sick. You need to leave before you catch it." Andre backed away and lowered his head.

  Sean smelled it: the effervescent scent of magic.

  "What's wrong with you?" Sean reached for Andre's hood, but the boy moved away. As if they were on the basketball court, Sean anticipated the dodge and moved in the other direction, parallel with Andre, and pulled off Andre's hood.

  As the hood fell, roaches scattered across his face, running away from the light.

  Andre yanked the hood back over his head, but Sean couldn't un-see what he just saw.

  Sean swallowed the bile and regret rising from his belly. "Damn. Jade got to you, too?" he asked, sick with guilt.

  "I'm fine," Andre snapped. "We've just been having roach problems."

  "Roaches don't move over a person's face."

  Andre's façade cracked, and he wept. "Oh my god. What am I going to do?" he asked.

  As Andre cried, bugs ran across his hands and disappeared underneath his hoodie, but Andre didn't seem to feel them. "It just started this morning. I'm scared, Sean. What is my mom gonna say when she sees this?"

  Guilt settled into the pit of Sean's stomach. If he'd done something about Jade when he first found out, this whole thing could have been avoided. But shoulda, woulda, couldas wouldn't change the past. He had to do something now.

  Sean forced his gaze back to Andre. "Come with me. You're not the only one. She's been messing with Shemeya and Ashley, too. Maybe between the four of us we can fix this."

  "I'm not cutting my hair." Shemeya stood in the doorway of her apartment with her hands across her chest, and her dreads tied back in a ponytail.

  "That's not why I'm here. Can we come in?" Sean asked, checking to make sure Jade, and especially Latreece, were nowhere near.

  Shemeya narrowed her eyes and glared at Andre, who was fidgeting with his head down, acting like he'd just robbed a store. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

  "That's what we need to talk about," Sean said.

  She turned up her top lip as if she smelled something bad. "Okay. I guess. But don't try nothin' silly, because I will stab you and him."

  "You don't trust me after everything we've been through?"

  She furrowed her brow. "I trust you, but I ain't stupid."

  When they were safely inside the apartment, Sean made sure to close and lock the door.

  "Okay. So, what's going on?" she asked, her suspicion replaced with curiosity.

  "Show her," Sean said to Andre.

  "No." Andre lowered his head and turned away.

  "Show me what?" Shemeya asked.

  "She'll understand. She's going through the same thing," Sean insisted.

  "I don't see anything crawling on her face?" Andre said, anger straining his voice.

  Understanding flashed in Shemeya's eyes. "Jade got to him, too?"

  "Yeah," Sean replied, relieved to share the burden. "Can you show him what she did to you first?" Sean asked Shemeya.

  Her eyes glittered with excitement. "I've been practicing." She removed her hair tie and ran her hands through her dreads, shaking her head like she was an actress in a damn shampoo commercial.

  After a few shakes, her hair rose as if her dreads were attached to helium balloons. As they rose and came towards Sean, the hair fell back, and the five snakes he'd seen a few days ago smiled and hissed in his direction. If she had a few more snakes and wore a white toga, she'd look like the Medusa statue he'd seen as a kid in a Washington DC museum.

  Andre's hood had fallen off, and he cowered against the wall. Fear radiated in his eyes as he stared at Shemeya and her snakes.

  Shemeya's mouth dropped open. "What the hell is that on your face?" The snakes' hissing increased tenfold; they snapped at him in response to Shemeya's shock.

  Sean covered his ears and got between them. "I told you. He's like you. Call off your snakes."

  Shemeya stepped back and raised her palms in defense. "I'm not covered in bugs. Gross."

  Andre stood straighter, finding his courage all of a sudden. "Girl, I prefer bugs to those damn slimy ass snakes."

  She stepped towards Andre, the snakes riled once again. "My snakes are not slimy."

  "Well, my bugs are not gross," Andre insisted.

  "What the hell?" Sean shouted, unable to believe the conversation he was hearing. "Both of you are crazy. You are covered in bugs. And you have snakes as hair!"

  "Calm down," Shemeya snapped. "And don't scream at me in my own home."

  "Yeah, man. Calm down." Andre's fear had disappeared, and now he sounded just as prideful as Shemeya.

  "Did Jade do that because you said all black girls look like cockroaches?" Shemeya asked Andre.

  "Man, you heard about that, too?" Andre asked, rubbing the back of his head.

  "That's what you get. You're lucky she didn't turn you into a roach completely."

  Sean shook his head. The strangeness of it all sank into his gut and made him feel like he was living through an episode of the Twilight Zone. "Will y'all listen? I have to tell you guys something." He needed to tell the truth before he lost his nerve.

  Andre laughed, the bugs moved anew on his face. Some even crawled out of his mouth. "You see fairies?" He looked around, mockingly while he sat in Shemeya's living room. "Are there fairies flying around my head?"

  "There are roaches crawling in and out of your mouth, and you're laughing at me?" Sean asked, sitting next to Andre. The day felt too long, and the frustration seeped into his tone.

  Andre lifted his hands in defense. "Hey now, I was just joking. Why you gotta start insulting me?"

  "Talk, Sean," Shemeya said. "Why do you keep talking about fairies?"

  "I can see fey. Monsters."

  "So," Andre said.

  "We're monsters, and we can see each other." Andre motioned towards Shemeya.

  "I'm not a damn monster," Shemeya snapped.

  "They're not just monsters," Sean interrupted before they could start arguing again. "They're fey, beings from another realm."

  "Another realm?" Shemeya drew each syllable out.

  "Let me finish," Sean said.

  "Yeah, let him finish," Andre said. His bugs stopped moving, and they focused their hair-thin antennaes in Sean's direction. "Go ahead.
I like a good story."

  "So Jade is fey?" Shemeya asked after Sean told them about his mother and how she died.

  "I'm not sure. I can't see her as a fey. She looks human, but she smells of magic, and she has fey coming in and out of her house."

  Shemeya paced back and forth in her living room. Her snakes were lying still on her head, nestling each other. "You see fairies. Your mother saw fairies. You were young and kept looking at the damn things, so your family moved to the middle of Oklahoma. Eight years later, you see fey here, and then we turn into monsters." She stopped mid stride and turned to Sean.

  "But you're not sure if she's a fairy?" Shemeya asked.

  "Not a hundred percent, but she does things humans aren't supposed to do," Sean answered.

  "Like turning me into Medusa and Andre into a bug boy."

  "We sound like super villains," Andre said with a hint of humor.

  "We would make really cool super villains," Shemeya added, laughing.

  "This is not a joke," Sean insisted, confused by their laughter. Were they going crazy on top of everything else? "We have to fix this."

  "You're right," Andre said, all humor gone. "If my mom sees me like this, she's gonna trip. They'll hide me away for my entire life, and I'll never get another girl."

  "Maybe you can control it," Shemeya said to Andre. "I have mine under control."

  "Really?" Andre and his roaches looked at Shemeya expectantly. "How?"

  "Relax," Shemeya began. "Think of them as your friends, as an extension of your arm." Shemeya stood tall, and her snakes rose, swaying side-to-side. She shined with triumph and satisfaction. "Now, you try," she said to Andre.

  Andre stood and faced Shemeya and Sean. The whites of his teeth and eyes contrasted sharply with the hundreds of brown and black roaches that scampered across his face. He breathed deeply. By the fifth inhale, the bugs began to disperse into Andre's clothes until they were completely out of sight.

  "Woohoo! You did it." Shemeya's snakes bounced as she jumped and clapped.

  Sean watched them both with a sense of dread. He couldn't let them live the rest of their lives as freaks, even if they seemed to be accepting it. "Come on, guys. We have to come up with a plan."