Intertwined-A Sweeney Todd tale

Prologue-Maternal Instinct

I never imagined how Benjamin Barker sought revenge...let alone become the man who would go after a judge who falsely accused him of a crime he never committed, sent him to a penal colony in Australia (Benjamin Barker escaped that hell of a landscape 15 years later), took advantage of his wife Lucy, and raped her, took their one year old baby girl named Johanna and raised her as his own. Benjamin Barker would later become the demon barber himself, Sweeney Todd. Who knew that I would be face to face with a man so desperate to find his family and reunite with them, all while slitting men's throats with his razor, and seeking revenge on the man who stole his life from him. And who knew that a 4 year old little girl named Mirai Sakamoto would uncover the secrets to what happened back then...and who knew that the little girl I was helping to protect from that God-awful predator of a judge, would be my sweet baby girl, Mei; Mirai's reincarnation. I never told a single soul what happened back there, but I told my mom, my lesbian partner Bridget and my closest friend David (Joshua's youngest brother) what I knew; I even explained it to Mei so that she would know, and that was because she was 4 years old when the intense nightmare happened. I guess that was my maternal instinct from when I was 22 years old. It's always been inside of me. I would be face to face with the demon barber again when he would regain his memories from the past, and in the here and now.

And who knew that one day after I would give birth to my daughter; Sweeney Todd himself, would become Mei's godfather, and her father figure after she was born. And that when Mei was the same age as Mirai, she would experience visions of the past and an intense nightmare...and that she would reunite with the demon barber of Fleet Street once Mei regained her memories. This is how the adventure happened...

I kept all of those things in my heart as I read the book "The String of Pearls" one night when I was still in Shaker Heights, helping out other women of color stand up to racism, classism, antisemitism and homophobia. I was in the guest room of Mia and Pearl's house reading the Sweeney Todd novel before nodding off...

An intense fog swirled around me as I called out into the darkness.

"Hello? Hello?!" I called out.

There was a ghost of a man in Victorian era London clothes and he looked at me mysteriously.

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd
His skin was pale and his eye was odd
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard of again
He trod a path that few have trod
Did Sweeney Todd
The demon barber of Fleet Street...The ghost said.

"Sweeney Todd?" I wondered curiously.

He kept a shop in London Town
Of fancy clients and good renown
And what if none of their souls were saved?
They went to their maker impeccably shaved
By Sweeney
By Sweeney Todd
The demon barber of Fleet Street...Another ghost was another man in a police uniform.

What could all this mean? I thought. There were other ghosts now: it reminded me of Queen—you know, Freddie Mercury and his band members in Bohemian Rhapsody. It was like a Greek tragedy waiting to happen.

Swing your razor wide, Sweeney
Hold it to the skies
Freely flows the blood of those who moralize! They sang out.

There was a ghost of a boy about 12 to 13 years old.

His needs were few, his room was bare...He described.

A lavabo and a fancy chair...Another ghost explained further.

A mug of suds and a leather strop, another ghost described; he looked to be an official of the law.

An apron, a towel, a pail and a mop. Two other ghosts said.

For neatness, he deserves a nod, does Sweeney Todd...Two ghosts were girls; one was a 16 year old girl and the other a little girl, whom was about 3 to four years old.

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The ghosts sang in unison.

Inconspicuous, Sweeney was
Quick and quiet and clean, he was
Back of his smile, under his word
Sweeney heard music that nobody heard
Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned
Like a perfect machine, he planned...The female ghosts roamed around me now as I looked around intrigued.

Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle
Sweeney would blink, and rats would scuttle
Inconspicuous Sweeney was
Quick and quiet and like a perfect machine, he was
Was Sweeney
Keen he was, was Sweeney
Sweeney, Sweeney, Sweeney, Sweeney
Sweeney!!!!!! The male ghosts chorused and then the others joined.

Soon, there was an obscure shadow of someone who looked like Ben...only mysterious, enigmatic. In the background, there were flames from an oven of some sort which made me quiver.

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd
(Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd)
He served a dark and a vengeful god
(He served a dark and a vengeful god) The shadowed figure sung and the ghosts repeated after him.

What happened then, well, who's to say?
And he wouldn't want us to give it away
Not Sweeney...The figure mysteriously turned towards me. Outside, I was brave, but on the inside, I was quaking in my boots.

Not Sweeney Todd
The demon barber of Fleet Street...All of the ghosts disappeared and I stood in the darkness of the fog.