Gloria Finch

This story is about four characters, Grandmother Pinkie, her two grandchildren, Louis and Jean, and a Supernatural Power that lives in the attic and speaks through a golden teacup. Grandmother Pinkie and her two grandchildren are African Americans with a rich heritage, who live in a beautiful, cottonwood-colored brick home with twenty rooms. Grandmother Pinkie, Louis, and Jean lived a happy, privileged life. Grandmother Pinkie’s morning routine would begin at five thirty; she believed that the early bird always got the worm. She spent an hour meditating and exercising to remain alert and vibrant each morning. She read her e-mails, read much of the news online, prepared breakfast for the grandchildren, and made sure they were ready to leave for school at eight thirty.

While the grandchildren were in school, Grandmother Pinkie would spend most of her day planting and cultivating her vegetable and flower garden. In her community, she shared weekly with the families that needed the fresh vegetables. She would take many of the beautiful flowers that grew in her garden to the hospital, and to the homes that took care of the elderly. The florist shops in the community purchased some of the flowers from her garden, because they were so rare, and they would sell more quickly than many of the other flowers. Certain customers came to the community florist shop just to purchase those flowers. Some of the owners of grocery stores and community restaurants would purchase her fresh vegetables and flowers, as well. She would use those funds to help struggling families in her community.

All of this changed one day when the children were playing hide-and-seek. They ended up on the third floor and saw a trapdoor in the ceiling that led to the attic. The children understood that an attic was the space in their house between the ceiling and the roof. So, why had Grandmother Pinkie told them not to go into the attic? The grandchildren had been told long ago that they could visit any room in the house, with the exception of the attic. Suddenly, their curiosity made them forget the importance of the house rules—they wanted to know what was so mysterious about the attic. They began to devise a plan to sneak into the attic without Grandmother Pinkie knowing.

Before they could carry out their scheme, during Grandmother Pinkie’s nightly visit, she shared some shocking news concerning the attic and their missing parents.

When the three of them finally decided to visit the attic together, they slowly and deliberately opened the attic door. They discovered a glowing light in the middle of the floor. How could a glowing light from a teacup be in the attic with the lights not turned on? How could a glowing light from a teacup speak to them in English? How could a glowing light from a teacup cause their hands to burn, and how could they be physically moved from the floor without any visible assistance? How could a glowing light from a teacup frighten them to the point that their understanding grew cloudy? How could they become invisible, or even take a visual journey to see how people are struggling in all of the fifty states of America?