LeOmi's Solitude Read Online Free PDF

don’t you?”
    Grand-Mère was back to her old self now, not
speaking and consuming her food in the most ladylike fashion as
possible. She placed her fork down and started to address LeOmi,
but she stopped as Hannah came back through the door. Hannah
replenished water glasses and left a cup of coffee for
Grand-Mère.
    Stirring the coffee meant the end of the
dinner. Now is when LeOmi usually asked to be excused. Instead she
decided to change her tactics with Grand-Mère—which was probably
just what Grand-Mère wanted—but …
    “When I was a child, my mother was different.
We would do things together—go to the beach, shop together, go on
walks and then one day it was as if she was encased by a dark
cloud. It was devastating to me. It wasn’t long after that she left
for the first time. She came back. It was almost like she needed to
be rejuvenated someplace, but then she left again. This time when
she came back, it took less time for the cloud to come back. We no
longer talked, no more walks, no more— ‘How was your day at
school?’ It wasn’t long before that man came for her.”
    Grand-Mère continued to stir her coffee.
“What do you want me to say? That the same thing happened here—well
that is true. Do you blame me; do you think that it is my fault
that your mother left me as she left you? Well…” The rhythm of the
coffee swirling in the cup seemed like a black hole. With
impatience Grand-Mère resumed, “When you do things excessively
wrong, you are always looking behind you to see who has almost
caught you. Your mother has always had to look behind herself to
see who was fast approaching. It seemed she liked the thrill of it.
Don’t you agree?”
    Hannah came in again to remove the dishes;
this seemed to be grandmother’s cue. Grand-Mère stood up and left
the room. She continued up the stairs to retire for the evening.
Hannah and LeOmi watched as she went. “I hope that you are happy
Little Missy. Tut, tut, tut.”
    “Hannah, what is going on?”
    “You will see how much wood is kindled by now
a small fire. The tongue is a fire.”
    “Who’s tongue, mine or hers?” LeOmi grabbed
the back of the chair, and hugged it, “This is not what I want. I
want to know why my mother was killed, why she left my father and
me and why Grand-Mère hates her more than I do.”
    “Little Missy, your Grand-Mère calls you her
Petit Yvonne. That is what she calls you, can you not guess
why?”
    * * *
    “Don’t be quick tempered. Attitude, if only
you could remember. Say…I can do it. You must be loyal and
dedicated. Not just physical training and endurance on the fighting
field. It takes time and patience. Training is what every Magi
needs.”
    The voice seemed to resonate through her
head.
    Magi.
    Fatigue always allowed for good restful sleep
but tonight there was a voice that seemed to be trying to teach her
something that she needed to know.
    Was it Henry? Was it her father? It wasn’t
her mother or her Grand-Mère or Hannah. Was it her guardian, from
her dreams of long ago? Curiosity allowed the sleep to come again,
and it came very quickly.
     
     

Chapter 4
    Use What is Around You: Earth, Wood,
Fire, Metal, and Water
     
    It felt like LeOmi had been floating around
in a dream. Just taking things as they came, but now it was like
the sleeper car had stopped—with a jolt, tossing her out onto the
tracks ahead. They would stop for a cow, or a mudslide, but would
they stop for her?
    More foggy haze, and then… in her dream she
was yelling, No! Trip. Fall. Get your heel caught in the
crack of the sidewalk. Anything. No matter how hard LeOmi
yelled--her mother still walked down the path that led to the
street. Seeing her mom break her neck would be better than
this.
    Mom. The scream was so loud that even
the neighbors should have been coming out of their homes.
    Finally, Yvonne DuBose Jones stopped. She
didn’t turn.
    Mom. This time the sounds were not
quite so loud.
    Still not turning, her mother