Forever's Child

A piercing sound startled her awake. Bellanova glanced at her clock and saw it was an hour before midnight. Up the stairs, sleep walked with her cautiously.  She heard her mother’s soft sobs before she got to the double glass doors. She was at eye level with the low slit in the door. A vase lay shattered on their oak floor. The stargazers were strewn wildly about. She inhaled sharply as fear snatched sleep away. Her father’s hands were squeezing her mother’s neck.  

“My love,”  his voice was sound wrapped in velvet.  “You know they made an exception with our first.” He continued squeezing.  

“Ezekiel,” her voice was raspy. “Please…” she put her hands around his wrists.

“Beloved, there is nothing I nor anyone can do.” he moved his thumbs up the sides of her windpipe.

She grabbed for the air he let in, “Damn those four men.”

He waded through the thick locs of her hair and grabbed the nape of her head.

“Mind your tongue my love.” He jerked her upwards and her head stood erect,  “We will honor our agreement with Father Time.” the finality in his tone was familiar.  He was looking at her nakedness sternly.

Her mother moved her long fingers through the carpet on her father’s face.  Then she forced his hands down to her abdomen. “Father Time will never know.”

“You still haven’t learned your lessons.  After all of these years.“ his hands moved so quick she didn’t see them. Her mother’s eyes rolled around as her father’s massive hands engulfed her neck. “Woman, these are just your first emotions.” he pulled a piece of cloth from under the pillow and gagged her.  “We have about an hour to finish this before the real countdown begins.”

There was no sign of fear in her mother’s eyes.  Her father delicately bound her mother’s wrists and hung them on a hook above their bed.  Her mother sat obsequiously on the fancy pillows like a chair. Her father pulled a tiny mechanical tube out from the pocket of his robe.  When he flicked it on, it made a slight whirring sound. My mother spread her legs and he inserted the tube.

She caught her mother’s eyes and Bellanova felt a helpless tear roll down her face.  Bella moved away from the door before her father could notice their contact. Her father stopped the device and walked towards the door.  He didn’t look out. He shut the door and turned the lock. A few seconds later the whirring sound resumed.

The next morning, the sun’s blasphemous rays forced their way through her patio doors to wake her up.  After her bath, she walked up to her parents bedroom and saw her mother, still sleeping, with a peaceful smile on her lips. She was convinced, what she saw last night was a dream. 

She continued up the double set of stairs to the first floor of their home. The entire first floor was buzzing with life. People were scuttling about moving plates of meats and cheeses, breads and fruits, wines and liqueurs, champagne glasses and cocktail flutes.  

No one seemed to notice her. Neither the women in all white with their white cooks' hats nor the men shuffling the wardrobe of red tuxedos, gold glitzy dresses, feathers, and an assortment of hats. She had seen her mother wear those furry things around her shoulders when she wore one of her slinky dresses. As the rolling closet passed by her, she lunged toward a pair of sparkly shoes. She grabbed the shoes and scooted back into a crevice to slip them on. 

"Well look at my caramel beauty!" Her father came out of nowhere and scooped her into his strong arms. He smelled like fresh air. His embrace engulfed her small frame as he consumed her in his arms.  He could never hurt her mother.

"Father! Good morning! Are we having a party tonight?"

"Yes my love." He planted kisses all over her face and neck.

"Can I come ...please! Father please???" She begged between giggles as she tried to push his furry face away. His beard tickled her more that his kisses.

"I don't see why not! Do you have a pretty dress to match those shoes?"

"Yes!"

"It’s all set then. As soon as your mother says yes, she'll do your hair and you will be a true 'BelllllllaaaaaNoovva'!"

She squirmed out of his arms as he lowered her to the oak floors. "Yeah! I'll ask Mother right away."

She kicked the shoes off her feet and raced down to her sleeping mother.

"Mommy! Mommy! Father says I can come. Please can I come."

 "Good morning." Her mother rose slowly. 

"To the New Year's Eve Party!"

"Ooh. Only if you agree to be my special watch girl."

"Special watch girl? Waz that?"

"Well. I need you to keep a lookout for a few people."

"What people? Who are they? What do they look like? Are they men or women or both? How will I find you? What will you be wearing?"

"So do these questions mean you'll accept my job assignment?"

"Yes!"

"Excellent. Hand me the box on my dresser and I will tell you how to recognize the four men."

Guests started coming in around 8:00. Pretty ladies escorted by handsome gentlemen filled the upper room. A cacophony of percussion and a symphony of soulful bass roared through their home.  Two bands played. One played something called "Lindy Hop" then as soon as one song ended the other band started their tune. 

Bellanova moved easily between the party-goers. The itchy silver wig plagued her with invisible thorns. She wished her mother would have let her wear her naturally curly brown hair.  Tousling and pouting, she was about to sling it off when she heard someone speak to her.

"Come here lil momma. I'll help u with your wig. '' The woman was taking coats from the party-goers as they came in.

"My mommy says I have to keep it on."

"Alright cutie. What are you doing up so late?"

"I'm looking out."

"What are you looking out for?"

"I'm looking for the four men.  Mommy says one will come in a white chiron, one in a red evora, one in a black phantom, and one in a grey huracan."  she scrunched her face trying to remember the details.

"Do you know what those cars look like?"

"Yup. We have ones just like them. But they all look like sand.  Have you ever seen the sands in my father’s hourglass?"

"Nope.  Can’t say that I have.”

“Oh my, let me run upstairs and get it for you!”  Bella beamed with excitement, “They are extraordinary.  They sparkle without light and they bounce around without anything moving.  I honestly don’t know where my father got it from.”

The woman sounded dole and didn’t look impressed, “Ok.  I’ll be right here waiting.”

Bellanova raced from the coat check room and ran down her favorite secret passageway.  The slide tunnel was a like a pulley car and carried her down right to the false window in her father’s skyroom.  Her shoes kept clip-pity clopping on the oak floors, so she took them off, in fear of leaving a trace. She didn’t want her parents to know she was about to take their treasured timepiece down for a stranger to see.  She opened the fake window, stepped inside and her mother’s shadow greeted her. Her mother was humming a familiar tune and seemed to be deep in thought.  

Her mother’s hair looked different than usual.  Her thick honey locs that sprawled about like Medusa, were slicked down in tiny rolls and pulled into a long ponytail. Bella was enchanted watching her mother’s elongated toes point as she slipped on her sheer body-stocking.  Even with the stocking on, her mother looked naked. She watched as her mother admired her curves in the full sized mirror in her sitting room. Her mother ran her feet through the plush beige carpet and lifted her pointed painted toes like she was a ballerina.  Then she slid a long silver stick with a pointed edge into one of the silvery arm bracelets. She twirled again and picked up the second on that was on the dressing table and put it in her other arm. When they were attached, they looked like one piece of glittery jewelry against her caramel colored skin.  Her mother continued to hum as she glided to a mannequin standing in the corner. She carefully undressed the mannequin and placed the sparkly mesh dress over her own body. Even with the dress on, Bella could see right through the sparkles. The dress looked very different on the mahogany mannequin than it did on her mother’s body.  Her mother then went to the wrap attached to wig head. She removed the delicate material and placed it carefully on her head. She took off the glittering earrings from the wig form’s ears and clipped them on her own. She eased her slender foot with her manicured toes into her open toed heels. Then she stood back and admired herself.  Her mother was about to grab the pink furry wrap that was sprawled across the ottoman when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

“Yes.” her mother asked as she walked briskly to the bedroom area.  Bella moved to try and get the hourglass.

“Mrs.  Mr. Lence has arrived.”

“And where is Bellanova?  Do you have her with you?”

“No Mrs.  She left in a hurry to get something made of sand.”  the voice said through the sliding door. Bella stopped in her tracks.  Her mother would be furious with her if she knew she was trying to get her father’s precious timepiece.  Her father had admonished her sternly whenever she got close to the glass; it would be catastrophic if the sands got free.

“OK.  Show Mr. Lence to the library. Please find Bella and keep her in the coat check room.”

“Yes Mrs.”

Bellanova grabbed the hourglass and hurried back to her escape tunnel.  Mr. Lence would be in the white chiron. Her mother said it was as fast as a seahorse’s effortless glide through the raging waves.  She wondered what kind of man would drive such a beautiful car through the water.

He greeted her anxiously in the library.  “You’ve waited a long time to touch this special papyrus; weathered and worn.”  Her mother said to Mr. Lence. His eyes looked feverish with lust. The rays of the moon caught the silhouette of her body inside of her translucent dress. “Come here, Pesti, and touch the delicate fabric.” She held the book in the nape of her elbow.  He reached for the book and his long nails grazed its edge.

Bella watched from behind the larger than life sized replica of an ancient Amazonian warrior.  Scantily clad, the only thing of interest was her bow and arrow. That and the fact that her chest was lopsided.

Her mother surrendered the book and let Mr. Pesti Lence absorb it.  He inhaled deeply. Bella wondered what kind of smell would bring a man that kind of pleasure. As he inhaled, Bella’s mother moved stealthily towards the amazon.  She gracefully took the bow and arrow from the huge woman and let loose the arrow. It slid through his back and exposed a pearl encased pocket watch. The bow pierced the watch like it was papyrus. The mysterious looking timepiece was secured tightly onto the bow which was protruding out of Mr. Lence’s heart. 

Bella followed her mother out into the dancing crowd.  They had not been disturbed or deterred in their revelry.  Her mother mingled with the guests as if she had been there all the time.  She smiled and danced her way to the music room.

When she opened the doors, the music gushed into the room like a hurricane.  Mr. Ruin had been waiting happily in the music room. From where he was standing, he could look down at his car and watch all the envious people gawk at what he referred to as his red dragon. 

“Sound is my favorite lover.  She is a slippery temptress.” His smile was as slippery as the temptress.

“Indeed.  Speaking of, let me play for you.  The bass is my favorite caller to your lover.”

“Ah ha! Yes indeed. Play on.”

Her mother played the bass in time with the second band.  Mr. Ruin started to move his feet and dance alone. Bella watched her mother twirl the heavy instrument with ease.  He approached her and she welcomed him. She dipped the bottom and tipped the top of the instrument whose neck reached her mother’s head.  With a quick flick, a long thick sword emerged from the top and stabbed Mr. Ruin in the same place the bow pierced Mr. Lence. At the end of the sword was a fiery red pocket watch encased in rubies.  The sword, the timepiece, and the base all looked like a misplaced relics forged together by a common circumstance.

“White, red...um...black!” Bella whispered to herself.  Mr. F. Amine, the man in the black phantom, was next. Her mother said his car whispered in the night like wind.  Bella didn’t understand how cars could talk. Bella ran back up to the coat check room hoping she hadn’t missed his arrival.  

“Your mother needs you to go to the wine room and get her favorite bottle lil momma” the solemn lady who was protecting the coats said.

“Have you seen the black car that whispers?”

“Yes.  He is here.  Go and do right.”

Bella was so nervous she forgot to show the lady her father’s hourglass.  She held it close to her body. Her father had warned her of the dangers if the sands ever escaped. She rushed over to the closet in the hall and took the small food waiter down to the wine room.  Her father didn’t like her playing in the small box. He said one day she would be too big to fit.

By the time Bella stepped out of the food waiter, Mr. F. Amine was embracing her mother.  His grin was one of a sheep who knew where the wolf was. The tall ebony man went to close the heavy sliding doors and like a flash of light, her mother whipped out a long silvery cord from her furry wrap.  The cord wrapped itself around Mr. F. Amine’s neck. As he choked, she found his time piece and pierced it like she did the others. This time with one of the silvery stick blades from her arm band.

“White, red, black...grey is next!” Bella counted four on her fingers.  The man with the really funny name had to be last.

Mr. Sisorcen’s grey huracan sypder was parked in line with the rest of the exotic cars from the four.  Bella wondered what kind of spider would get caught in a hurricane. But her mother just laughed a good hearty laugh when she asked her.

The cute plump little man greeted her mother like an old friend.  He kissed her on each cheek. Her mother had to bend down to receive his kisses. 

“We don’t have much longer.”  his words seemed strange and his manner started to change. “I know we’ve had our words in the past but you are a beautiful woman.  Your husband can have you in eternity. Let me have you now.” For a man his age, Mr. Sisorcen was deft. He moved to grab my mother’s visible waist and she allowed him to touch her.  As he moved his other hand to pull her face to his, she slipped her long legs out gracefully and he tripped. She caught his cane and the scythe emerged. He was faster than she and he turned her around and grabbed her throat.

“Shall we dance?”

“Of course.”

He slashed at her mesh dress between her thighs and opened a slit down the front.  The slit gave her legs room to move and she spun around and slashed his face with his scythe.  He lunged, nearly missing her. She punctured Mr. Sisorcen and his grey timepiece the same way she had Mr. Lence, Mr. Ruin, and Mr. F. Amine. 

She dug around for his time piece and took her remaining silver blade and punctured it.  She looked up at the clock and whispered, “The countdown to Forever’s End has begun. Bellanova!”  Bella froze in her space.  

“Yes Mommy.” she said fearfully.  “You know I’m here?”

“Come to me. Bring me your father’s hourglass.  You wanted to meet Father Time..well he is on his way.  I have killed his four horsemen. He has no choice but to face me now.”  she was wild with excitement. 

“10!” the crowd outside started their countdown.

“Fools!  If they only knew what they were counting down to.”  

“9!” 

“Every year we get closer to year zero. But I have foiled his plans!”

“8!”

“Mommy!” Bella’s heart was racing. “Why did you kill those men?”

“7!” 

“They weren’t men. They were personifications of the end of time.”

“6!”

“Mommy!  Is this the end of time?”

“5!”

“Hopefully my sweet, as we know it.”  Bella felt as scared as her mother felt naked.

“4!”

“Mommy!”  Bella whispered into her mother’s flesh,  “The door handle. The handle on the door.  It is moving.”

“3!”

“Yes my love.  He is here. As soon as the door opens, break the hourglass.  The sands of time need to flow out.”

“2!”

“Mommy!  Are you sure?  Where is my Father?”

“Drop it Bellanova!  Now!”

“I am here my sleeping beauty.”

“1!”

And with a gust of wind, the doors opened. Father Time, Bella’s father, appeared in the doorway.  “Sleep now my beauties.” The glass never hit the floor. Sound wrapped in velvet lulled them into darkness.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”.