Jasmine heard her phone ring in the living room. She picked it up and said, “Hello.”
“May I speak with Jasmine please,” asked the voice of a man who Jasmine didn’t recognize.
“This is her. Who may I ask is calling?”
“My name is officer Richard Campbell, and I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your boyfriend was shot tonight…and I’m sorry, but he passed away.”
Jasmine dropped the phone and began screaming hysterically. She fell to her knees and began crying on the floor. Rain then began to cry as well from the scare of hearing and seeing her mother screaming in tears.
The police were able to call Jasmine because after finding Kemo’s ID on him, they ran his name and discovered that he was in the system. From there they were able to come up with his last known address and phone number.
Jasmine took the news hard. She hated that the last encounter she’d had with Kemo had been a negative one. She never got a chance to make amends with one of the only people in her life who accepted her for who she was.
One month later, Jasmine received a phone call from a woman in Los Angeles. “Hello, may I please speak with Kemo?” asked the woman. Jasmine stood in silence for a few seconds, until the woman said, “Hello? You still there?”
“He’s not here. I’m his girlfriend, who may I ask is calling?”
“Well, he doesn’t know me, but I met him about a month ago on Hollywood Boulevard. He gave me a disk that contained a very good screenplay. I work for an agency in Beverly Hills. I showed it to a few people and they loved it. They have decided to green light it. I’m calling to make an offer. Congratulations,” said the woman with a sincere tone of joy.
Jasmine’s eyes began to water and her throat knotted as she looked upward. She closed her eyes, and tears of several loving emotions slowly streamed down her pain stricken face.
One year later, a now somewhat wealthy Jasmine and Rain walked down the main street of their old neighborhood. She looked up and stared at a billboard that was advertising the movie that her late lover had written. As she continued walking, she spotted a young man who slightly resembled Kemo selling merchandise on the side walk. She stopped and looked at what he was selling; they were movies. She looked up and stared at him for a while as he spoke to a customer. She then looked down once more and saw something she had just seen a few minutes ago. It was a pirated version of Kemo’s movie. She picked it up and smiled. She then looked up towards the sky and whispered, “You did it, baby.”
Now that all Rain had was one parent, Jasmine knew she had to be the best she could be for her daughter. Kemo had died trying to make a better life for Jasmine and his daughter. She couldn’t allow his death to be in vain.
Jasmine never tasted alcohol or did any type of drug ever again. She used the money from the screenplay to finally do what Kemo tried so hard to do; move to a better place, both physically and spiritually, as she and Rain had began attending the same church in which Kemo’s funeral was held. A place where hope was a genuine offer and not counterfeit.
The End