Che-Michelle Tales

I’ve always had an affinity… well, maybe an issue with water, it the oddest thing.  When I got older, my Mom told me about my birth.  She never remembered how she ended up in a bathtub filled with water to birth me.  She told me that it was a calming voice, calling to her to sit in the tub.  She describes it as a melodic trance that compelled her to sit in the tub, she said she never touched the water, and it started running cool water that covered her up to her breast.  She tried to call the ambulance, but as my Mom described it, “You was coming so fast, I blinked, and you were out.” My Mom always maintained this story, just when I was born in a tub of cool water.  My Grandmother came in to see the tub full of blood and a baby on my Mom’s chest.  I always thought it was odd; she sat in a tub of water to birth me, but it was the 1980’s, and this was her experience.

As I got older, our neighbor Ms. Mercer said it was because my head Orisha wanted to connect with me.  She would tell me stories of the Orisha and how they protected us since leaving Africa and continue to protect us.  She told me she saw that I had a particular task to complete, but not until the time was right.  I never understood what Ms. Mercer meant until I went on a girl trip to New Orleans.  While in New Orleans, we were on bourbon street enjoying the music and bars; when a woman came to me and blessed me, I wasn’t scared she told me, “Your Orisha is waiting for you.” I didn’t freak out, but my best friend pulled me away, telling her to back off.  I wish I could have talked to her a little more; maybe she could have helped me the way Ms. Mercer used to help me.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of this short story. I may post the full story on my Ko-fi account.

Until Next time,

Che Michelle