Lomee Greene—Mother of Velli

“Ms. Greene, can I ask you a question?” Lue asks as she braids my hair.

The girl really isn’t that bad. Velli’s warnings about her were so dramatic. She has a sweet heart, and like everything else in life, it requires digging to see it. She works with tender hands on my hair and has not yanked once, only gentle massage-like weaving.

“Of course, dear.”

She shifts in my bed—sitting with crossed legs—and lays her chin on my shoulder. Oh, what a sweetie. It’s like having a daughter. Jeremy sits with anticipation, concentrating on every word I say. He is Velli as a kid all over again. Oh, I’m so blessed.

“How did you and Velli’s dad meet?” Lue asks.

“Oooh, good question,” Jeremy cheers.

“Well.” I get comfortable because I love telling this story. “I walked up to him. I knew who he was. He had made a decent name for himself, and I said, ‘Hello, Daylight. I’m free this Friday and Saturday. Which day works best for you to take me out?’ He asked, ‘How you moving?’ That was the slang people used to ask what our powers were. I said, ‘Real slow. No powers, and I’ll be spending a lot of time figuring out how to get my brothers here—to a safer city—but I’m the funniest girl in the world, and I’m loyal and kind.’ He shrugged, and that was that.”

Jeremy claps, and his jaw drops in amazement.

Lue removes her head from my shoulder and turns me toward her. A playful and knowing grin stretches across her face. “Now, Ms. Greene, is that really what happened?”

“More or less.”

Lue stares me down with her pretty green eyes.

“Fine,” I concede. “I may have tried this with several other men to disastrous results, but that’s how life goes. You have to keep trying.”

“But the rest was true, right?” Jeremy thirsts for confirmation. “He just liked you for you, and that was it?” His hope is almost visible.

“Yes,” I’m happy to confirm.

“Ms. Greene, he really just went out with you because you were kind?” Lue attempts to hide the anger in her voice, but it flashes out as hot as hell.

I forgive her for her tone because she’s like Jeremy. It just comes out differently. The same hope and desperation that they can be themselves and be loved. Except her hope is leaking blood and close to dying. It has to strike back. It can’t take another hit.

“Yep, and I said I was funny too, remember?” I give her a wink.

Her face flushes red with embarrassment at her previous tone. I give her hand a simple pat to let her know all is forgiven. I think I love these two foster kids of mine. There’s work to be done with them, hope to be given.

My door opens. In steps Velli. Except he is not my Velli. I know for certain that is not my son as sure as I know God watches over me. Velli would say I know it’s not him because of science. He would believe it’s because of some evolutionary tic. Or because I’ve observed him for so long, and I have. I’ve watched him grow from a tiny thing that came out of me quietly and reaching out to be held to a middle schooler ashamed and embarrassed because he had a Weakness he thought he could hide from me then to a man capable of performing miracles with ambition befitting him.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

However, I know it’s not really him because I am a mother, and God gave me the ability to know my son. I have never felt such a need to kill something in my whole life. The abomination. It thinks it can deceive me. I was raised in the fifth finger of Division’s Hand. Let’s play, fraud. Let’s play.

“Velli.” I smile as warmly as a humid summer day. “What are you doing here? I thought you were busy tonight.”

“Plans changed,” he says in a near-identical voice to my son’s.

“Oh?” I ask. “Why are you free now?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Sit and tell me about it.”

This Velli laughs once and gives me an uncharacteristic Velli smile. “I will later. Jeremy and Lue, will you come with me?”

The two exchange glances and shrug.

Ah, so that’s his game, then: to harm them. No, no, I won’t allow that.

“Sure, Big V,” Jeremy obliges. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere,” I demand and guide Lue’s fingers from my hair. “Velli is going to take his mother out for a walk. Right, Velli?”

“It’s actually very important that Lue and Jeremy come with me now.”

I put on my biggest middle-aged lady pout. “More important than your poor mother? Oh, Velli. I’m hurt.”

The kids laugh, thinking I’m playing some silly game with my son.

“Velli, we’ll be here. Just go with your mother.” Lue relaxes in my bed with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, Big V,” Jeremy adds. “I actually have some things I need to talk to you about. I’ll write them down, so we can get right to business when you get back.”

I smile at the copy. It smiles back.

“Let’s go,” it says.

“Help me, please,” I say as I sit on the edge of my bed with my hand out.

With slow steps full of unreleased tension, he walks over to the bed and takes my hand. He attempts to walk ahead of me, but I pull him back and hook my arm around his for a proper escort.

“Are you supposed to be up without your blanket? Won’t you get sick again without it?” Jeremy rises, ready to help.

“No, Jeremy, you heard wrong. I’m fine without my blanket.”

My lie allows him to comfortably sit down.

“Are you feeling okay, son?” I mock the copy.

“Perfect,” it says.

Once we reach the door, I stop him and turn to speak to Lue and Jeremy. “I am so glad you both are becoming friends with my son. Friends are great because they are people we trust who can tell us truths we would never see.”

With that, I leave them with confused looks as to why I would say such a thing.

We walk for about a minute and reach the hospital’s exit.

“I wasn’t going to kill you. I wanted the boy and girl,” it says.

“Ah, that will never do.”

We don’t look at each other as we approach the door.

“We can turn around. I wanted the boy and girl because I want your death to be a slow one in this hospital. That will hurt him more.” It doesn’t disguise its voice now, and sand leaks from its mouth.

“Open the door for me,” I command. “And no, the babies dying won’t do. If you go back now, I’ll scream, and security will be all over you, so you’ll just have to settle for me.”

“You made a foolish decision to end your story here.”

“Fool,” I say with all the spite in my soul at the audacity of her words. “Not a soul on this planet has their story end because they died.”

And with that, I attack the thing made of sand as I pray for Jeremy, Lue, Dream, and Velli, all of whom I shall continue to live through. I know I have not been perfect. I know I have gotten some things wrong. But I pray that the love I have tried to sow into souls will not tear from the hate that has been thrown by those without care for their own or others’ souls.