In lieu of spooky szn, I decided to create a mini-series of short stories. I hope you all enjoy this read!
*clears throat*
“The Levittown Experiment”
The sunrays reflected off the rusty barbed wire gate that surrounded the once-great city.
Roads were bumpy and unsteady due to all the years being dormant. Splattered in dried-up blood, a huge wilted billboard at the top of the nostalgic forest read: “Welcome to Levittown! The town where we are always watching. Smile you’re on camera!” In the bottom right-hand corner, in small cursive writing, it read: “Come one, come all, let’s see who rises and who falls.” It was as if the sign itself warned anyone who stumbled upon this new world to turn around and drive as fast that they can without turning back. Many civilians like Warren and Cynthia Robinson, never imagined that their dream lifestyle would become a living hell. If only she knew that I am everywhere and I am everything…
A 1950s Styleline Coupe came down the street as I watched through the coffee shop surveillance camera place. The closer they traveled, the louder “Mona Lisa” by Nat King Cole blasted out of the antique speakers. I was taken aback by the fact that a very “colored influenced” song was played around “these parts.” The people who were blessed to have such a divine experience here at Levittown were special to me due to their unique qualities and personalities. “Tutti Frutti” blasted from the stereo as a woman vacuumed her rug. Her name was Cynthia Robinson. A law graduate from Spelman College, who became the first black female attorney in the small town of Hoover, Tennessee. Unlike many women at this time, she was never limited on her potential, in fact, her husband, Warren encouraged her to apply for numerous jobs, but during the 1950s, no one wanted to hire a negro woman to be an officer of the law even if she was Valedictorian of her class and scored higher than any male on her bar exam.
Bloodcurdling screams plagued the room as her 8-month-old son, Julian burst into tears due to the harsh sounds coming from the vacuum. “Awwww I know my darling,” she whispered with her southern belle accent, as she rocked her child. “Rockabye baby in the treetop…” Cynthia sang as her child’s glossy eyes closed. Even though being a housewife wasn’t her dream job, Cynthia loved being a mother. The look in her eyes every time she looked into those child’s eyes, was the most precious thing to her. Finally, Cynthia continued her house cleaning as her child was in a deep nap until she was interrupted by a huge gushing sound coming out of their kitchen. When she hit the corner, the kitchen was flooded with water. Water gushing out of the faucet at full speed. Ever since they moved to that house, the faucet always gave them hell. “I swear the devil lives inside of this thang!” Cynthia said angrily as she attempted to clog the sink with their elf on the shelf ornament. The Seneca white floor tiles started to peel as her black baby doll’s shoes floated underwater. “Oh no! My shoes are gettin’ all messed up! Oooo I swear when that damn Warren gets home…” Cynthia growled as she drug her feet through the lake in her kitchen. It was as if the universe had it out for Warren.
In the middle of her cursing his name in her head, Warren walked through the door. “ Honey I’m home!” Warren yelled joyfully as he hung up his black cashmere jacket on the hook. A drenched and angered Cynthia slowly walked around the corner as she choked Warren to death through her eyes. “Awww, what’s wrong with my chocolate drop huh? Did somebody miss me?” Warren said in a baby voice. “ WARREN WE NEED TO LEAVE THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW BEFORE WE DROWN IN OUR SLEEP. I FELT LIKE I WAS DROWNING WHEN I ACCIDENTALLY FELL ON THE GROUND, OKAY I FEEL LIKE A WET DOG AND I FEEL DIRTY.” Cynthia sobbed in the arms of Warren. “Come on Sweetpea it can’t be that bad,” Warren said carelessly as she walked to the kitchen. As they walked down the hallway, a slew of water rushed towards their feet like a hurricane. “Run,” Warren said frantically as he tossed Cynthia aside and ran towards the door. Cynthia ditched her shoes, grabbed Julian, and bolted out the door. “Really Warren, how dare you leave us in there?” Cynthia said heartbroken. “ I’m sorry darling, you know how I feel about water. I still love you.” Warren said as he wrapped his arms around Cynthia’s soaked dress.
“What are we gonna do? We don’t have anywhere to go and I’m scared of what could happen to us,” Cynthia said as her voice trembled and tears rolled down her bronzed skin. “I don’t know yet, but as long as the three of us are together, that’s all that matters,” Warren said as a tear escaped his eye. As Cynthia walks to the mailbox, she squeals in pain as she lifts her bloody foot off a broken beer bottle. “Awww, darling! Hurry–put me in the car before this gets infected,” Cynthia whales in pain. “Be right back, I need to get some gauze out of my drawer and I’ll get you a pair of shoes…
I believed that they needed to be a part of this society I created to prepare for the future of the human species and the earth itself. Therefore, If you continue to read, just know that you may do so at your own risk.