The chirping of birds travels into Riley's ear. He wakes up in a serious state of confusion. In front of him is a field of well groomed grass. A frisbee glides by and he sees a golden retriever barking as he chases after it. He looks down to see his feet planted on a cemented path.
"What the…" He realizes that he sits on a park bench. Realization really strikes hard as he recognizes the area as a park. "How did I…"
He cuts his sentence short as a young lady walks passed him. She appears to be five-eight with black, silk-like hair flowing down her back. Her complexion is like caramel, and her figure is athletic with a noticeable chest due to her low cut, orange shirt. Riley finds himself smacking as he takes pleasure in observing how the red jeans hug her hips.
"Man," Riley has a goofy smile on his face. He leans out and watches as she walks.
"Do you like what you see, sir?" says a jazzy, smooth voice.
"Ah!" Riley leaps from the bench. He spins around to see an old, slim, black man sitting. He wears a black, round hat with a red stripe going around it. The man's hat is pulled down low to hide his eyes. The rest of his attire consists of a black suit with a white, button-down shirt and black, rounded shoes. His jaw line is very noticeable to Riley, being that it is so square shaped.
"Ey, old man!" Riley points at him. "Where did you come from?"
"That's your daughter you gawking there, hot shot."
The words hit Riley hard, leaving him standing on one foot. He emits a tiny scream. "Old man!" He regains his composer and again points a finger at him. "I am fifteen years old, a virgin…" Riley gasps as he covers his mouth, but it is too late. The cat was out the bag. "Don't you tell anyone I'm a virgin, old man!"
The old man snaps his finger causing Riley to be quiet. "Calm down, sonny. I already know your life story. Now pipe down, because you might learn something." Riley is caught off guard by the old man way of talking to him, and really feels the urge to teach him what Esco is all about, but he settles with folding his arms and raising his snout. The old man slides his hand down his pants straightening out the wrinkles. "Good. I can deal with an ugly face, but a running mouth," He shakes his head. "But since we on precious time let's get to business. Welcome to the future."
Riley countenance falls. "The future?"
The old man smiles. "Look at that! I knew your ears would work if you would shut your mouth." He stands up. "Yes, this is the future. And she," He points at the female who is now a good distance away. "Is your daughter."
Riley tugs at his braids. "Old man, hear me out now. One, I am not having kids. Two," He holds his hands in her direction as if he's presenting something. "She looks like a hoe!" The old man places a hand in his pocket. Riley continues. "I know for sure that I won't be producing any hoes."
The old man lunges forward and grabs him by the wrist. Before Riley could pull away, he could feel tremendous power flowing inside him. A bright light strikes his eyes causing everything he sees to appear to have all seven colors of the rainbow. Eventually, the light blots out his vision leaving him enveloped in white.
When the whiteness fades away, Riley is now faced with darkness. Instead of being on his feet, he can feel the rugged, yet soft texture of carpeting against his cheek. He immediately gets on all fours and begins scanning the area. Although it is dark, he can make out a bed-maybe queen-sized- sitting about five feet away. There's a small rumbling sound which he immediately recognizes as someone fidgeting with the doorknob. He freezes in place having not a clue of what to do in this situation.
"What has this old man gotten me into?" As if he said the magic words, his head begins to grow warm as a long slideshow of memories runs rapidly through his mind. He clasps his hands against his head and falls back to the floor.
"What time your parents getting home?" says a deep voice.
Riley lifts his head slowly and watches as the light comes on. He sees his daughter walking in with a young man close behind her. He has to be about 6'1'' and the blue muscle shirt showcases that he is indeed toned. There's a lustful look painted on his chocolate face, which instantly stirs a feeling of hostility inside of Riley.
She gives him a small shove back. "I'm not sure yet, but it shouldn't be soon. Hey!" The boy tries to wraps his arms around her, but she palms him hard in his chest sending him a few inches backward. "Chill out, Tyrone!"
Riley's heart begins to pounds against his chest as his fists become clenched. He could remember the time when Tiara was five and she would run around with his fitted-cap on her head trying to rap. During those times, he didn't have to worry about a Doug or, in this case, a Tyrone trying to put their filthy hands on his baby girl.
Hold on! Where are these thoughts coming from? Riley begins to shake his head. Tiara? Doug? This stuff has never happened, he thinks. Yet, it is so fresh on his mind.
Tyrone ignores Tiara's demand and wraps his arms around her again. This time he draws his face in for a kiss as he slides a hand to her backside. Unfortunately for him, his face is introduced to the inside of her hand. She slaps him twice more inspiring him to let go.
Riley didn't have it all together in the head yet, but enough is enough. "Get off my da… my daughter!" He jumps to his feet and charges at Tyrone. Tyrone doesn't seem to notice Riley despite the shouting, but this only gives Riley more of the advantage, right? However, Riley runs straight through the boy and runs into the wall. He falls on his tush, but what he lands on is not the carpeted floor he woke up on. Instead, it is a solid, blue floor. He looks around to see that he is now enclosed inside four blue walls. The old man grabs him the by the shoulder and pulls him to his feet.
Riley can't even figure out how to react to the suddenness of the old man's actions. He ignores it though, because his concern is still with Tiara. "What happened to Tiara? And why do I know her name? And why do I feel this way?" The old man smiles which adds to Riley's frustrations. "This is not funny! I need answers, old man. Now!"
The old man doesn't respond to him. Instead, he just stares at him. His gaze leaves Riley feeling uncomfortable. "Are you done bickering?" Riley doesn't answer. "Good. Now, with you being in the future, there's one important factor you must know. You are able to see everyone, but everyone is unable to see you."
"That's why I couldn't stop him?"
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" The old man snaps his finger. "Correct you are. The next thing you should know is in your mind is all the memories you have had with Tiara and you now have a heart of a father."
Riley takes it in, but this seems to make his heart burn. "So right now my daughter is being raped?"
"No, after a few more hits to the face the young brother got the point." The old man strokes his chin in a thoughtful manner. "But baby girl does not know her worth."
Worth. The word begins to pick at his brain. He can't think of one time he incorporated females with worth. He honestly couldn't remember the last genuinely kind thing he said to a female. Lost in his thoughts, he forgets about the old man completely.
"Is your daughter a hoe?" asks the old man plainly.
A surge of anger courses throughout Riley's body. "What did you just call her?"
The old man smirks. "I called her nothing. I only asked a question."
"No my daughter is not a hoe!" he says obviously. "Why would you even ask me that?"
"So why would you assume that about mine?"
Riley raises a brow. "What?" But his question is unanswered because the bright light reappears. Riley puts his forearm over his eyes as he attempts to shield them. He doesn't remove his arm till he begins to hear a light piano rift. The guitars begin to blend with the piano creating an ultra smooth beat. Riley stares in awe at the crowd of people standing below him dancing and singing.
"I'm in a club!" He says gleefully. He looks back to see a light-skinned man with a microphone singing. "I'm on stage!"
"Baby, you my everything, you all I ever wanted
We can do it real big, bigger than you ever done it
You be up on everything, other hoes ain't never on it
I want this forever, I swear I can spend whatever on it"
Riley begins bobbing his head. "This is hot!" The old man appears next to him. When Riley looks at him he leaps backwards. "Would you stop that!"
The old man dusts off his suit jacket and casually responds. "Stop what?"
Riley heaves a sigh. "Forget it."
"'Cause she hold me down every time I hit her up
When I get right I promise that we gonna live it up
She make me beg for it till she give it up
And I say the same thing every single time"
"Old man, who is this rapping?"
The old man looks at the performer, then back at Riley. "You will find out when you get here."
"What?"
"You like the music?" he quickly changes the subject.
"I say you the, you the best, you the, you the best
You the, you the best, you the, you the best
You the best I ever had, best I ever had
Best I ever had, best I ever had, I say you the, you the best"
"Yea!" Riley does a little dance while laughing. "He goes hard."
The old man points at the females in front of the stage. "Look at all those daughters in the front." Riley watches as they scream and fight to get closer to the performer as he puts his hand out to them. "It would be a shame if one of those was yours."
Riley shrugs. "My daughter is not a hoe like them."
"Kid, you just don't seem to get it, do you?" The old man grabs Riley by his shirt and slings him into the crowd. Riley flies over many heads till he begins to reach the center of the audience. As he descends, he realizes that he is heading toward his daughter. She stands with her arms folded and a sadden look on her face. Before he makes contact with her, she and the entire club vanishes.
Riley begins to fall in what looks like a bottomless pit. Thousands of mini television screams light up around him and begin to show different moments of Tiara with the light-skinned rapper.
"Where's the remote!" Riley yells out. The television screams goes blank, and Riley lands onto a leather couch. It's his best landing throughout the entire journey. Looking to his left and right, it registers in his mind that he is on a tour bus.
"Man," he says with a toothy grin. Then he sees Tiara and the rapper sitting across from him on a leather couch. The smile fades away.
Tiara looks a lot more mature since that time in her bedroom, but Riley could sense that she is nineteen. Her hair is still hanging down her back and she now wears a green, tight-fitting jacket with black jeans. The light-skinned rapper has an even cut and is wearing a blue shirt with white slacks. He peers into her olive green eyes as she talks.
"I just don't see why they're always half-naked women running in and out of this bus!" She says in a disgusting manner. "I mean, what purpose does that really serve?"
The rapper rolls his eyes. "Baby, how many times I got to tell you. I'm not doing anything with them."
"So why are they around?"
"Yea, answer that playa playa!" says Riley as he stares dagger into the man. He looks to his right to see one of the doors in the back area opening. His mouth drops as he sees a white lady with blonde hair sticking her head out and licking her lips seductively at the rapper. The rapper begins to motion with his eyes to her to get back in the room.
"Tiara!" Riley screams bloody murder, but it's to no prevail. That's when he remembers that in this world he really doesn't exist.
The female closes the door right before Tiara looks back. The rapper grabs her by the hands, regaining her attention. "Why are you so paranoid?" He smiles as he strokes her face softly. "It must be all this stress you putting yourself through."
A man bustles into the tour bus with a white, foam cup in his hand. "Ey, where the hoes at?"
Tiara knocks his hand away from her face. "And why should you know where they at?"
"Sh." The rapper places his finger softly against her lips and then gives her a small peck on the cheek. "Yea, I know where the hoes at, but that's not where I'm at. You are the only one for me."
Riley watches in disbelief as his daughter falls for it. The old man touches his shoulder again. He faces him slowly, but the old man redirects his attention to where it was before. Riley turns his attention back to the couple just to see the rapper sitting with an entirely different female.
"You are the only one for me." He tells her. The female disappears just to be replaced by another. Just like his daughter and the female before her, he tells her the same thing.
"Stop!" Riley shouts at the old man. "I don't want to see anymore!"
The old man stops it and the two remains sitting in the same spot, but this time they are in someone else's house. Riley sees Tiara in her fifteen year old state again. She stands in front of a tall man who has his dark-brown hair pulled back into a puffy pony tail. He wears a white tank-top with khaki shorts. Anger is present in his olive brown colored eyes.
"Why did you let that nappy-headed boy inside my house, Tiara?" the man shouts at her, causing her to shiver.
"Daddy…"
"Shut up!" he raises his hand, but stop when he hears her scream. "What you screaming for? Huh?"
"I want mama!" she sobs.
"Go to your mama so she can see the hoe that you done turned into!"
Riley could feel his heart break. He looks at the old man, and he simply nods. "That is you, son."
"But... but… She knows I didn't mean it, right?"
The old man sighs. "It won't be your last time calling her that, sonny."
Riley begins to weep in his hands. "I don't want to call my daughter a hoe! I don't!" He grabs onto the old man. "I got to change before I get this far."
The old man places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Reap what you sow, my son. Stop calling my daughters hoes."
The words are extremely soothing to Riley. He looks at the old man with tears streaming down his face. "Who are you?"
Riley wakes up on his desk with the same heart-broken feeling present inside of his chest. The face of his daughter; however, begins to slowly fade away from his mind. He lifts his head up and starts glancing around his room. Everything is back to normal, except the feeling he still has inside of his heart. He sits back in his chair and begins massaging his forehead.
Then he notices his notepad. He knocks it out the way and begins to fish around in his pocket for his cell phone. A sigh flows from his chest as he dials in the number and waits for the person on the other end to pick up.
"Hey Jazmine, this Riley."
