Escape Into A World Of Magical Stories

 

READ LIGHT OF OR'DRE CRYSTAL: 

EPISODE 1

The first episode offers a brief glimpse into the life of Crystal, a hardworking single mother, as she does her best to provide for her four children. Through her own words, we learn about the events of her last day on Earth. It was supposed to be a day filled with joy and adventure for her youngest child, but things quickly turned chaotic, leaving Crystal in a state of fear and desperation to save herself and her children.

The Birthday Party

The light and her familiar, comforting voice started to fade as I rolled over with my exhausted body. I could hear their voices down the hall as I awoke to a burnt smell that fated Saturday morning, December 3rd, 2022. 

“WHAT IS THAT SMELL?” I yelled.

“TREVON DID IT!”

“DID WHAT?”

“BURNT OATMEAL IN THE MICROWAVE!”

Oh-my-gosh was an understatement. The house was a messy disappointment, reeking of smoke and burnt breakfast, and my four children were sitting in the living room two arguing over the Xbox game. I didn’t have the time or the patience to deal with the sibling war going on. As a mom, sometimes you must tune it out and keep moving or never get anything done. 

Before heading out of the bedroom, I remember glancing at my ragged face in the mirror, still drained from the long shift I’d worked the previous day. I was mentally praying for the strength to make it through the day. After gathering my thoughts and the clothes I wanted, I went out to see what the children were doing.

I signed to my deaf son Trevon, “How did you do that? You better clean that mess up!”

My frustration shifted with a quick smile when I received a warm hug from my youngest son, Princeton. 

“Happy Birthday, baby!” I told him with a hug and a fat kiss.

He beamed excitedly and returned to playing with his toy action figures on the floor.

It was chaotic as usual, getting everyone ready to go somewhere. I yelled at the boys as I rushed to finish my daughter’s hair or tried to get everything packed up. Serenity had a tender head of long, kinky hair, and she always gave me a hard time doing it. 

“Ouch! That hurts!” Serenity wiggled and whined while I was trying to comb her hair. 

“I’m almost done, sweetie; here’s some bubble gum, but you need to be still, ok?” I told her. Something sweet usually did the trick of keeping her distracted.

With Serenity sitting on the floor between my legs, the two older boys occupied with the video game, and the little one engaged with his toy action figures, I started worrying we would be late.

 “Kevon, tell your brother to help you clean up in there so we can get ready to go. Serenity, I’m all done. Your clothes are on your bed. Get dressed, sweetie. We need to hurry up so we can get there early.”

It was a miracle that my children listened, and we managed to leave the house on time. Thank God! 

While I finished loading up a few things in the van, some guy who walked by started hitting on me. This was the norm around my block. 

Some days, it was, “Hey, sexy momma, you need some help with that?” 

Or any variation: “Hey, come here, what’s yo name?”

“Where yo man at?”

“You fine; you need a thug in yo life.”

It got to the point where I stopped replying to them. I usually just rolled my eyes and kept it moving because Lord knew it wouldn’t be anything nice if I did respond.

That day I was in a rush, and his ass was left standing there as I got in the van and slammed the door.

The kids were at it, arguing again. “Would ya stop!” I said.

Trevon had a scowl on his face. “She always sits here!” he signed. “It’s my turn!”

“I was sitting here first!” Serenity cried.

“Look, CeCe, let your brother sit there, and you can sit there on the way back,” I told Serenity to diffuse the situation.

Serenity didn’t want to move and started to whine. 

“Move over, Cece, we don’t have time for this!”

She sucked her teeth and finally moved out of the seat.

Packed and ready, I drove to the well-anticipated Planet Lamark, a family fun recreation center. It was always a good feeling to drive away from my home in Miami, which was in the projects, or what some would call low-income apartments. Either way, you wanted to describe them; nothing about them felt like home. 

It seemed like someone was always getting hurt or killed in our community. And if there weren’t any killings, there was a robbery and other petty crimes. Some were disrespectful and untrustworthy. Some were loud and messy, throwing trash everywhere or blasting music any time, day or night.  

You always had to watch your back and hope no one would try you. I barely let my kids outside to play, worried someone might hurt them or they would catch a stray bullet or something. However, I had to accept my conditions and make the best of them, no matter what. I kept the faith, knowing that one day, my work at the fast-food joint would be replaced with something more financially rewarding. I always dreamed of a way out because there was no peace. 

Little did we know, this was the last time we’d ever see our home.

“Mom, can we get ice cream when we get there?” Kevon asked.

Princeton chimed in, “Oh, I want some ice cream too!” 

“Yes!” I answered.

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Escape into a world of Magical Stories

Looking for a thrilling adventure? Dive into the captivating realm of fiction with my Story Podcast! Unleash your imagination and jump on a journey filled with twists, turns, and unforgettable characters.

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