1970


As I recall, it was around three O'clock on a warm Friday afternoon, August 21st.
I didn't go to school today for whatever reason and was upstairs in my room playing
with my new G.I. Joe action figure. Having decided to venture downstairs, I reached
into the dish drain for a glass and pulled out the tallest one. I then opened the fridge
and carefully poured myself some Hi-C. Then something piqued my interest. I heard
a noise outside and went over to the window to see what it was. As I looked through
the curtains, I saw a female figure bringing her belongings into the old Llavarano house.
It was kind of hard for me to make out just what it was she was doing, so I put on my
shoes and a neatly folded tee shirt and went over to investigate.

As I closed the outside door, I paused to take a deep breath of fresh air from atop the
steps. I then went down and across the street. Since there was no sidewalk on this side
of the street, I walked past an accumulation of road gravel where a disfigured mulberry
tree grew. As horrible as it looked, it bore the sweetest white berries I have ever tasted!
Following a multicolored path of slate would lead me to the back door entrance. I rapped
my knuckles firmly against the hollow sounding door, and the echoing frailty of loose
windows reverberated throughout the house. There was no answer and I assumed no one
was home. As I began walking back the same way I came, I heard a shuffling movement on
the other side of the house followed by the sound of an empty metal pail being placed on concrete.
As I reached the street, I followed the noise and she turned just in time to see me coming.

"Hello there," she said to me, waving politely as I came near. "Hello," I replied as well before
approaching her and introducing myself. It was a beautiful day and as the gentle wind touched
her hair, I could tell she was unequivocally the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my short
lifetime. Standing at a little over five feet, she had a Mediterranean complexion which seemed to
intensify her jet black hair. With a red sequin blouse perfectly accentuating every part of her amber
skin, I immediately noticed she had the most adorable little beauty mark right below her left eye.
As I stood before her looking up, I began to feel a bit woozy.

Now bear in mind that I was only six years old at the time, but had several cousins
who were continually changing boyfriends, and I was always around. I struggled
terribly and almost couldn't say it, but I did and the words flowed out perfectly!
Has anyone ever told you, you have the most beautiful brown eyes? I said it
as sincere as possible, but it came out sounding overly romantic.



She immediately started to laugh before crouching down to where I stood,
and with a warm smile said to me in return, "You have to be careful what
you say to a lady; I might fall in love with you." Upon hearing those words,
I simply melted like a bar of warm butter in a roaring fire. Maybe it was the
closeness of her face or the way her lips moved, but whatever it was it
must have been too much for my brain to process, so I fainted.

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Instinctively she grabbed hold of my shoulders before I hit the ground. As everything
slowly came back into focus, I found myself looking up at her with loving adulation
and said, "you caught me!" I then felt very embarrassed and think I may have even
blushed. There was a long pause before I denoted a hint of worry in her eyes and
that alarmed me. "As long as you're okay," she said in a discerning voice. "Maybe
you should go now, I have a lot of unpacking to do." Harmony spoke while averting
her glance from me, and it seemed as if she was deliberately trying to avoid making
eye contact. When she peeked, I smiled graciously before waving goodbye.

The following day, I thought about going over there but could not bring myself to
do it. The day after that, I didn't even have to think about it. I told my parents I was
going outside and hurried across the street. I knocked on the wooden door but there
was no answer, so I came back a half hour later. As Harmony answered the door,
I looked up at her. There she stood in a stunning peach brocade blouse that appeared
to be encrusted with gold embroidery. Beneath the exquisitries she wore a chamois satin
lengha to match! Between the gold tikka that hung delicately from her forehead, and the
little diamond sparkle pierced into the right side of her nose, I cannot pinpoint exactly
which one was making my knees buckle! I will say however, that tiny diamond really
brought everything into perspective! I couldn't help notice her hands either, for they
were adorned with the hue of red mehndi that I thought was a permanent tattoo!
Those exotic designs which seemed to crawl up her arms left me tingling!



It felt like all the oxygen had been removed from the air for I had never seen anything like
it before in my life! So now, I completely forget what I was going to say and just stand
there. All those well rehearsed lines gone. Everything gone. "Well," she said with a half
smile and two raised eyebrows. It was like looking into the eyes of a vision from Heaven,
and this woman needed no makeup at all for she was absolutely gorgeous.

For a brief moment, I forgot how to talk as my brain must have been rebooting! I then said
the worst thing I could have possibly said. Like an android without any hint of expression
whatsoever, I uttered the following words. "Have I told you- how beautiful you look?" She
crouched down once again and said, "Why are you doing this to me?" I tried to speak but
nothing came out. She then grabbed my arm and squeezed it tight! "Who put you up to this?
Answer me!" But I could not talk. "Fine," she said, "be like that; and don't come back!" "Wait,"
I yelled, "you don't understand!" "What don't I understand, that you're a liar?" As she was closing
the door, I said in complete desperation, "I'm so sorry, no one told me to come here!" I could now
see that she was no longer upset for her composure had returned to normal. I then said, while trying
to hold back tears, "I have no friends." She then apologized for becoming angry with me and said that
we could be friends, only if we were completely honest with one another, and that was how it all began.

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I was awakened in the early morning to the sound of a huge moving truck. When I finally
got around to getting up, I looked out my window to see two men carrying what appeared
to be a large bureau into the old house. This I could not be certain of for my view was
obstructed by several tall trees. I observed them for quite some time and rapidly began to
lose interest when I realized that Harmony would not be coming out. Was she even in there?
Could she be showing them where to put the furniture? It really didn't matter anyway,
I had to go with my mom today for shoes.



Every six months or so, she would take me up to Thom McAn or Buster Brown, and I
would try on a few pairs until I found something comfortable. Sunday morning, I didn't
see her either and the excitement soon faded. By the end of September, however, we had
become the best of friends! My mother liked Harmony too. Once in a while, mom would
relay a message for me to give to her, and when I wasn't around, the two of them would
get together and talk. One of their talks entailed me keeping her company until it was
time for dinner. Another was me having dinner with her while my parents tried to resolve
unresolved issues over dinner at an unspecified restaurant of their choice. Like CIA
operatives, everything was a covert mission with them! I only knew what was going on
because Harmony told me everything they told her not to tell me. Even though there was a
fourteen year difference between my mother and Harmony, they remained close. That was
until March of 1971, when Harmony began working with her brother that she began spending
less time with my mom and more time with me. By the end of the year, my parents were
fighting about everything. My father was leaving more and more frequently and coming
back less, while mom tried to hold it together the best she could.

From what I can recall it was a chilly morning on Thursday, December 17th. I came back
from school and stayed at my aunt's house down the block. I enjoyed spending time with
my cousins, before scurrying over to see Harmony. Around Four O'clock, I felt an urge to
leave so I said goodbye to my cousin Patricia and strolled over there. I knocked on the front
door and could hear her gentle footsteps approaching. She quickly pulled open the door,
so I couldn't tell what she was wearing. As I entered, she gave me one of those slow
provocative smiles which tended to stimulate my very creative imagination!

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked, enhancing her stance;
as to be strictly posing for the attention of a well-deserved compliment.



"If I must say, you leave me breathless." I tried to be flamboyant with words,
but wound up sounding like an idiot. Well she doubled over with laughter!

And that was a start.

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"Worthy of Publishing" reviews for this particular chapter

Peter Von Harten - This is AMAZING!!! =) I love the nostalgic feel. *rating = 5 stars*

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PG 161) Zebrocerous by Ilene Meyer

PG 162) Auto erotic immolation by Heidi Taillefer

PG 163) Buster Brown's Easter Parade of shoes

PG 163) Rakassa by Anastasia Kvadrovich