A stream of moonlight broke through wood blinds and came to rest on the closed eyes of a young brunette woman. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the light, giving her an angelic appearance. Slender hands lay beside her face, clutching the pillow tightly as her eyes moved quickly beneath the lids. Her body began to twist violently between the sheets, and moans slipped passed her full, pink lips. Suddenly she shot up, gasping for breath. Dark, violent images flashed through her mind, and tears leaked from her blue eyes.
"Just a dream." She mumbled quietly and glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. 3:24. "Fantastic." She groaned collapsing back into her pillows. As she lay there attempting to will herself back to sleep, she saw a white light appear just above her head. She was opening her mouth to scream when the light engulfed her. She felt a pull in her stomach and her body lift off the bed.
Suddenly she landed with a loud thump on what felt like a hard wood floor. She groaned and tried to sit up. "Are you alright, Dahlia?" a woman's voice pulled her eyes upwards. A hand grasped her arm and pulled her up gently.
"I don't know yet." Dahlia stated, letting her eyes adjust to the bright light. "What the fuck is going on?" her eyes focused on a woman standing near a table covered in herbs, jars and vials. The woman had long dreads that fell down her back, her skin was dark and flawless; a dress that looked like it belonged in a museum hugged her body.
"I'm sorry for the way I brought you here but it was the only way." The woman said with a smile, showing off black teeth. Dahlia gasped but recovered quickly and stepped away from the woman. "Don't be afraid."
"Who are you?" Dahlia asked taking a moment to take in her surroundings. Random objects covered the walls, cages filled with birds hung from the ceiling along with what seemed like hundreds of jars and ceramics filled with God only knows what. She watched the strange woman take a seat at the table.
"I am Tia Dalma."
"Where am I?"
"My home. Please have a seat." She gestured to a chair that appeared to be made of bone.
"I'm fine, thank you." Dahlia said, her manners kicking in automatically. "I must be dreaming." She thought aloud. Suddenly a sharp sting ached along her arm; Tia Dalma was now standing directly in front of her with a needle in her left hand.
"You can not feel pain within a dream."
"What is going on?" Dahlia asked after several minutes of silence.
"I need your help, Dahlia." Tia Dalma began, "Do you believe in destiny?" She smiled when the younger woman shook her head. "You should, you have quite a bit of destiny around you."
"What does that mean?"
"It is amazing how one tiny change in action can produce an entirely different world." Tia Dalma said as she poured a clear liquid into a bowl. She mumbled a few words and tapped the side of the bowl; Dahlia was shocked to see an image appear as the ripples began to settle.
She could see a woman walking down a dark alley, a hood pulled over her head. Dahlia couldn't help but think that the image looked like something from a Shakespeare revival as she watched the woman move from stall to stall in a market stealing random bits of food and trinkets as she went.
The woman lowered her hood revealing a face that made Dahlia gasp; her own face stared back at her. "What is this?"
Tia Dalma waved her hand over the bowl and it seemed as if the world playing out on the surface of the water began to fast forward. "This is your last life."
"My last life?" Dahlia asked, "Like reincarnation?"
"For lack of a better word, yes. Souls who have not completed their purpose in life will be born again and again until the task is complete."
"What is my task?"
"I can not tell you, only that you should have finished it the last time around." Tia Dalma said, anger evident in her voice. The woman gestured back to the bowl drawing Dahlia's eyes to the image of herself moving swiftly down an alley toward what looked like a dock. The sound of a man's voice yelling after her only seemed to make the woman move faster. "One small action can change history." Tia Dalma muttered again.
Dahlia watched in horror as a man came into view, a pistol pulled from his jacket. He yelled once more before pulling the trigger. The lead pierced the air before lodging itself directly into the chest of the woman. Dahlia watched as eyes identical to hers stared down at the blood covering the ground before collapsing, eyes opened but vacant.
"I don't understand." Dahlia said looking up at the strange woman as the image faded from the bowl.
"You were supposed to have left London the day before but that man promised you jewels and in a moment of greed you decided to stay for just one more day." Tia Dalma got to her feet and moved across the room towards the door. "You were never meant to die in such a manner. Destiny had much bigger plans for you, little one. So when I got the chance, I brought you back."
"Back where?"
"Back in time, silly girl."
Dahlia stared at her as if she had grown another head. "I have lost my mind." She mumbled bringing a hand to her face. "That's impossible."
"It's difficult, not impossible."
Dahlia thought about what she had just seen. 'The woman made a movie play in a bowl. You're just dreaming so you might as well go along with this, it's no use fighting a dream.' She thought. She looked up to see Tia Dalma standing in the doorway watching something in the distance. "What year?"
Tia Dalma turned her head and smiled, "1742."
"I think I'm going to be sick." Dahlia said as she slowly sat down. "Why would you bring me back? My dying a little early once upon a time could not have done that much damage!"
"You know not what you say." Tia Dalma said sadly. "In three months time, a man will die because you were not there to help him."
"What?"
"You are meant for so much in the life to which I've brought you back. Those things can not happen if you are not there to make them happen." Tia Dalma snapped before turning her attention back outside. "They're here."
"Who is 'they'?" Dahlia asked getting to her feet slowly, maintaining a grip on the table in case her weak knees decided to give out on her.
Tia Dalma didn't answer just watched something get nearer. Dahlia heard the sound of heavy boots colliding with wood and then the rough voice of a man.
"Looking lovely as always." The man said ducking passed Tia Dalma but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Dahlia standing in the middle of the room. Dahlia felt her mouth drop open slightly when she saw the handsome man standing in front of her. His dark hair fell around his shoulders, some braided, some dreaded with beads and random objects throughout. A tri-cone hat sat on his head over a dirty maroon bandana. His kohl covered eyes moved up and down her body, causing Dahlia to shift nervously. "What do we have here?" he mumbled as Tia Dalma pushed him further into the room.