We followed behind Delilah who reached into her purse swinging by her side and grabbed a few coins. Just at the small tunnel entrance that had flickering lights leading to the underground, was a man sitting in the corner nodding off. Homeless with a simple worn black baseball hat on, and thick plaid covers on top of him, she leaned in and dropped the coins in his hat. Muttering a few words as his eyes slowly opened to look at her.
“Pay dues to those before you…Before you can enter at the crossroads, always pay and hope the spirits invite you in,” Delilah said as we waited. Piercing whites of the man’s eyes peeked through the slits with a trembling neck, he nodded towards her before closing them again.
“Keep up, and keep close,” she said as our heels scuffled and clicked against the uneven ground into the tunnel. Large old abstract paintings of black figures, dancers, slaves, and rappers decorated, and stretched the walls. One painting in particular seemingly following us with its eyes, holding a trumpet against his wobbly legs, and curved arms in the midst of blowing. I nearly fell flat on my face when the painting gasped like he was about to blow out a loud note before the picture became still once more.
“Wait a minute, what was that?” I asked, looking back frantically. “What just happened? What is this place?”
“Ohhhh,” Francesca beamed, clinging to my arm excitedly. “I promise you this world goes so much deeper than you can imagine. You’re going to have so much fun tonight, watch.”
Just as soon as she said it, my mouth dropped at the sight of the crowded Underground. Music playing from all different directions with black people from all walks of life walking around. Everything from the colorful shops selling food, artwork and clothes to spiritual readings, to bones, raw meat, worldly trinkets.
“Oh my God,” I laughed just as a pair of arms slunk around Francesca’s shoulders as she screamed before turning around. Seeing a pretty dark skin girl with a white, almost blinding white fro smile and give a shy wave. Wearing a gorgeous white bodycon dress to go with her hair, and heels.
“Indigo!” She screamed, hugging her. “Ahhhhh! Finally we get to meet!”
I felt a tap on my arm seeing a girl standing proudly with her hands on her hips, looking off to the side. Large bantu knots circled her head like a crown. Each knot having gold hoops dangling from the center with her silky edges swirled in a unique pattern. She wore nothing but a crop burgundy tube top, and wide pants that had splits from her hip bone to her ankle. Exposing her entire leg. She was so pretty, almost didn’t look real with her bangles on each arm, and a nose ring. Even had a pretty gap in her teeth that didn’t take away from anything. She looked like a beautiful black I dream of Jeanie with more shape, and certainly knew how to pose. Suddenly smiled at me with a wink.
“How I look?” She asked, striking another pose. Accent unrecognizable. “Am I overdressed? I see niggas lookin’ but I just wanna look like I’m over my sorry ass ex, but I’m not tryna fuck just yet because I may run back to him. All while tryna give off that vibe that these hoes, spirits or otherwise can’t fuck with me or my vibe.”
“You look amazing!” I laughed. Not knowing why she came up to me, but she suddenly linked arms with mine while smiling at the reunion of Francesca and Indigo.
“Hi! I’m also your cousin, Tallulah Skye, nice to finally meet the girl the elders are so obsessed over,” she said as my eyes grew wide, looking at Francesca.
“You’re a----.”
“Long story,” she laughed.
“Hey?!” Delilah yelled, looking back at us as she kept Pia close. “We don’t have all night.”
Crowd seemed to grow as we slunk one behind the other with Tallulah still hanging on to me. Group of guys that towered over most of us girls did a double take at Pia, and her shape before one pointed down at her while cupping his mouth with the other hand. Short dreads dangling above his brows.
“YERRRRRR!” He hollered, pointing at Pia. “Another one!”
“Ugh, fucking New Yorkers with that bullshit ass call,” Tallulah muttered, keeping me close as I looked up seeing an arm stretched over my head with a point.
“BADDIE IN THE RED!”
“Boi move! She’s not interested!” Tallulah snapped as we looked back, watching the boys laugh, and joke. Slapping hands with one another with one glancing back just as another pointed at a group of girls walking together.
“YERRRRRR!”
“What are they doing?” I asked her as her sharp dark eyes looked at me. She was almost animalistic in the way she stared before smiling.
“Counting. They can tell you’re different is all. Young niggas tryna scam on pretty girls. Don’t pay these chiren’ no mind,” she waved off. “This place is full of the same lames. As it is above,” raising her henna print hand with the flip of the wrist. “So it shall be below,” rolling her eyes before they grew wide with excitement. “Ooo! Delilah! Lilah Bean!”
Delilah turned around, looking wildly around for her nickname before nodding. Someone was selling colorful, bright yellow and pink drinks in small bottles, and mason jars.
“Take one,” she said, handing me a small mason jar as she paid the woman. The rest of the girls but Delilah ended up getting one to drink.
“These are called honey jar drinks. Usually homemade,” taking a sip through the striped straw as she closed her eyes. “Very complicated drink to make but when done right,” pulling back as she smiled. “Shit will get you lit very fast. No alcohol needed. Try it. Usually make the best ones in New Orleans or Charleston, but Atlanta is tryna come up on the vibes I see...Go on, try it.”
I took a sip, and almost collapsed. Knees buckling at the sweet taste traveling down my throat.
“Told you sis,” she laughed before linking arms with me. “I’m tryna piss off my nigga back home so I’m gonna be on my hoe shit tonight,” looking around as I took a few more sips.
“I just want to forget that I’m supposed to marry a cheating jerk,” I stated with my nose in the air before diving back in for this drink.
“I’ll keep your front, if you’ll watch my back.”
“Okay,” I giggled as we continued to walk through the underground.
“YERRRRRR!” Another boy yelled in the far distance as I felt someone knock into me. I looked up, feeling hands grip my shoulder seeing this tall light skinned man with a fitted cap, and shades on.
“My bad baby, it was the only way I could get yo attention,” pulling up his jeans only to pull out a crumpled piece of paper. “Wanna do me a favor, can you sign right here----?”
“She’s not interested! Keep it moving!” Tallulah snapped, forcing him to move on to the next group of people. “Stay clear of anybody wanting you to do them a favor or sign something. Those are what you call collectors... They’re about to come at you with all types of shit because they peep your energy. Easily tamper with it.”
I just nodded dumbly, looking around at the liveliness of our surroundings. In the far off corner there was a group meditating in their own world. Sitting on mats with their eyes closed while another side was a freestyle battle. Black people like I’ve never seen them before. Pia was getting just as much attention as I with people constantly grabbing on her arms while Francesca, and Indigo walked in pairs like they belonged together. It wasn’t until after a few more sips of the drink did I realize what was going on, and what I was in the middle of. All five senses opened to the possibilities.
“You see those girls right there,” Tallulah pointed, holding her mason jar in hand as she slurred in my ear. “Ones standing like they’re on display. All types of makeup, and weird hair with tattoos and shit. Trying so hard to fit into a place that didn’t call on them.”
I studied the eccentric girls thinking they looked no different from her. The large afros and the painted fingers, one even had the nerve to draw a third eye in the center of her forehead. Just between her brows as she walked towards us with a smile instantly landing on Tallulah. Her green nails were long, two sharp fangs in her mouth,
and makeup that made her brown complexion looked grey. She blinked slowly.
“Eye see,” pointing to her third eye. “You. I see you for what you really are. Can eye,” pointing to her drawn up eye again. “Give you a reading? Free of charge of course…I’m a clairvoyant. Born with a gift, and curse. I was able to hear voices and see spirits when I was younger, and----.”
“Aht aht! Save me your story you found on an Instagram post,” Tallulah let out with her hand in the air. “You’re a fraud, and it's disrespectful for you to even approach me with this----.”
“I’m not a fraud, eye,” pointing to her eye again. “Know exactly who you are, and what your future holds. You’re a lost soul----.”
“You’re a girl trying to keep up with the trendy times! You’re a fraud, you and every other bottom feeder in here tryna profit off of dummies. You see me? No bitch, EYE” pointing to both eyes, “Been seen’ch chu. Be gone fraud, you’re embarrassing me in front of my best fran. Go play with them chiren’, don’t play with me,” waving her on as the girl stared at her with wide eyes. I took a sip of my drink, looking from one cooky girl to the other before she stormed off.
“Got some nerve with them Party City fangs in her mouth. Trying to come up to me to tell me my future, girl! Girl, you’re playing pretend, I’m the real deal boo!” She yelled after.
“You’re what she is?” I asked curiously as Tallulah’s dark eyes beamed in my direction. Blinking wildly with a quick flash glazing across the dark pupils.
“I’m what she pretends to be. Some call me a shaman, shawoman...I prefer medium. My daddy says I’m a prophet of the spirits. My totem is a grey wolf. Whatever path she takes me on is usually what I pay attention to the most. She’s around here somewhere,” looking around as I began to imagine a wild dog-like beast wandering the underground. What the hell is she talking about anyway? Was she serious? Was it the drinks? “I don’t go around advertising it like these people do,” she muttered. “Not drawing some crusty third eye on my skin to stand out either. I just got my acne under control,” touching her cheeks as I laughed.
“Is everybody here like you, or Delilah?” I asked as she snorted in an uppity manner.
“No, and that’s the problem. Majority of these people are trying to fit in because they’re looking for something to believe. Somewhere to belong to. Although it's different people here for different beliefs, just have to keep an eye out for it. You have your spirits. The night time like this is for them...Plates of food you see laid out where nobody is touching it, those are offerings...All of this from the music to empty chairs is for them to have a good time. You have your messengers,” pointing to a girl rushing through a crowd with a book bag. Curly hair bouncing like she was in a hurry to get somewhere. She whipped her head around to look back as if she was running from someone only she could see. Her mouth was covered with a pink bandana wrapped around, just above her nose before she turned away, and ducked off.
“Runaways are usually what they’re called in the streets...Homeless...Always say, be mindful of the homeless. They see everything, and might be there to serve a purpose greater than ourselves. No official home of their own,” she kept on. Refusing to get too deep. As if this magic talk wasn’t already out of my range. “Fucked up family situation they rarely go back to, kind of like Ben. Fallen messengers…. Guardians and arch spirits. Omens...and collectors are some fucked up people so be careful. The nigga who tried to get you to sign something?” She piqued before snapping her fingers. “Sign yo name, full name on that paper…. Something bad could happen to you within the next few days. Sometimes hours. Have to be careful. You have children of orishas, priestesses, medicine men, totems like myself and Delilah...Sirens,” pointing to a girl standing on display in high heels and a skimpy outfit. Prostituting herself. “Can undress a man, and take him for everything he has without him even knowing it. You have some folks who make up the seven deadly sins in some form or another. I just like to call em scammers and thieves because that’s what they are. Either way, we’re all Moon Children as a few elders like to claim. We are awakened with the sleep of the sun.”
“What about Francesca?” I asked, looking at my supposed sister-in-law. Trying not to laugh at how ridiculous she sounds describing a scene directly out of the projects of Harry Potter.
“Dream catchers, very rare. Communicate with people, past loved ones or otherwise through their dreams. Like an upside down reality for them,” Tallulah beamed before seeing the roll of my eyes. “You don’t have to believe me, but drink enough of that honey jar. You’ll see what I was born to see. We identify with our black Native American side more than the African side but it's all the same. We all come from the same place, then you have people like you and Pia who make up the underground...Regular girls with energy that can be tampered with, which is why you need to be careful…I think where we’re going will be more filtered. The right nigga around here will get into that mind, body, and soul with a single look,” staring me down. “Have you stripped, naked, and ran through. Left for dead somewhere, but the dick would be good at least. It’s the least they can do.”
“We have purified crystals for sale! Pyrite! Quartz! All types! Over here!” Another voice yelled out as I looked at the small vending shop that had buckets full of colorful crystals. “Handmade mojo bags! Custom made for you!”
“Smudge sticks! We have smudge sticks!”
“Ladies! Cleanse that puss! I got custom yoni eggs!” A man blared out wearing costume jewelry, and a long weave. Not bothering to hide his thick goatee, and bushy brows as he crossed between feminine and masculine. “I got rose quartz depending on the length, and thickness you need! Please and love yourself the right way! Fellas, I got the right beads to push up on that prostate! Best pleasure a man could ever feel!”
“Wait,” I laughed, grabbing Tallulah to bring her close to the vendor selling sex objects. I eyed the bright pink crystal that was as thick as a sausage, but long enough to rival a footlong. The man stepped in front of me with a smile, chucking my chin up to look me in my face.
“I have just the one for you baby sis,” he said before turning back into the small store connected to his station. Watching him sprinkle herbs and powder into a brown paper bag before walking out and handing me the lengthy black stone in the shape of a basic dildo. Wrapped a gold string around the bag and patted my hands.
“Free of charge baby girl…Enjoy,” he said with a wink before yelling out at another customer with a slap of their hand. “Nah uh, you got to pay for that. Don’t try me.”
“Look how big this is!” I gawked inside the bag, smelling the sea salt, and lavender spices he put inside.
“Charge, and cleanse that first before you use it. Let it sit in the sun. Rain water to rinse, warm water to clean, then dip it once in cool water and let it dry. Come on so we don’t get left behind.”
Everyone looked the same. Just more eccentric, and eclectic. Girls wore their natural hair. Painted tribal markings on their face for decoration while the food was the same from hot lemon pepper wings to large turkey legs. Yet the difference lies in the details. Tallulah grabbed my arm, pulling me further to the side as she called out to Delilah for a pitstop.
“We’ll be in here!” She yelled before we ducked our heads over the drooping colorful beaded scarves and fabric hanging for sale by a vendor. “C’mere, I want to show you something.”
Standing just in front of the entrance of a small doorway that stretched back like a never-ending trailer, we took one step into the store, feeling the cold air as I looked around at the shelves filled with mason jars. Candles that stretched, and arranged by color from dark to light with books on the opposite side. Skull heads decorated the glass counter, and crystals were held inside the cases. I could see someone sitting at a table in tears with her hand out to a woman wearing a headwrap as they spoke softly in private. The woman kept her eyes on us, watching her store with suspicion until she nodded towards Tallulah before focusing back on the girl in fr
ont of her.
“What is this?” I asked, seeing Tallulah look at a jar of feathers with wide eyes.
“Curios shop,” she said before holding up another jar with something wrapped inside towards me. “Monkey’s Paw. Very hard to find. I doubt if it's even real, but if so…. can do a lot with it.”
“An actual monkey’s paw?” I repeated, seeing her put the jar down as she moved on to the next. The entire store smelled like blended spices and herbs I couldn’t even name if I tried. Like a whole other world with plants and vines hanging down. Multiple rugs on top of one another to cover the ground. Large bowls of powder wrapped gemstones, and another that just had water or some liquid inside waving about. Untouched. Books filled the back walls from things on astrology, tarot cards, and chakras, and there was even a small rack full of t-shirts with the logo, House of Black Curios. I started to touch a thing of dark green beads hanging when I felt a surge of wind blow behind me.
“Aye Miss Lady!” A deep country voice let out as I turned back, seeing three young guys in their late teens walk in. One was twisting at his sandy brown fro, wearing a simple white shirt with a black backpack as he tilted his head up. “My grandma told me to pick her up some things while I’m out here,” coming to the counter as he smiled down at me. The woman sent her assistant, a light skinned girl with wide eyes to come up with a notepad as she leaned in.
“She needs some buckeye roots, lemme get dat chew john...mojo beans, and a drawing candle.”
“What I need to cover my tracks if I cheated on my girlfriend?” Another asked, leaning in on the other side of me. “I’on want her finding out about this girl in the neighborhood.”
“Hold tight while I fill his order.”
“Tallulah! Let’s go!” I heard a voice shout as I looked to see Delilah poking her head in the store. “I’m not trying to be out here long!”
“Alright, alright,” she hissed, putting down a candle with a pout before rushing back towards me to link arms. “Our family has our own shop anyway,” she whispered towards me with a smirk. “I was just checking the competition. Let’s get another Honey Jar. Sweeter one this time.”
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