Ever Wonder?

Let's turn this story on its ear. Ever wonder what might have happened if Princess & Obie never got together and Cess stayed with Einstein instead?

[img]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd138/NajahAbdullah/WaroftheWorlds9.jpg[/img]

BG
The sun hangs low on the horizon,
as if, like every other thing on this lazy, slow-paced island:
It just wasn�t worth the effort to do otherwise.
All day long the sun had lollygagged its way across the sky; now, even though
sunset is imminent, it still seems like the sun will set in its own sweet time.
I am torn between my desire to see the ocean swallow the sun whole;
my desire to see my own bed.
Everything here is so beautiful; I�m stirred by the awesomeness of God�s creation.
But I still can�t wait to get home.
We�ve been out on a yacht all day, filming my latest video, now I�m dead-dog tired.
It�s a good tired though; the kind you get when you know you �done good.�
We had some tricky underwater shots and my equipment wanted to act like
a natural ni99a on me, but I worked it out y�all. Ha Glory!
On the cab ride to this itty bitty swatch of land the locals call an �airport�
I couldn�t stop humming that tune.
You could have bought me for two cents when the lady cab driver
started singing along.
�I got all yuh songs, nuh, girl,� she�s too pleased to tell me. �When the last one come out I rushed meself to the store at once! I had pre paid it yuh know!�
Her lilting Carribean accent makes her seem hella excited.
She hadn�t asked, the people here are so polite, I give her my autograph anyway.
Her smile is so bright it makes me glad I�m wearing my D&G shades.
Enough with the sun though.
The charter plane is almost loaded; some brouhaha or another has broken out on the tarmac like a bad case of poison ivy, irritating all involved:
I can see Obie and Einstein arguing with the pilot. Though I can�t hear them
I can tell by their body language/Obie�s red face there�s plenty of shouting going on.
Can�t we all just get along?
I mean really, though.
�Cause I�m getting more than a little irritated here myself.
Downright impatient.
Head down, walking double time, Obie heads in my direction.
Einstein is a good six paces behind him, fading fast.
�What�s the problem?� I ask, masking my irritation.
�Pilot says there too much s#!t on the plane.�
�Stop playing!� I exclaim, shocked.
Shielding my eyes from the glare of the sun I glance back at the plane. That rinky-dink piece-of-s#!t bucket-of-bolts is definitely smaller than the contraption we came in on.
�Is that thing even safe?� I asked when I first saw it.
�You think they�d a sent it if it wasn�t?!� Obie replied harshly,
annoyed by the stupidity of my question.
It�s looking even worse right now.
I�m hella heated.
�So what�s he expect us to do?� I want to know.
�I-don�t-know and I-don�t-care,� Obie tosses off, �but everything we brought with us is goin right back on that plane. Fu** him and his momma!�
�I hear that,� I agree rather absently; my mind still fixed on getting home.
�Yo, look Obie,� I flash my ring in his face. �Can you believe it??!!�
I�m so damned giddy; all my anger evaporates in the white-hot brilliance of the diamond Obie is examining carefully.
�That�s a damn good quality stone,� he mutters after a while. Then he looks at me.
�Are you happy Cess?�
�Oh BABY,� I crow.
�Then I�m happy for you.�
He gives me a hug, I�m getting a weird vibe from it, he�s holding me maybe a little too tight. I break his grip.
�What about you?� I ask him. �You thinking about settling down anytime soon?�
His face clouds over, his expression closes down; it is impossible for me to read it.
�I don�t think so,� he says sadly. �Maybe some-where down-the-line the impossible will happen and my �dream girl� and I will get together.�
�You want me to pray for you?� I offer.
His smile is rueful; I bet it never reaches his eyes.
I can�t tell you, though.
I can�t see his eyes through his shades.

�Yo, get off the plane,� Obie says suddenly.
He must be out of his mother-flipping mind.
�After all we went through, breaking the pilot down until he finally allowed us to get on this *itch??!!!� I scream at him. �With all our s#!t??!!! Ni99a please!�
�I can�t explain it to you, I don�t even know how I know, but this plane is goin down. You gotta get off now, �cause if you don�t, you gon� die.�
The whole plane busts out laughing at him; I do too.
Obie�s well known for coming out with some real, cosmic, crap sometimes.
�First of all,� I inform him, �we�re supposed to die in a car crash; not a plane crash. Second of all; you was the mothfu**a who said the plane was safe in the first place. It�s too late to change your mind now.
You can get off the plane if you want to but I...ain�t goin NOWHERE!!�
I sit down in a huff. If we don�t hurry up and take off what�s going to happen is:
I�m going to miss my flight back to NY.
The next flight isn�t until tomorrow. By then I�ll have promotional spots to do: I�ll have missed my op to spend with time with Einstein. We could do it over on the mainland but I�d rather be back home, in my own bed, where we can do-it-right.
As it were.
Seeing that he couldn�t dynamite me off this plane Obie storms off in a huff.

OB
I figured maybe a cigarette would Calm Me Down but two a these Bad Boys later I�m still wound Tight as A Tourniquet. There�s just Too Much Sh** goin on for me today.
It�s bad enough I had to Go The Ni99a Route on that pilot.
Then Cess shoved her Rock in my face.
I can�t believe that b*****d Einstein proposed.
Not that I wouldn�t Do The Same in his shoes but damn.
I mean Really Though.
Cess has been Off Limits to me since Way Back When. Her Daddy, The Doctor,
had one a them Davis Premonitions back when Cess was five.
He told her she�d never live to see twenty. Supposedly,
her and me�d be Drivin Down The Highway hella fast and Go Up in a Big Ball a Flames.
�I can see it so clearly,� he never hesitates to remind us.
�The sun is hanging over the trees like a Big Orange Ball in the sky.
You had to be flying son, the way that car just hurtled over the trees like that.�
And don�t you just hate it when people talk about the future in The Past Tense??!!
Oh Well.
I done made my peace with that bulls#it long ago. Cess gone be twenty in another couple a months, then we can Put That S#it To Bed. I stamp out my stoag.
You know, it�s really pretty in this piece.
Maybe I�ll Buy A House here.

So I�m sittin in my seat right? Tryin not to think about the whole Princess & Einstein thing, and Ruminatin on The Beauty a Nature and s#it, a�ight??? and it Hits Me.
�Yo. Get Off the Plane!� I tell Cess.
Which Brings Out The *itch In Her.
How can I explain it though?
How, after sittin outside smokin my stoag, I suddenly realize Young was right.
We was Flyin.
She don�t hear me though, but there it is right in front a me:
a big ol� orange sun, hangin over some trees.
�Damn, y�all still here?!� Hood asks, like he Can�t Quite Believe It yet
Doesn�t Think It�s Such A Good Thing.
�Do yourself a favor,� I strongly urge him. �Don�t get on this plane.�
Hood Eyes Me Warily for a few then Backs Off Silently.
Once I see Hood is safely in the terminal I pull out my cell.
LUV U SON. ALWAYS.
REMEMBER THAT
I text him then re-enter the plane, lockin the door behind me.
�All Righty Then. Let�s get this *itch in the air,� I command, strappin in Extra Tight.
After all:
A Life Without Princess is
A Life Not Worth Livin.

The strain of the takeoff rattles this cheesy little plane, along with my nerves.
Obie and his damned predictions.
If only he�d kept his mouth shut.
Momentarily, for about two-whole-seconds, we are aloft.
Then suddenly, tragically, the plane banks wildly, veering to the left.
My heart is seized with an under-controllable terror.
Why didn�t I listen to Obie?
Because: I-didn�t-believe-him. Any more than I believed my father. With the-big-2-0 coming up in four-short-months I was hella prepared to laugh-in-his-face.
I can�t believe I was that stupid.
Panic is exploding in little pockets all over this piece-of-s#it plane, but
Obie responds like the voice-of-reason.
�Yo, listen up. We goin down, true that, but the-devil-is-a-liar!
Don�t let him steal-our-joy. If we gotta die let�s die Praisin Him!�
Then this fool puts on Kirk Franklin.
�Hosanna.�
Who does that?!
You figure.
Yet: the effect is an almost instantaneous calm.
�One more thing,� he says. �I gotta tell you how much I love you before we die.�
Say WHAT??!!!
Before I can react, however, I�m swept up in his arms.
�Don�t be scared, Baby,� he croons, swallowing me in his embrace.
�It�s gonna be okay. I got you. You safe in my arms. It�s gonna be-a�ight...�

BG
The silence is eerie.
I sense, rather than smell, thick smoke in the air.
The plane is afire; yet, I feel no heat; Obie is crouching over a body.
His body.
�I tried, Baby Girl. I really, really tried. I guess I wasn�t strong enough to save you.�
It is then that I realize why I feel no heat; smell no smoke.
I am afraid to look for my body but I must; some force beyond me compels me to.
A scant three feet from Obie I find myself, on my side all fetal.
One side of my face is horribly burned. From the way Obie�s body is splayed I can tell
I was ripped from his arms at the moment of impact.
He really did try to save me.
�Where�s Einstein?� I wonder aloud to Obie�s spirit-self. He points yonder.
The body of my beloved twitches spasmodically; he�s not long for this world.
Oh...my bad.
That world.
Obie extends his hand.

The funeral was horrible.
Mommy had a complete-and-total-breakdown;
for the first time in my life I saw my father cry;
my Auntie Bobbi sang �Black Butterfly� at my grave site.
She never smoked crack again.
My label released her rendition of the song; six months later it is still in the Top Three, joined by Hood�s rendition of �He Ain�t Heavy, He�s My Brother.�
Neither Mommy nor my dad has risen from bed.
Poor Uncle BB is left to fend for himself.
Tonight he is sitting in my old room.
He does this a lot.
He picks up a smooshie, crushes it in his hand, brings it to his face.
Inhaling deeply, he fights an internal tremor/tears that struggle for their freedom.
I sit on the end of the bed.
�Hey, Baby Girl,� Uncle BB says softly. �It�s been a while, huh? I�ve missed you.�
Once-upon-a-time I thought he could actually see me.
Now I know better.

Uncle BB calls a pre-dawn meeting at his penthouse.
I want to be there, but I have work to do;
still, I keep an interested eye on the proceedings.
Steadying her with his hand, Uncle BB leads my mom, the others, out onto the deck.
�I know it�s been hard for us to come to grips with Baby Girl�s tragic death. Even though we were sort of prepared, I don�t think any of us besides Young every really thought she would actually die. For the longest time I couldn�t figure out what God wanted with my beautiful �Girl. I turned it around and around in my mind, then prayed over it until, finally, He gave me the answer.�
Uncle BB is silent for a long time. No one else speaks either.
Gradually the sun creeps over the rooftops.
�You see that?!� my uncle exclaims joyously.
�Remember how everyone who met Baby Girl described her as an angel?
That�s why God took Baby Girl.
He needed one of His own to lead the angels in worship at sunrise.
If you close your eyes you can hear them singing;
and if you listen real closely, you can hear Baby Girl:
the strongest voice among them.�

Author's Note

For those familiar with the story, Princess is shaken deeply by the death of her idol Aaliyah. The above recurring dream begins to haunt her. From the upcoming novel: We Still Ain't Got This Right.

Reviews

[J. Hampton]

Bless your creative mind ...this is just...another whole thing!

Never to be "type-cast "...lol ( that was a pun) you adventure something new. An eerie thing you did here. Like a "butterfly Effect" form another mother !
The first paragraph stole me....The font color changes work the power of the individual accounts...and as always ...I love the full license you take with dialog and word twists and font-play.
Like....dead-dog tired /ni99a / yuh /meself / ((( brouhaha -luv that word ))) /*itch / s#!t.../.etc...etc
I love the No-curse -cursing :)

The paralell to Aaliyahs tragedy ...and the luggage thing was like whoa.The concept is deep ... I think many have wished they could witness the wake of their own departure from this life.
The encounter of OB and Cess and last paragraph w/ BB and young choked me up....for real.

Faith powerfully woven in from beginning to end.....
In four words... " Whats not to Love " ?

Kudos Ma !

Blessssssssssssssssss

[TL Boehm]

ok how did I miss this when it was first posted. Shame on me. The latter part is graphic and a bit wrenching - even if it is a dream - to deal with death and your funeral....sheeeesh. Well done. But I still find myself laughing every time I read your dialogue - you have an amazing comedic slant to your characters! They just make me smile. The last part, it made me cry though....very poignant.