The Four Horsemen

War and Pestilence

∈∋∈∋∴④∴∈∋∈∋

"Mama, I know you told me to have faith in God that we would get better, but you heard what the doctor said...", a beautiful black woman no older than twenty five pleaded to her mother as she held her young infant daughter in her arms, her husband sitting in his own hospital bed beside her.

"It's hard for me to accept Delilah, you're still my baby girl... and you've just given me my first grandchild.", her mother Rena sighed, shifting the glasses that sat on her mocha mole-spotted nose.

"If we don't make it, I know you will take wonderful care of her, just like you have taken care of me, mom. I love you.", Delilah smiled. Her heart monitor wasn't going very quickly, and that was apparent in Rena's mind.

Delilah kissed her small baby girl on her forehead, holding her close before saying, "I love you Milana.", then handing her to her mother.

Rena reluctantly picked Milana up, worried for something that lingered in the back of her mind was about to occur....

Suddenly the heart monitor flatlined for Delilah. Her husband, Marshall, awoke from his sleep, painfully turning his head to look at his wife.

He opened his mouth to speak but he didn't know what to say. He shut his eyes as tears slipped out.

"Nurse! Nurse, help!", Rena screamed as she held Milana in her arms, bursting out the doors of the hospital room down the hallway.

Soon after the doctors pronounced Delilah deceased, Marshall died in his sleep.

From that day forward, Rena swore that she would take care of Milana like she had for her daughter.

Milana grew up to be a healthy and beautiful girl. She was respectful and always listened to what her Grandmother asked of her. Rena was always so proud of her and how much a role model she was becoming the older she got.

Around the time Milana graduated high school, Rena was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.

It broke Milana, and scared her as much as she didn't want it to. But her Grandmother was always optimistic about every situation for her when she was down, she had to be there and then some for her.

Milana went to USC, majoring in Psychology, but kept living with Rena to take care of her. She never really focused much on her love life either, always figured she didn't have time for it. And admittedly she was a bit picky.

After she graduated with her Bachelor's in Science for Psychology at twenty two, she decided to still stay with Rena. She was getting better, but it was still difficult and she wanted to be there to help her with whatever she needed. Before she graduated, a year before she decided to be a bartender at a local nightclub. Her friend from school suggested it, and she was open to it since he worked there.

She met her co-worker and friend Kurt in her Statistics class in her freshman year of college.

-

Tuning out the lecture her professor was presenting to her class, Milana rested her hand in her hand, dozing off every few seconds. She jolted up when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, you got a pen? Mine ran out of ink.", An South Asian young man with shoulder length black hair and a bright smile asked her, bending his laptop to look down at her.

"Uh, yeah sure.", Milana agreed, coming back to reality, blinking her eyes a few time before reaching down into her bag to grab a pen.

"Here.", she said, handing it to him.

"Thanks. I'll give it back, I promise.", he smiled, writing down in his notebook as the professor kept lecturing.

The class ended after a few hours, and Milana rushed out of the large lecture hall, ready to go home and talk with her Grandma.