Prologue

As I entered my luxurious mansion, I smelled something peculiar with a slight hint of mystery mixed in as well. You see, I am convinced I have this unusual sense that tells me when trouble is amuck. It has never failed on me before. Maybe Mama shoplifted from Salvation Army again. Even though it has been years since we left from the disaster of Jamaica, my distressed mother still has the mentality that we are in severe poverty. The further I walked into my home, the further I began to question myself whether my nose was finally wrong about trouble. The place appeared just fin--

BOOM, the sound of glass shattering echoed the manor.

I began to panic. Should I run towards the noise? Should I yell seeing if Mama was alright yet giving away my location? Or should I hide like a coward? Cowardice was my first choice but I realized nothing is more important than life. I sprinted to the sound. Blood rushed through my body, I thought I’d have a heart attack but it was merely my heart pounding more than 200 beats per minute. Once I made it across my wide mansion, I got to mother’s bedroom where I heard the noise.

“Mama, are you alright?” I asked, frightened as I twisted the knob to the door. I opened it quickly and saw shards of glass spread all around her room.

“I’m fine, Devon Joseph.” Mama replied. “I just dropped my mirror on the ground and it broke. No need to worry.”

I sighed and hugged my mother, “Let’s clean this up.” I ran to fetch a broom and dust pan. I can’t believe I thought I was scared for nothing. I guess the smell made me think something horrible happened. I still undeniably smelled that special stink. My nose was wrong for the first time. Well, I guess I should’ve seen this coming. I mean, it was used as some sort of magical power. There is no such thing as magic besides God’s magic of course. I reached the mudroom and picked up the broom and dust pan.