Excerpt of Child of God by Lolita Files

Chapter One

There's no sweeter stench than the scent of a burning
baby.

Grace raced across the yard, her steps hastened by the
cries upon the wind.

"Somebody help me," she cried. "My grandbaby's trapped
inside the house."

She grabbed a large branch and began to beat against a
window. It broke away and released a menacing gust of fire
that licked the edges of her hair and sent her reeling
backward in a choking fit.

The anguished cries from inside the house escaped through
the broken pane, hanging upon the wind.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

It was a wild and airy sound, a wailing that trailed off
into a whirlwind of echoes. In the midst of the biting-
cold night, the house was engulfed in a blizzard of
flames.

Polo stood out front, drenched in sweat, flinging buckets
of water. The fire became more savage with each bucket he
threw. Grace found her footing again and began beating her
house with another tree branch.

"Mama, it's not slowing down," Polo said, out of
breath. "It's getting bigger. The water's making it
worse."

"Just keep trying. It's got to be stopped."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

The cries of the baby were deafening.

Polo threw away the bucket and grabbed a tree branch. He
followed his mother's lead and began to swat at the fire.

Grace lifted her nose, catching the scent of the wind.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." She fell to her knees
in exhaustion.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

The haunting cry was like a lingering note in a dirge.
Then it faded into the night and was never heard by Grace
or Polo again.

Grace raised her head and listened to the sound as it
waned. Silent tears fell onto the dusty earth. If not for
the gentle shaking of her shoulders as she dropped her
head into her hands, Polo would not have known she was
crying.

"My grandbaby is dead."

Polo dropped on his knees in the dirt beside her, trying
to make out her words as she sobbed into her soot-stained
palms. He thought she was asking about his sister. He
wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Mama, Ophelia's all right," he said. "She's out there by
them fir trees."

Ophelia stood in the shadows of the woods, watching the
fire gut the house. In the dazzling glow of the flames,
she had seen her mother and brother trying to get to the
baby and calm the blaze.

Grace's sobs grew heavy as the soot from her hands now
covered her face. Her long black satiny hair hung loose
and tangled around her head. Polo held his mother close,
rocking her in his arms.

The fire raged on before them, consuming the house.

"Mama, we couldn't do nuthin'," said Polo. "The baby
was 'sleep when we went next door. It wasn't nothing
burning in the house. The stove wasn't even on. The baby
was 'sleep."

"How we gon' tell Ophelia about the baby?"

The look of terror and questioning in his mother's eyes
frightened him.

"I think she already know. Look like she came from out by
the barn. That's why she standing by them trees."

"What was she doing over there?" Grace asked. She was
almost hysterical.

"I'on know, Mama. She always be in the barn." He rocked
his mother faster. "She ain't crying or even coming over
here to ask 'bout the baby. I'on know, maybe she in shock.
I guess she already knows he's dead."

At those words, Grace fell onto her son's chest and began
to cry again.

As the two held each other, the wooden porch collapsed,
and the entire house folded in on itself.

Polo's girlfriend came running from across the field.

"I could see it from my house," she said. "I could see the
flames just shooting up into the sky."

Polo ignored her, rocking his mother. Coolie ran next door
to Polo's uncle's house for more water. She returned,
hurling the bucket so hard, the entire thing flew into the
flames.

"What are you doing?" Polo cried. "The house can't be
saved, it's already gone."

"We gotta put the fire out," she said. She ran next door
for more water. Her short, curly hair was sticking to her
face and neck in sweaty ringlets, and her peach-colored
skin was flushed from the heat. She ran closer to the
house. The fire licked at her, rushing up the front of her
skirt.

She screamed and danced around in a frenzy.

Polo let go of his mother and leaped upon his girlfriend,
throwing her to the ground. The fire on her skirt was
extinguished as they rolled in the dust. Smoke rose from
the hem in a funky puff.

A car approached in the distance. Grace's husband, Big
Daddy, sped toward them in his bright yellow '59 Ford.
Before he had turned the engine off, Big Daddy and Grace's
brother, Walter, were dashing out of the car, running to
the house. Within seconds they realized there was nothing
either of them could do to save it.

Big Daddy rushed over to Grace. Walter stood rooted,
staring at the fantastic flames.

"What happened, baby?" Big Daddy said in his booming
voice.

Grace's sobbing grew louder.

"We was all next door just sittin' around, like we've done
a hundred times before. Hamlet was in there. We didn't
want to disturb him since he was 'sleep. The next thing
you know, it's this fire. My baby's little boy done died
in there."

Big Daddy grabbed his head and dropped to his knees beside
her. He wrapped his tree-trunk arms around her and
released his muffled cries deep within the security of her
shoulder.

Walter stood above them. "Ain't nuthin' we can do but let
it burn out," he said. "It's too far gone now."

He wanted to hug and comfort his sister, but Big Daddy and
his overpowering strength were in the way.

"Where's Ophelia?" Big Daddy asked, choking back tears.

He looked around for his daughter amid the fire and smoke.
Polo and Coolie pointed in the direction of the trees. Big
Daddy turned to see Ophelia facedown in the dirt, her
hands digging deep into the earth. Her body was wracked
with sobs as they all watched her, alone in her pain.

From the porch next door, Sukie looked out. She glanced at
her husband, Walter, who was still staring down at Grace
and Big Daddy. She looked at the burning house, now a
frame shrouded in the brilliance of the fire. She noticed
Ophelia in the thicket of trees, covered with dirt and
leaves as she grieved in the darkness.

Sukie shook her head.

With a slow turn, she sucked her tongue and went into the
house to mop up all the water Polo and Coolie had wasted.