“We’re already late!” I let out as our heels echoed against the wooden steps. We only slowed when we came across a few elders and professors that glared at us on their way down. I gave a small nod of acknowledgement and a muttered ‘morning’ before we broke out into a heated sprint. The once gloomy skies along the winding windows that wrapped around the building showed the sunlight breaking through the clouds. The bright rays of the sun seemed to follow us with each step until we made it to the top level and the last door on the right at the end of the hallway.
“Introduction to Ontology,” Ayira read as I gathered myself together. Our uniforms were soaked but with the door being closed, that meant the lecture had already started. It was almost the universal sign that you will be known as late if you walkin after the door is closed. Yet Ayira who did not understand the etiquette of school just barged right into the class while I quickly followed behind, mimicking her confidence. Professor Yancey, an older light skinned man with freckles covering his large swollen red nose and heavy cheekbones. His silver fro was thinning around the front and he wore an old gray suit and glasses. The class was full of desks that wrapped around like an auditorium but thankfully, there were a few towards the front where Ayira and I could sit next to each other.
“You two are…” He asked, voice deep and brittle bone dry. He almost sounds like Squidward from SpongeBob, just dull and uninterested.
“Maggie Grey,” I said as I took my place. Ayira didn’t say anything as she tried to unpack her belongings. It wasn’t until I cleared my throat that she looked around, realizing all eyes were on her.
“Your name,” I muttered.
“Danielle Jackson,” she said before nodding, “we are late.”
I closed my eyes as I heard a few students’ snicker. The man waved his hand in the air as the door suddenly slammed shut and the lights went out. A small beam of light projected onto the board as we waited for the film to load.
“Ontology as it relates to the mythical,” Professor let out, clearly not amused. I watched Ayira carefully pull out a perfectly reserved biscuit she snatched from the Dining Hall. Instead of questioning whether we could eat it in class or not, I held my hand out as she quietly broke off a piece.
“A condition where an entity exists but does not belong to anyone or anybody or anything.”
The film flickered before showing a faint gray screen of nothing. Just what looked like an empty room before a man with a lab coat dragged a chair towards the center. I could feel the eyes of Professor Yancy on us snacking as I nudged her and nodded towards the teacher. She quickly wiped the crumbs around her mouth and shoved her hands underneath the desk while I smirked.
“You all may be wondering why this class suddenly appeared on your schedule. This is one of the rarest classes here at Drew Collins,” Professor Yancy announced. “The system found it necessary that you attend for various reasons such as knowledge seekers, the gifted, and those who need a bit of a warning…”
I felt his stare zoned in on Ayira and I as she cut her eyes towards me.
“A condition of continued being without resolution!” He added just as a dark-skinned man wearing a jumpsuit like he’d been in prison appeared in front of the screen and just stood there. The flickering dark spots of the film showed just how old and how long ago this was recorded but then Professor Yancy began to explain.
“This is Obie…birth name given by his mother who was born a slave…You will not hear of his story much above ground because of what he was able to do…He was considered the most dangerous human alive at that point, but his records will never see the light of day. What you’re about to see is an extreme case of abuse. If you are not comfortable with the truth, you may step outside.”
Nobody moved as the man only named Obie stood in the center with his head leaning to the side. His eyes were barely open when he simply stared back at us. Professor Yancy leanedagainst his desk with his ankles crossed and waited as he brought his hand to his mouth.
“Your name?” A voice called out. When he didn’t answer, I turned my head the moment I heard the loud smack. The difference in education in the Underground vs education above ground. We were taught about slavery, the abuse, the beatings, and mistreatment. Down here, they separated themselves from it. A lot of them didn’t believe their descendants, including Namir who couldn’t remotely understand slavery much less relate to it, was their problem or history to worry about. They had their own issues of classism and division down here but above ground, we’re all just seen as black. I never understood the argument of wanting to distance yourself from our history but be a part of our culture all the same. Never made any sense to me.
The beatings continued, hearing the chair scrape and snap against the floor. One glance and I could see they took the chair to beat the man down, slamming the split wood against his back as he laid on the ground. Yet the man didn’t holler or scream. He didn’t flinch or fight back. When they turned him over, he stood back up on his feet and stared straight ahead with a single blink.
I could tell there was fear from the white men when they stared at the one thing they couldn’t possess or control.
“What you’re seeing here is a man that does not exist in the physical form. Obie has found a way to leave, and they know it. They know he’s no longer in this world. They’ve starved him for weeks, beaten him for weeks, and it’s the same. He’s able to maintain his physical form but he is no longer present. Watch carefully at the shadow behind him.”
Squinting my eyes, I could feel me and the rest of the class lean forward as we watched the stretched shadow suddenlymove to the corner of the room. Just waiting to return back to his body.
“A man that is able to detach his soul is a man that can go anywhere. It leaves questions that need answers about souls, spirit realm, are there worlds between life and death…”
The shadow crept closer to the man before dropping below into the floor, disappearing completely. The man’s head suddenly leaned back with a gasp before he clasped his hands together and disappeared completely. Stunned, I sat back in my chair unsure of what just happened. The shakiness of the camera and the panicked men in the room were just as confused. Professor Yancy waved his hand as the film went completely black.
“I have a question,” someone asked with a raised hand. “If someone today had the ability to do this, wouldn’t that make them the most powerful mythic? They themselves can be a moving door if they’re able to be anywhere at any time. They could trump any spell, any curse, any–––”
“It’s not something everybody can do but some believe that it happens when we sleep or dream,” Professor Yancy said. “Obie, before he passed, was able to depict what he was seeing when he would separate himself… he found an artist that began drawing what he calls the, "Third World or Middle lands.”
The images began showing landscapes, clouds, water, structures built within rocks and fields of grass that blew sideways. There was one image where people stood around with their eyes closed as if they were waiting to wake up.
“He’s the last one known to achieve this level of magic…Some mythics don’t believe he actually saw any of this. Most believed he disassociated from the abuse, but we will never know. Thepurpose of this class is to teach about the possibilities of existing in more than one space at once. Yes?” He pointed to another student with their hand raised.
“So who can do it if everybody can’t?”
“Gods,” Professor Yancy said with a straight face. I wanted to roll my eyes. “Those not really tied to this earth or their bodies from the moment they were born. I can only explain it as Gods. Those who can walk in this life, the previous life, and the next at the same time.”
“So that isn’t magic,” I exclaimed. “That has nothing to do with magic.”
“It doesn’t?” He asked as he turned his body to face me. I shrugged. “Explain.”
