Sapphire and the Shadows of Babylon

Sapphire stood at the edge of the Hudson River, the golden skyline of New York City shimmering behind her like a modern-day Babylon. The city was alive with noise—sirens, laughter, the hum of endless motion—but Sapphire felt only the weight of silence pressing against her chest. It had been years since she left Trinidad, years since she fled her father’s wrath, but the shadows of his curses still clung to her like a second skin.

Her daughters, Ruby and Diamond, played nearby, their laughter a stark contrast to the heaviness in Sapphire’s heart. Ruby, the eldest at twelve, had her mother’s sharp wit and fiery spirit, while Diamond, just eight, was a dreamer, her head always in the clouds. They were her light, her reason for enduring the nights of the soul that had plagued her since childhood.

Sapphire’s father, a man of dark power and darker intentions, had never forgiven her mother for leaving him. When Sapphire was just a girl, her mother had taken her and her younger sister, Emerald, and fled to America, seeking a better life. But her father’s reach was long, his vengeance relentless. He had used obeah—witchcraft—to curse them, and though her mother and sister had succumbed to the darkness, Sapphire had survived, carrying the scars of his hatred.

Now, in this land of towering skyscrapers and broken dreams, Sapphire felt the weight of her father’s curse more than ever. America, with its glittering facade, was no promised land. It was a Babylon, a place of excess and illusion, where the soul could easily be lost. And Sapphire had been fighting to keep hers intact.

The nightmares came often—visions of her father’s face twisted in rage, of shadows creeping into her room, of whispers that slithered into her ears and coiled around her heart. She had tried everything to break the curse—prayer, rituals, even seeking out spiritual healers—but nothing worked. The darkness was always there, lurking, waiting.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the city lights began to glow, Sapphire took her daughters to a small park near their apartment. The air was thick with the scent of street food and exhaust, and the sounds of the city were a constant hum. Ruby and Diamond ran ahead, their laughter echoing in the twilight.

Sapphire sat on a bench, watching them play, when a man approached her. He was older, with kind eyes and a gentle smile. He introduced himself as Ezekiel, a pastor who had once been a practitioner of the dark arts. He had seen the shadows clinging to Sapphire and felt compelled to speak to her.

“You carry a heavy burden,” he said softly. “But you don’t have to carry it alone.”

Sapphire hesitated, her guard up. She had been betrayed too many times to trust easily. But there was something about Ezekiel’s presence that felt different, like a lifeline in the storm.

Over the weeks that followed, Ezekiel became a trusted friend and guide. He taught Sapphire about spiritual warfare, about the power of faith and forgiveness. He helped her see that the curse her father had placed on her was not just a physical or spiritual attack—it was a prison of fear and anger that she had internalized.

“Your father’s power over you ends when you stop giving it to him,” Ezekiel said one evening as they sat in his small church. “You have to forgive him, not for his sake, but for yours.”

Forgiveness. 

The word felt foreign on Sapphire’s tongue, bitter and heavy. 

How could she forgive a man who had destroyed her family, who had haunted her every step? But as she looked at Ruby and Diamond, she realized that holding onto the anger was only hurting her and her daughters. The curse was not just her father’s—it was hers to break.

One night, Sapphire dreamed of her father again. But this time, instead of running from him, she stood her ground. She looked him in the eye and spoke the words she had never dared to say: “I forgive you.” The shadows around her began to dissolve, and for the first time in her life, she felt free.

When she woke, the weight was gone. The nightmares stopped, and the darkness that had clung to her for so long began to fade. Sapphire knew the journey wasn’t over—there would still be challenges, still be moments of doubt—but she had found her strength.

America, with all its chaos and contradictions, was no longer a Babylon to her. It was a place of redemption, a place where she could rebuild her life and protect her daughters. And as she watched Ruby and Diamond play in the sunlight, their laughter ringing like bells, Sapphire knew that she had finally found her promised land.