From Hell to Heaven on Earth: Where It All Began: From Hell to Heaven on Earth, #1

By Takira Thomas

This fiction novel is based on real-life events. It's a story about the love and hate situations a young lady endured since birth. Showing the difficult obstacles Harmony experienced throughout her life.This book is full of action, romance, and drama. If you have ever struggled for better, then this book would be perfect for you. So, buckle up, and get ready for the ride of your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Life Gets Better, LLC
• Release date: Nov 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798987323502

Book preview

The Introduction

Knock! Knock! Knock! Who is it? yelled five-year-old Harmony. It’s your mama, girl! shouted Renée. Harmony’s grandmother looked at her, smiled, and softly said, Go ahead, baby, and unlock the door for your mother. So she ran down the stairs quickly. What happened next almost made this little girl faint. When she opened the door, there her mother was standing on the porch next to some White man. Good morning, baby girl. This here is your father, Renée said with a shake in her voice. Mouth wide open with a look of confusion, Harmony, more scared than angry, yelled, No, he is not! and slammed the door. Grandma! Grandma! Grandma! she screamed, as she ran back upstairs. Harmony hugged her grandma with all her might and cried.

Being so young, it was hard to juggle what I had just experienced. This White man is MY dad? No, my mom must have bumped her head because I already have a daddy and his name was Quinton. He was tall, about 6’ 2" and his skin was the color of dark chocolate. He had a head full of thick black dreads and muscles the size of Popeye’s after he ate that can of spinach. Now, this man that stood next to my mother was short with a light bright complexion. He had short, dark brown hair and was skinny, like Popeye before he ate that can of spinach. Just the thought of it made me want my real dad to come and beat this White man’s butt.

I held onto my Grandma Minnie so tight as if my life depended on it. That is not my daddy, Grandma. What is happening? I sobbed on Grandma Minnie’s lap. All she could bring herself to say was, It’s going to be okay, baby. But Quinton is my daddy and he’s your grandson and I’m your...... I paused, pulled my head up slowly, and looked her straight in the eyes. There were two tears rolling down her cheeks. Lips trembling and snot running from my nose, I asked frightened, So you’re not my grandmother? She gently palmed my face, pulling my head close to her lips and softly whispered, No matter what, I will always be your grandmother.

Five years earlier, on June 1, 1990, at 6:03 p.m., I, Harmony Noel Smith, was born. I was my mother’s first child: 7 pounds even and 20 inches long. Not to toot my own horn, but I was one of the cutest babies you’ve ever seen. I was the color of caramel, with big round hazel eyes and thick brown curly hair. After eight long hours in labor and delivery, Renée gave birth to the baby that she’d always dreamed of. At the age of only fifteen, Renée was now a baby with a baby. She and my dad, Quinton, met while attending New Hanover High School. When I was born, my dad was in the twelfth grade and one of the biggest known drug dealers on the Northside. Honestly, neither one of my parents were mature enough to be raising a baby. Thank God for my dad’s grandmother, Minnie, who offered to help them with me. She was one of my mother’s biggest support systems.

When I was born, Renée lived in Taylor Homes projects on the northside with her mother, sister, and two brothers. She was that fine lil’ thang you always caught walking to the store like she was all that and a bag of chips. Renée had the softest dark brown skin, stood about 5’ 2, and weighing 130 pounds soaking wet. She was only fifteen, so her body wasn’t fully developed yet, but shorty was booming already. My mother looked like the Black China doll that was kept in the glass China cabinet. Renée was young, but always in it to win it. Like they say, Money talks, bullshit walks." 

Late one night, Renée and her two best friends, Monica and Stacey, were chilling on the corner of 5th and Nixon. This is where you’d find all the drug dealers and gangbangers. This night, a few of the guys were rolling dice and Renée was eyeing this one guy named Rocky. He was new to the Northside, so that made it even better. They said dude was about his business and money was good. With that being said, Rocky was Renée’s next victim. Around two in the morning, everyone started leaving the block. Alright girls, I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, Renée said, smirking and walking in the opposite direction. Née, you’re a mess, Monica said, shaking her head and grinning at the same time because she knew exactly what was going on. And your behind better call me when you get home, too, she added. Renée started switching that little butt real hard while adjusting her clothes and hair. 

Rocky was walking by himself towards Nunn Street. Renée sped up a little and in her sexy voice called out, So, Rocky, where are you heading? Because I’m trying to go your way. Rocky turned his head towards her and started smiling, showing them pearly white teeth. He was four years older than Renée, but still had a baby face. Rocky was straight up fine: tall, brown skin, with a fresh edge up, and a small afro. This was one reason all the girls wanted him. That included Renée, but forget his looks. She only wanted the money. Oh, so you trying to go with me, huh? Rocky asked flirtingly. Only if you want me to, Renée said while biting on her bottom lip and making sexy gestures. Hell yeah, I do! Rocky responded, grabbing Renée around the waist, pulling her close to him, and gripping her butt. They walked two more blocks, laughing, and making small talk, then turned down a small alley. There they were in the backyard of a light blue house, which belonged to Rocky’s grandmother. 

He walked up the stairs first and sat on the top step. Renée followed by seating face to face on Rocky’s lap. She wrapped both arms around his neck and started slowly grinding on his man area. Rocky cuffed her butt and forced her to grind a little harder and much closer to him. She moaned as his penis hardened and pressed against her inner thighs. Renée whispered in his ear, You got something for me, right? I sure do, girl! Rocky responded. He quickly picked her up, spun her around, and laid Renée down softly on her back. They both, hot and bothered, scrambled trying to get the other’s clothes unfastened. I got this good cock for you girl, he said excitedly. Daddy, I know that, but what else? Renée boldly asked. Rocky, confused, stopped, and looked her dead in the eyes. What do you mean, what else? Naw shorty, I don’t eat the cat. Renée giggled a little, put one of Rocky’s hands on her breast and said, Silly boy, I don’t need the head. I just want the bread. Yeah, you’re tripping, Rocky giggled. Girl, I ain’t got no money for you, he said as he stood up buckling his pants. I’m out, man. He walked toward the back door. Nigga, are you serious? Renée sat up, fixing her clothes. You sound like a broke ass little boy. Rocky opened the door, looked back at Renée in disgust and said, And you sound like a gold digga. He waved her off and walked inside, leaving shorty out in the dark looking confused and disappointed. Yep, that was my mama for you.

From the Jump

What exactly do you think you’re doing? asked Ms. Morris, my kindergarten teacher at Winter Park Elementary School. Nothing, Ms. Morris! I laughed as I crawled under one desk to the next. Please, get up and sit down in your chair, she demanded. You are interrupting the class and it isn’t fair to the other students. Even though she got agitated with me sometimes, my kindergarten teacher was the best teacher ever! Plus, she was really pretty with her light-skin and small body. What I loved best was how she wore a dress with high heels almost every day.

Her favorite outfit was this short black dress with a low V-neck that fluttered at the bottom. When she turned around, it looked like a ballerina twirling in a circle. She also wore these shiny gold high heels with a pointy toe. I knew that this was her favorite because she wore it often and those were the days she was the happiest. I’m telling you, no matter what I did, I never got in trouble because nothing was going to spoil her pretty outfit day. 

Ms. Morris had these beautiful brown eyes and wore a thin pair of purple glasses. She used to own a black pair, but they broke one day when I made a mistake and smacked them slam off her face. I promise it was an accident; I promise. I don’t know why I gave her such a hard time, but I did. I wasn’t a bad kid, just misguided as the old folks would say. Ms. Morris was 28 years old and had the most patience in the world. I guess that’s a requirement to be a teacher of mine.

One day, Ms. Morris’s boyfriend came to the school to bring her lunch. Our class was in the cafeteria sitting at table 6 near the back. When he walked through the double doors, I noticed he was wearing a nice looking black and white suit. Something must have been about to happen because he was walking slowly towards our table with a brown paper bag in one hand and a dozen of red roses in the other. The entire cafeteria got silent, and Ms. Morris was smiling from ear to ear. He got close to her and kneeled on one knee. Ms. Morris started crying a little as her boyfriend handed her the flowers and said, I have a little something for you, baby! I was sitting right beside Ms. Morris, smiling even harder. That’s when I stood up, snatched the brown paper bag right out of his hand and said, Hey mister, can I have some too? They both looked at me in disbelief. Ms. Morris aggressively snatched the brown paper bag out of my hands and said, No, you may not, Harmony, and rolled her eyes at me. I slowly sat back down in my seat and dropped my head in embarrassment.

Luckily, Ms. Morris did not allow my interruption to stop her show. She slowly opened the paper bag, with a Chuckie Cheese smile on her face, and started pulling out some purple and gold tissue paper. Then, she screamed and sobbed as she pulled out this tiny black box with a huge gold bow on top. She looked her boyfriend straight in the eyes and whispered, Aww, baby, as she sobbed some more. Her boyfriend, still kneeling at Ms. Morris’s feet with teary eyes, said, From the first day I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were the one for me. You wipe my tears when I am sad. You’ll do everything to make me feel comfortable and appreciated. You complete me in so many ways and I never want to lose that. You deserve the world and more, and I want to be the one to give it to you. You are my heart when mine is broken. You are my backbone when I am weak. You are my support and inspiration that keeps me striving for better. You are everything that I need in my life, and I would love to spend the rest of it with you. Na’Kia Morris, will you do me the honors and be my wife?

That speech almost made everyone in the cafeteria cry. He took the tiny black box out of her hands and slowly opened it. Inside was a small silver ring with a huge diamond on the top, with small ones circled around it. Now, teary-eyed myself, I leaned close to Ms. Morris and whispered, Say yes, Ms. Morris, say yes. She looked at me with her eyes red and tears falling down her face and giggled. YES, baby, YES! she screamed and put both of her arms around his neck. He picked her up and spun her around, smiling and giggling, She said yes everybody! She said yes! Now, it was time for the best part of all: Kissy-Kissy time y’all! He put her down, grabbed her face, and kissed her long and hard. Every kid in there closed their eyes, started giggling, and saying, Ewww! Ms. Morris and her now fiancé stopped and looked around, feeling embarrassed. They obviously forgot that they were in the cafeteria full of children.

For the rest of the week, Ms. Morris did not show up for class. Maybe because her and her fiancé went on a trip to celebrate or something. On Friday, we had a substitute. Her name was Mrs. Constantino, but I just called her Mrs. C because that name was too hard to remember. She was short, fat, and super black. She wore a big curly wig and a long green dress. I don’t know where they got her from, but she needed to go somewhere looking like that. Mrs. C was much older than Ms. Morris, about 50 years old or maybe even older. I wasn’t for sure, but what I knew was that she was a meanie. She didn’t smile all morning and just sat at the desk, looking angry, and kept saying, Be quiet and do your work.

In class, we were working on additions 1-10. Math was my favorite subject because I was very good at it. Mrs. C gave us three sheets to complete. Like always, I finished all my work before anybody else. Mrs. C, I am all finished up. Can I go play on the computer now? I asked excitedly. No, just be quiet, Harmony, She demanded. But I finished before everybody else. I need something else to do, I responded. Then put your head down and stop being rude, she declared. I gave her a stank look, rolled my eyes, sucked my teeth, and laid my head down on my desk.

I ended up falling asleep, and I woke up from the sound of Mrs. C yelling at me, Harmony! Harmony, get up right now! I lifted my head slowly and sat up just as she said that. I was really upset that Mrs. C had interrupted my sweet dream, but it didn’t matter because at that moment, the recess bell rang. I jumped up out my chair and ran as fast as I could towards the door so that I could be first in line. Just my luck, Mrs. C wasn’t having that mess. While I was asleep, she mentioned no one was to get out of their seats when the bell rang until she said so. Harmony, I need you to go back to your chair and wait until everyone else gets in line. You will be last since you couldn’t follow directions, she said with a smirk on her face. I didn’t even say anything this time because the last time I got upset about not being first in line, it didn’t go too well. I ended up pushing over a table, getting sent to the office, and got a beating as soon as I got home. So, this time, I just rolled my eyes hard and walked back to my seat. Once everyone was in line, it was my turn. I stood up and dragged my feet the whole way to the back of the line with an attitude. 

Our playground was like a huge sand box because there was barely any grass, just lots and lots of sand. I loved going outside because that was my time to be free and do whatever I wanted. I could run super-fast while screaming and hollering, throwing rocks at the birds, or making spit holes in the sand, and no one could do anything about it. If they said something I would just ignore them and start running faster to the other side of the playground. The tires were my favorite place to hang out. There were four huge truck tires that were taken off a old raggedy truck and stuck halfway into the sand. Each tire was a different color: purple, green, blue, and red. I liked the blue one best because blue was my favorite color.

That day, I just wanted to relax and chill, so I headed over to my tire. All I could think about was laying straight on my back with my hair and toes in the sand. As I got closer, I could hear two girls giggling inside the tires. I started running over to them yelling, Get out of my tire right now. To my surprise, it was my best friend, London, and her big sister, Kayla. They were both in the same grade because Kayla did not pass to the first-grade last year, with her stupid self. I could not stand Kayla because she thought she was big and bad. She was always talking junk to us just because she was older. Yeah, she was older and stupider. As I peeked my head into the tire, she yelled right back, We’re not going anymore. Whatever, Kayla, I rolled my eyes. Hey London, I didn’t know you were the one in here. You look pretty today, I said to my best friend in the world. London smiled shyly and said, Thanks Harmony, my dad bought this dress for me yesterday.

Regardless, best friend or not, I still wanted my tire to myself, so they both had to leave. Hey girl, can you and your sister move over to one of the other tires? I just wanted this one all to myself, please, I begged. Kayla crossed her arms and said, Me or my sister aren’t going anywhere; over my dead body. Come on Kayla, she just wants to be alone. Let’s go, London said as she crawled out of the tire, but Kayla just sat there. Why are you being so stupid? This is my tire, and you need to get out or else. I demanded. Or else what? Kayla asked as she crawled out of the tire and got in my face. She was so close that I could feel her hot, stank breath on the tip of my nose. Then, she pushed me so hard that I fell and hit my head on the ground. That’s when Kayla got on top of me and started hitting me dead in the face, making my nose bleed. I pulled on her braids, and we began rolling around like two wild animals. 

Mrs. C and another teacher came running over to where Kayla and I were. When they got to us, Mrs. C grabbed me, and the other teacher grabbed Kayla. As they walked to the building, I was still by the tires hollering and screaming. This is my tire! Get Kayla, not me! Get off me! I screamed as Mrs. C tried to get me to stand up. It’s okay Harmony, let’s just get to the classroom, she whispered. Even with the gentle words and gestures, I still wasn’t budging. After about three minutes, Mrs. C literally had to drag me towards the building. I started kicking, spitting, wailing, and anything else you could imagine. When we were finally close to the back door, I began pulling back so hard that Mrs. C could barely keep a hold of me. STOP! Please Ms. C, stop. You are hurting me. Please leave me alone. It wasn’t me! I screamed, as spit rolled down the sides of my mouth. Mrs. C pulled my arm one more time and I opened my mouth to the max and locked my teeth to the side of her hand. That bite broke Mrs. C’s skin. She pushed me away, letting go of my arm, and started running towards the school and through the back doors. I stayed on the ground crying and yelling, It wasn’t my fault! I promise, it wasn’t me. 

After another ten minutes, the deputy and a male teacher came to get me into the building and up to the front office. When I finally got there, the first person I laid eyes on was Renée. Yes ma’am, my mother was right there waiting for me. No, she’s going to kill me! I hollered and screamed all the way to the car. As soon as we drove off, Renée turned around in the driver's seat hitting me repeatedly. The entire time she was yelling, So you want to show your ass, huh? I’ll show you who’s crazy! 

As soon as we got home, I got another butt whipping. If you think my school act was bad, then my beatings at home were even worse. The normal crying, kicking, and trying to get loose wasn’t enough. It was the things I said that made a parent want to murder a child like me. You hate me. Why do you hate me? I did nothing. I was good, but you’re beating me. Ma, you going to kill me. Mama, you’re killing me. These are the sort of things I would holler and scream at the top of my lungs. Now, take your narrow ass upstairs girl, Renée said after she finished with me; tired, sweating, and out of breath.  I ran straight upstairs as fast as my little legs would take me. 

It was only one o’clock in the afternoon, so I was the only child home. Other than myself, there were my two sisters, Nina and Mercedes. All of us had different daddies and looked completely different. I was five, Nina was three, and Mercedes, two. Nina almost looked exactly like our mother. She was skinny with chocolate skin and short, soft black hair. Mercedes was chunky, and I loved her fat cheeks.  She was light-skinned with curly brown hair and dimples to die for.

I was lying on my bed face down when I heard my mom’s