6 Chapter 4: Progression towards truth

I stood up and find my balance, I found myself in the middle of the woods with blood red moon resting on the beautiful darkness of the night. As I walked through out where I stood, I found a clear and calm stream flowing gently. The stream is sparkling, the sound of gentle flow of the water is therapeutic. On the other side, I saw a man in topless and wearing dark trousers. I look at him very carefully, I can't quite see his face but I can see his sweet smile towards me. Am I going to die?

"Angel, I am ready to come with you." I told him spontaneously.

"Rosetta, you belong in the abyss with me. I shall bring you to my home" he said as the angelic smile turned into two sharp fangs and bit me in the neck.

I was stunned and unable to moved, I tried to scream and run but my voice and my strength can't find their way out. I felt his sharp fangs piercing to my flesh and let out a horrible scream.

"aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

I touched my neck and looked for blood oozing out from the bite marks. Nothing. It must've been a nightmare. But it felt. It felt so real.

"Thank goodness you're alright! I am so worried. Don't worry everything is fine now pumpkin" nana said.

Her hazel eyes once full of joy is now full of anxiety and worry. I can see it. I can feel it.

A glass of water was given to me by my brother. Damn, Rolly looks fine. I gave him a smirk and he nodded at me. The last time I saw him is a weak and thin teenager with pimples all over his face. With a messy fuccboyish hair.

"Rolly is that you? My big brother? Rolly Arweya? The thin pimple faced Rolly?" I looked at him and let out a chuckle.

"Sup frog face? What did you eat in the big city? For you to forget your only brother?" he hugged me tight and messed my hair.

"Hey! Pimple face! How do you look so. so. Handsome? What's with the biceps though?" I laughed and touched his biceps.

I saw nana smiling at us. I intentionally shifted the mood.

"This is Mergara. My wife. I think you probably met at our wedding? After you chickened out and turned off the videocall?" I hugged Mergara and my brother raised his eyebrows at me.

"I apologized okay? I was in the middle of crisis. I need to get to the initial interview. I didn't even know that they changed the date! And good timing that the storm broke the bridge!(sarcasm) I'm sorry okay?" I faked a cry and he just pinched my cheeks.

"Just call me Meg. I haven't met you properly, Ro."

"Yeah. Meg the Vampire Slayer." I looked at her and smiled

They all looked at each other and they all looked at me.

"You should've heed my advice to always bring Sera with you. Now look what happened? If your brother haven't been there in time, Loa knows what will happen to you. Now Jonah knows you're already here. We have to be careful." nana said while stared directly to my eyes. Gosh. I hate it. When she talks like that, when she looked at me like that. Eye to eye. It gives me the creeps. If she did that, I know I'm in a pickle.

"Look nana. It already happened. All we need to do now is to be extremely careful." Rolly said.

"Wait. Is he really a vampire? Boy! He slapped me real hard! I thought my jaw is going to get misaligned!" I clenched my jaw and moved it side to side.

"Rosetta. There are so many things you need to know. Things that you think are impossible. Hard to believe. Impossible to believe. Part of me wants to get you in the big city to live here with me, but I won't. I have to. That's the only way to keep you safe. These things are real. The things you are about to see are all real. You'll be exposed to magic, enchantments and the vampires. You need to be brave" nana said.

I can't quite comprehend what she said. I'm only joking about the vampire I said. They must be pranking me.

"Can they still get her? She already surpassed the age of 20." Meg asked nana. She's into this too?

"Jonah is a vicious, greedy sucker. He doesn't heed the oracle." nana said and she rushed to her pile of books.

"Nana! Where are you going?" I asked.

"To give you protective spells!" she shouted.

What? Spells?

"Rolly, what's happening here? A while ago I'm attacked by a madman which you called vampire.Now, our mother is giving me protective spells. So she's a witch now? Haha! C'mon pimple face you can do better than that." I chuckled and Rolly just looked at me with a serious face and he let out a exasperated sigh.

"Priestess." he said.

"Excuse me? A what?"I asked.

"Nana is one of the 7 powerful priestess of New Orleans. Along with Aunt Cleo. It's a long story, but this is not about witches or wizard or the Hogwarts stuff. This is Voodoo." Rolly said it without a hint of joke in his tone.

"Voodoo? Isn't that black magic stuff? Cults?" I asked.

"That is what people misunderstands. Voodoo is divided into two. The white and black magic. The priestess/priest and the sorcerers. The priestesses are entrusted and chose by the gods and goddesses to be given the ultimate power to help and guide the people according to the white magic. On the other hand, sorcerers are people who practices black magic. The things with bloody rituals and the dolls stuff are all black magic. They sold their soul to Kalfu the moon god and the patron of sorcerers." Rolly said.

So that is why we have the shop? The weird herbs and spices nana sell?

"So our shop is a facade to hide Nana's identity?" I asked.

"No Ro. The whole town of Erzulie and the neighboring towns are followers and believers of Voodoo. Have you ever wondered why there are many herbs shop in this small town? The people here are believers of Voodoo. This shop is actually your family's heirloom. This is the first ever herbs and spices shop ever built. It founded thousand of years ago. People who sells herbs and shops also services spells, enchantments and visions. Only those with such gift are given the privilege. Your brother, has a gift of visions, he can't predict prophecies but he sees the future ahead. He sees it in his dreams." Meg said and he tapped my brother's arms.

This is too much for me to absorb. I thought Voodoo is just a fictional subject. Made from people's imaginary thoughts. Like the magic stuff you see on Harry Potter series! I felt light-headed and I rested my head. This is too much at once!

"I know it's too much to sink in. That's what I felt for the first time too. But you need to accept it Ro. This is us. This has been going on for thousand and thousand years ago." Rolly said.

Nana came back with a book and some bottle of powdery green stuff inside. Sera brought 2 green candles. She tilted the candles horizontally and started murmuring something. Nana helped me get up and instructed me to close my eyes. I am so startled with this. With all of this! What kind of crap is this? Nana murmured gibberish and took out some of the powdery stuff and sprinkled above me like I was some beignets.

"Now. Sera get me the ingredients for the protective spell. The tiny cauldron is in the cabinet!" Nana said. And Sera rushed to god knows where.

"Are you kidding me? First you bombarded me with Voodoo craps, then you sprinkled me with a matcha powder like I'm a beignets and then with this protective spells shit? You all people are crazy. That's it I'm outta here!" I don't know what's wrong with this people?I went to my room, slammed my door shut loudly and jumped to my bed. These people are literally insane.

It's nighttime already and Sera's been knocking on my door for 30 minutes straight. She said it's time for dinner and will she deliver my food to my room. I always screamed "I'm fine." But she doesn't seem to budge. And she also didn't opened the door so..

I stared at the mossy green ceiling with the chandelier that looks like flying fireflies. I created it myself. I found a thrift shop and antique shop at the town and bought the stuffs for the chandelier after I was being attacked. Are these real? No. I didn't mean about the chandelier. I'm talking about the Voodoo stuffs and whatnots. Are they pranking me? Are they conspiring? I took my throw pillow and shove it in my face.

I felt my bracelet's cold chain on my face. I touched the stone and studied it's natural color blends. I'm not hallucinating. I clearly see this stone glowing before the madman attacked me. How is it possible? I took off my bracelet and looked for some battery compartments or LED wirings but none. My bracelet is literally an oval shaped stone suspended by chains. I'm a hundred percent sure that this thing glowed.

I looked at it closely and then OMG. Oh my freaking G! There it is! It glowed again! I looked around the bracelet again and looked for some button or switch that must've turned on the light inside. NONE. Is this some heat sensitive thing? IMPOSSIBLE! That's too high tech.

A flicker of light caught my attention. I looked at it and I saw it on my window. I can't distinguish what it is so I walk closer to the window and shocked of what I saw.

I saw a glowing ball of light floating outside my window. I opened my window and saw a trail of it leading me to some place. The trail kept going on and on until the far end of the street. I think it's pointing me to something. My first gut was to tell nana about this but I didn't. If they want me to get involved in this voodoo stuff I need to see it.

With my very own eyes.

I climbed out the window and gripped firmly to the tree's branch and climbed down. As I made my way out, the trail of glowing ball of light grew stronger. This is it. It's now or never.