Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Lennox nodded. “I’m proud of you, baby. Dr. Saint’s good… He knows his shit. Do you need anything from me?”
“No, I’m okay. So, are we still, uh…”
“Yup. I checked everything. You’re amazing, you know that?”
“So are you.”
“I’ll call you when it’s time. Try to get a little sleep before I rock ’n’ roll. Not much time left before I head out.”
“Okay, baby. I’ll be on standby. Love you.”
“I love you too, Nadia. See you later, baby.” He ended the call, placed his phone down and shook his head.
I wish I could hold her right now. Wrap my arms around her… kiss her… I hate that she’s alone, hurting. I don’t know what Dr. Aknaten said to her, and she may never tell me the full story, but whatever it was, if you can make Nadia cry like that, then you’re a bad motherfucker. I haven’t heard her that worked up, since our job at the Rooster. Maybe it’s better I’m not there, actually… that way she can process everything in peace? Yeah… it probably is for the best. I’d just be a distraction. She just needs a minute. I know how she feels. It’s tough. That mirror is right in front of your face, and you can’t turn away from it. She’ll be okay…
After a few minutes, he put all of the documents, photos, files, onto a new thumb drive. As those files were moving over, he backed up the records onto his cloud, then sent full copies to four different people, with instructions on what to do if the worst happened—like him being murdered or taken. He went to the restroom to relieve himself, then grabbed his jacket from the closet. Slipping his .460 S&W Magnum into the holster around his waist, he headed out the door…
My mama told me a story a long time ago. I was just a little boy, but I remember it because it struck me as both funny and creepy. Now, as an adult, I understand more than ever what she was trying to tell me. Everything had come full circle…
Mama said that in her religion and culture, they called the devil Iblis. Or if you’re learned in the faith, ash-Shayṭān (“the Devil”) Followed by the epithet, ar-Rajim (Arabic: ٱلرَجِيم, lit. ‘the Accursed’). There once was a small, doll-like man dressed in fine clothing who came into town. He offered gold coins, sweet treats, soft breads, fresh fruits and vegetables that tasted like nothing you’d ever had before in your entire life. He offered to chop wood for the villagers’ fires, and he always had a bounty of fine satins and silk. He was small and cute, had an amazing singing voice, could play many instruments, and had the most mesmerizing sparkling eyes. A charming little thing. Harmless for sure.
Over time, the villagers grew to depend on him. After all, before he arrived, they were poor, and all he wanted in exchange for his gifts was to sleep in their homes late at night and, on occasion, to receive a home-cooked meal. This went on for quite a while, and the villagers were now fighting over who had what from the little man, as well as who had the best outfits and the most money. After a while though, bad things started happening in the village, mainly to the children.
At first, no one noticed. One child vanished, then another…
Perhaps the children had drowned in the river they were forbidden to play in? It had happened in the past, so it was not out of the question. But then more children disappeared, and more again. They looked everywhere for their babies, but could never find them. They went on manhunts, and soon they all turned on one another, accusing each other of taking the innocent ones.
All of the offspring were disappearing in the middle of the night. Vanishing into thin air. Nobody noticed the little man in the melee. If they had, perhaps they would have seen that he was growing… he’d been getting fatter, and fatter, and fatter still. In some corner of all of their homes were stacks of gold, candies, fruits, jewelry, silk and satin… but their children were gone. And before one could blink, so was the little man…
The little demon was quite content. It was a fair exchange, after all. The village people had received material goods, his precious time, his lovely singing voice, and his hard labor. The only way he could become more powerful and satiate his hunger was to eat the innocent. Wolf them down whole while the adults counted their gold coins, played with their trinkets, and slipped on their gowns made of fine satin and silk.
Off to the next village the demon would go, and the wicked cycle would start all over again. The parents had been blindsided by glitz and self-indulgence, influenced by overconsumption and insatiability for the finer things in life. So much so, they hadn’t even noticed that their most priceless possessions were being stolen and consumed right under their noses. The little demon had gone, and all they had now was rotting fruit and tarnished rings to show for it. How pitiful. How very sad…