Purest Intentions

Layla dumped her backpack by the door and glued her eyes to the computer screen, fingers itching to scroll through more hoodoo blogs. Her best friend Mariah introduced her to the practice a few weeks ago, and she was hooked. She used a spell just last week to get Johnny Bob to stop touching her braids. All she had to do was write his name, put it under her shoe, and step, step, step all over his name. Now, she was looking for bigger fish to fry. She was looking for a love spell. Mariah warned her about love spells, but Layla thought there was no way her intention could go wrong. She just wanted her mother to love her. 

When she found one that was simple enough for her to do without asking Grandma to buy anything, she performed it right away. She didn’t know if it worked until she got a phone call one morning before school. Her heart jumped with joy when her cell phone displayed Mom on the screen. “Hey baby.” 

“Hi Mom.” 

They talked about school, her budding interest in softball, and other things. Her mother’s voice was tender and warm and attentive. Most importantly, at the end of the conversation, her mother said, “I love you. How about we hang out Friday evening? We could watch a movie.” After Layla hung up the phone, she skipped to her room and squealed. 

The next day, during school, she couldn’t stop smiling. When it was time to walk home, Mariah nudged her. “What’s got you so happy? Did you make tryouts?” 

Layla shook her head, forgetting that tryouts were next week, and she hadn’t practiced much. She whispered, “I did a love spell.” 

Mariah’s eyes widened. She mashed her lips together, glanced at the ground, and fidgeted with her fingers. Then, she frowned. “I told you to be careful about those.” 

“But it worked.” 

Mariah grabbed Layla’s hand and spun her to a stop. “You never listen.” Mariah sighed. “You have to be careful who you bind yourself to.”

The golden rays of sunset licked Mariah’s dark, curly hair, highlighting red undertones. Layla glanced at their joined hands, and her stomach fluttered. “I- I’m sorry.” 

“It never goes well trying to force someone to love you.” Mariah gave Layla’s hand a squeeze, but didn’t let go. Neither did Layla. Maybe she should focus on the people who were already in her life. Maybe she should focus on moving forward. 

When Layla got home, she found a counter-spell to undo the love spell, but then her mother called. Her mother called every day after school, and they talked like two old friends. Layla enjoyed having her mother be more interested in her life. Grandma noticed a change as well, and she was happy to hear that her mother wanted to spend time with her. Mariah was too paranoid. Layla decided not to undo the spell. 

Friday night arrived. Layla was giddier than normal, even though she hadn’t practiced for tryouts. She forgot all about them. Things between Mariah and Layla had been different, but in a good way. They held hands more, and even shared a kiss that made her heart race. She was excited to tell her mom about this new development. She wondered what she would say as her mother also liked women. Would they bond even more? 

Layla dressed in her favorite pajamas. Grandma went to play dominoes with her sister and her husband for the night. When a knock came at the door, Layla’s heart raced as she rushed for the door. When she opened it, her mother stood in the doorway. Layla hugged her mother tightly, drowning herself in Mom’s strong perfume. When she looked up at Mom, she noticed her hair was perfect, her clothes in a casual cute style, but her eyes looked hollow and dull. “Mom, are you okay?” 

Mom tilted her head. “I’m perfect. I’m excited to see this movie.” Her voice was raspy. She cleared her throat. “Let’s put on that movie,” she said as if she had to remind herself how to speak like a human. Mom sat on the couch. 

Layla put on a family Hallmark movie, and Mom stared at her the whole time. Goosebumps intruded on Layla’s skin, and she faced her mother who looked so lifeless. She dragged her feet towards the couch as she fought the urge to run. She shook her head. This was her mother, right? “What’s wrong my dear?” The rasp returned. Layla shuddered and backed away. 

“I-I just need to check something on the computer real quick.” She ran down the hall and dashed to her room like someone was chasing her, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw no one. Then, she heard the sound of something heavy dragging against the carpet. Layla bolted into her room, except the computer wasn’t in this room. She locked her door and searched on her phone.

BANG. “Layla dear, you don’t want to keep Mommy waiting.” Mom, or whatever that thing was, turned the door knob. “Layla, let me in. I love you. Let me in.” BANG. BANG. BANG. The spell had distorted her mother’s love into something ugly, something demonic, something- wrong. Layla backed away from the door. Was she going to find the spell in time?  

Right when she found it, the creature burst through the door- a mass of spindly arms and twisted bones wearing her mother’s face like it was a Halloween mask that didn’t fit quite right. The monster released a piercing, unearthly scream that made Layla want to piss herself. As she began chanting the words, the monster lunged.

Layla ducked out of the way, and the phone skidded across the floor. She tried to say the words she remembered, words shaking. The monster’s spindly arms reached for Layla. When she completed the spell, something lifted. Had she broken the love spell gone wrong? The monster screamed as if it were being exorcised and backed away from her like she was the sun. Instead, it jumped out the window and landed in the parking lot of the apartment. It scuttled away into the night. 

Layla stared out the broken window. Tears fell down her eyes. Piss trickled down her legs. She dropped to her knees, heavy with the weight of what she had done crushing her to pieces.

Reviews

[Mark Raines]

Brilliant story really enjoyed reading it

[RKB]

Thank you!