One Night In Duwamish Bay

by a.m. moscoso

 One night in Duwamish Bay a Carnival and Sideshow came to town and in a building under a bridge across the street from Pier 64 the new owner of the building, a woman named Kincross Benandanti took the locks off the doors and told her workers to start first by bricking up the windows.

Down the street from the Carnival Mrs Lucia Arima, a master carpenter,  waited for her tools and chisels to arrive from the darkest streets of Cairo, Egypt and as the night wore on she looked up at the full moon and shook her head.

And at the very end of this steet under the bridge in a store with cats sitting in the window a woman named Livia Cotard unpacked books from wooden boxes with locks that had letters stamped on their faces instead of numbers.

She was humming to herself when she looked up and out her window and saw a tall dark woman in a Sheriff’s uniform. The dark woman smiled and shook her finger at her and Livia pretended to snap her teeth back.

Livia smiled but she wasn’t laughing and the Sheriff moved on.

Through the night and into the morning Saturnina Street came to life, building by building until last of all a Malt Shop opened her doors and from the inside came the smells of exotic spices and laughter and Elvis Presley and someone yelling to bring the Mummy out first followed by a woman’s voice saying, ” and don’t drop her- you know how she gets.”

” Yeah, yeah, yeah ” a man called back.

” Did the train come in on time? ” The man’s voice called a little louder.

A different voice answered ” Yes Pops, and the boat. “

” Then we’re all here” Cypriano  said as he walked out the door into the Morning.

His daughter Akela followed him and together they watched dozens and dozens of black horses pulling  dozens and dozens of black hearses down Saturnina  Street up towards the little logging town of Felonway.

Akela’s mother came up behind them and she said-

 ” We are now. “