SAPHIA HATU

The Black Book

The pandemic played a significant role in the Chicago area. Many businesses were closed down due to the economic turmoil. I was at the peak of closing the one place I built with my hands. Who am I? I’m just a small town girl from Madison with a vision for success . My name is Emerald and I am a beautician or at least I was one. I lived on the north side of Chicago. moved there a few years ago, to pursue my dreams in the beauty industry. All the years I spent on a foundation came to a complete halt and I had far more to worry about than a closed salon. It was Friday, no different than any other weekend and I arrived late at the salon. The place was full , some high end clients, a few stylists and my manager Stacy. The ladies in the salon were either providing service or receiving it. The ladies played a role in the salon and in their lives. Some of my clients were successful entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers even go getters like myself. I was the only one that took private appointments and this day I decided to not take any. The hours went by as I stood still in my suite and gazed out the window as the cars drove by on Michigan Ave, I hoped for a turnaround but that day never came. I had a lfree time to spare so I decided to clean the salon throughly before lock down. Right before I got up to clean the powder room, the phone ringed, assuming it was my last client, I answered with ease . “Hello, Emerald. “ He’s gone, you must come home.” I hung up the phone in silence, lost for words, I knew that voice from miles away, in a place called home.There I sat hunched over and lifeless in my suite, clinching on to the sueded seat, There was little to no expression on my face as my clients glanced at me from afar.I hid my sadness from everyone in the salon. I couldn’t believe that he was gone, I never had the chance to tell him goodbye. My feelings were buried beneath the dirt in a sacred place. My first love, letting him go was the hardest decision I ever made. ”Emerald, are you ok , you look like you just seen a ghost.” Stacy asked . Stacy, was my best friend from college and manager at my salon. I trusted her with all my secrets but this one I couldn’t reveal. “I ‘m fine, I just have to go home, please close the shop, after everyone leaves,” I told her, then gave her the keys to lock up after the last client was serviced. All the years I spent to help build this place of beauty & excellence came to a complete halt. I glanced once more at Stacy, then walked out the door and caught the A-train home. An hour later, I arrived at my loft, it was almost nightfall and I had to get ready for my trip back home. I packed a few ensembles before bed and bought the last train ticket to Madison. The train to Madison left Chicago the next day at 8 am, I had to prepare myself in time for the cab to pick me up. After booking a train ticket and hotel, I thought about that sudden call from home, the place I never wanted to go back to. The familiar voice was from a long lost friend name Dana. She was nothing but trouble from the start, we’ve known each other since childhood and she would always compete with me even when we were little. She had to have everything even him, Bo. I wasn’t sure how she found me, and I wasn’t ready to face her after Bo’s death. The truth left me exhausted so I decided to go to bed early, as I dosed off to sleep . “Bo what are you doing?” I looked up at him from my balcony as he was in my backyard, in front of the rose bush. “Did you know that this tree changes roses?” Bo said “ Yes it‘s called a rose bush.” I laughed and fell on the floor with one silk slipper on the end of my heel. He looked up at me with a slick smirk on his face “ Ok Juliet, I’m not your Romeo so could you please come done from your satin slumber.” He laughed obnoxiously and mocked me from afar . I ran outside and jumped into his arms, held him then sniffed his T-shirt. His aroma of muske , made me want him even more. I smelled his colon up close, never wanted him to let go, He whispered in my ear. “ Emerald, wake up!” The alarm went off at 7 am. I got dressed, ate a light breakfast and took a cab to the train station. I arrived at 7:50 a.m. and heard the voice of the ticket master“ On aboard.” I hurried in time for the ticket master to retrieve my ticket as he escorted me to my seat. Two hours went by and all I was able to do was ponder as I glanced out the window. My heart was shattered, first my grandmother and now Bo. I wasn’t sure how people would react to my return. It felt surreal, how one day I was planing a life with Bo then left him behind. I never wanted to lose what we had but I had to follow my first mind. Throughout the years I felt lost and trapped, I masked my feelings in order to be sucessful. Those seasons without him made me realize who I was. Growing up in a small town wasn’t easy everyone knew and grew to hate each other. For years there were unexpected shootings, murders and car accidents. I never felt safe living there or being outside after dark. Luckily, I was raised by my grandmother Bess. She was strict, kind and protected me from the dangers in the neighborhood. She raised me to believe in myself and focus on my goals in life. I remember her stroking my hair and greasing my scalp every night before bed. She would ask about my dreams, and told me to use my gifts for good not evil. After she died, she left me a journal to write my dreams in. I buried that journal underneath the rose bus, when I went away to college. An hour later I looked out the window and saw a sign that said “ Madison, welcome home.” Finally, The train stopped, I slowly got up, grabbed my suitcase and hailed a cab. There were three cab drivers that stood outside their cars, each driver wore a black and gold uniform that said “ Madison Lives.” The third cab driver grabbed my luggage quickly then uttered “ Where to, you packed light I see.” As he placed my suitcase in his trunk, he looked at me with a snare in his eyes, as if he knew I wasn’t from here. I told him to take me to 101 Fent St, He looked at me with distraught and asked. “ Why would you want to go there, you should be at the Gilton Hotel on the northside.” I told him I needed to stop by a place before I headed back into town . He finally agreed to take me and we drove off to the south side. Once I arrived on Fent Street, I noticed a change in the neighborhood. All the houses were run down and boarded up with graffiti on almost every boarded window. I couldn’t believe my eyes, as I saw the block being completely trashed and distorted. ” Ok were here, I will wait ten minutes then I I have to go back downtown.” The cab driver said, I told him I wouldn’t be long and began to walk towards my childhood home. Noticing it from afar, the place didn’t look the same, the bushes were cut down and the white fence was chipped. As I walked up the steps onto the patio, feeling nervous. I heard a screeching sound coming from the front door, chills filled my body as a cold draft blew upon my face. My fear had got the best of me as I went to the backyard, where the rose bush tree once was. The rose bush was gone, only the branches remained. As I gaped at the lifeless tree filled with memories. I remember, Bo and I would sit under it every day after school and look up at the sky as the birds flew by. We would talk for hours about our future, and how we would always be together. “ Bo what are you doing?” “ I’m climbing the tree, I can see you near and far.” He said. “ Come down before you get hurt.” I screamed while pulling on his Levi jeans. Bo jumped and landed on his feet then ran to me and placed his soft lips upon mine. “ What was that!” I said amazingly surprised. “ I love you, Emerald and one day you will be my wife.” He looked down at me with his beaming eyes and no smirk on his face. I never wanted that moment to go away. The wind blew swiftly as I looked at the tree and felt a sharp point poking at the sole of my feet. “ Miss, I’m running late, Are you coming.” The driver shouted from the front . “ I’m coming, right now.” I bent over to see what was poking me, pulling the mysterious object from the dirt, it was the black book I buried beneath the soil. Lost for words, I removed the plastic capsule and walked back to the front of the house.