Full Circle: Learning Forgiveness and How to Love while Seeking Redemption

By Deloris Bell-Sykes

When LaTravis reconnected with his high school sweetheart, he thought his life would be in full swing of uninterrupted romantic bliss, but what he found out was that his romance would have to take a backseat when his friend Jovon was murdered by a racist officer who eventually faced reality and sought the forgiveness and redemption for his racist actions.

LaTravis found his world taking another turn in the direction of being an advocate and a fighter for racial equality with the man he felt he cannot forgive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638819837

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Overview

Chapter 1: A Family That Values

Chapter 2: Could It Be Déjà Vu?

Chapter 3: Friends Apart

Chapter 4: The Induction

Chapter 5: The Power of the Uniform

Chapter 6: The Engagement

Chapter 7: Emotions at the Y

Chapter 8: The Plot

Chapter 9: A Late-Night Run

Chapter 10: The Ante Meridiem Call

Chapter 11: Dagger in the Heart

Chapter 12: The Explanation

Chapter 13: Reality Sets In

Chapter 14: Saying Goodbyes

Chapter 15: A Quest for Justice

Chapter 16: Show of Affection

Chapter 17: The Verdict

Chapter 18: Developing a Conscience

Chapter 19: Childhood Memories

Chapter 20: The Revelation

Chapter 21: Good and Evil

Chapter 22: Finding Self

Chapter 23: Finding a Spiritual Home

Chapter 24: Forgiveness and Redemption

Chapter 25: The Verse

Chapter 26: The Test

Chapter 27: In Search of Love

Chapter 28: Getting It Off the Chest

Chapter 29: Friend or Foe

Chapter 30: Fully Immersed

Chapter 31: Chance Encounters and Missed Opportunities

Chapter 32: Rebuilding Bridges

Chapter 33: A Plan for a Safer Community

Chapter 34: The Great News

Chapter 35: Full Circle

About the Author

cover.jpg

Full Circle

Learning Forgiveness and How to Love while Seeking Redemption

Deloris Bell-Sykes

Copyright © 2022 Deloris Bell-Sykes

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-63881-982-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89061-306-6 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63881-983-7 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

I dedicate this book to my three children and our family dog, Kela.

I want to thank you for being such wonderful children whose sheer existence in life have motivated me to strive to be the best mother. Because of you, I have accomplished my dreams in life with the hopes that you will follow in my footsteps. Not only am I Mom, but I am also your role model too. And to Kela, thank you for being our family protector and showing acts of love in your own way. Again, I thank you, and I love you.

Overview

This book is an intriguing realistic fiction about the occurrence in everyday life. It has all the components that makes a book exciting and an attention grabber. It steals the reader's mind and takes it on an emotional roller-coaster adventure about in search for a new way of living, love, hate, racial injustice, irony, religion, redemption, spiritual wellness, and forgiveness. All these components are packed into one book that will make you question the actions of others that impact your everyday existence.

Chapter 1

A Family That Values

LaTravis decorating the Christmas tree as a young boy

LaTravis Strickland grew into a tall handsome young man. LaTravis had happy memories of his childhood. He could recall every detail of each family gathering. There were birthdays, graduations, weddings, and holidays. LaTravis's favorite family time was Christmas. He loved to see his mother, Mona, and father, Daniel, decorate the inside and outside of their quaint little home off Charity Street in Pineville, North Carolina. Yes, the Christmas holiday was set apart from the rest. The smell of cedar from the tree, the spice from the apple pies, and the meats bursting with the smell of delicious herb seasonings made Christmas come alive.

LaTravis remembered when Mona allowed him and his siblings to decorate the tree one year. That tree was the ugliest ever, he thought, but Mona told them that was the most beautiful decorated tree that had ever stood in her home; and when she received guests for Christmas feast, she dared anyone to talk negatively about the tree. This was the kind of mother Mona was. The excitement of sneaking and hiding gifts under the tall green fir tree always made the children anxious.

Mr. and Mrs. Strickland were avid churchgoers. They were very religious. Every Sunday, the church doors were open—the family was there.

Mr. Strickland's parents migrated from Kenya, Africa. His ancestors were avid believers of voodoo. Mr. Strickland did not believe in such witchcraft. He forbade any such devil worshiping in his home. Mona's family was from St. Louis, Missouri. The same for Mrs. Strickland's parents, Mona's parents didn't believe in practicing witchcraft.

On Mr. Strickland's (Daniel, as Mona called him) deathbed, he asked that Mona take good care of his children and make sure his children be somebody—go to college and establish successful professional careers.

Mona was a widow. Her husband died when LaTravis was ten years old. That devastation tore through LaTravis's heart like a huge shotgun wound. LaTravis's acting out worried Mona so much so that she sent him to live with her mother and father for a while. She couldn't risk him joining a gang and getting into trouble. Later, when LaTravis had matured, his mother allowed him to return home. She knew if there's anyone that could straighten out a child, it would be her mother and father.

Mona raised her children as a single parent. She could not allow another man to replace her husband, and having young children, she could not trust a man in her life at that time. Furthermore, she always said there is no man that can measure half of what her husband was. Daniel, Mona's late husband, was a hardworking man, a doting father, and a good, decent husband. She was very proud of her children's accomplishments. She accredited their children's accomplishments to her late husband. Mona oftentimes thought about the rough times she was having when she had to leave her children home alone while she went off to work. She recalled when she left her oldest in charge of the younger ones. She gave strict rules and instructions to follow. Although Toni was barely a teenager, she was a respectful, obedient, and mature young teenager.

Mona never asked or accepted help from anyone. She believed in making a way without becoming dependent on anyone. If Mona needed help, it would have to be under extreme circumstances. She believed if she accepted help from anyone, they would expect something of her eventually. Mona was not selfish in any fashion. She gave back to her community both monetarily and through sweat equity. Mona would not ask her children for help because she did not want to be a burden. LaTravis always told his mother that she could never be a burden to him. He let Mona know that it gave him great pleasure to help her and to see her living her happiest.

Mona instilled in her children the importance of education and good job ethics. She always echoed the words of her grandfather. She was forever saying, Whatever you decided to do in life, be the best at it, even if it is a toilet cleaner. Mona was an easygoing but a no-nonsense kind of woman. She ensured her house was immaculate. She had the children's chores attached to the fridge. The girls cooked and cleaned the general areas of the house while the boys took out the trash and mowed the lawn and made repairs to whatever was broken. Each sibling was expected to clean their own rooms.

LaTravis was the fourth child of Mona's four children. Mona loved all her children, but LaTravis had a special bond with his mother. LaTravis was an engineer by day and a YMCA sports coach by night. He coached all seasons. His practices were three days of intense practice and game day on Saturdays. Because of his work schedule, he did not get to chat with his mother often.

His two sisters, Toni and Marisa, were professional women—Marisa a computer analyst for a fortune-five-hundred company and Toni a medical doctor who performed autopsies for the local coroner's office. His brother, Kentrell, was the district's court judge, and sometimes he helped LaTravis coach at the local YMCA. Kentrell admired what LaTravis was doing in the community—helping keep the young boys out of the streets and away from gangbangers. He always spoke highly of his baby brother's caring and giving nature.

LaTravis's and his YMCA team

LaTravis was well liked and respected by his team. The boys trusted him, and that was very important to LaTravis. Therefore, he would do nothing to betray that trust. LaTravis knew that betraying a young child's trust would set that child back immensely. When LaTravis was around the boys, he wanted to portray an image. He dressed nicely, had a straight posture; he was neat in his appearance and was very articulate. The boys appreciated the advice LaTravis gave them and the time he set aside for them after practice when they needed to talk. LaTravis was a positive role model to the boys. He knew that many of the boys came from a single-parent home. He too knew what it was like to grow up without a father. Therefore, he wanted the boys to have the same sort of upbringing his mother afforded him.

Many of the boys lived in poverty. LaTravis was very generous to the boys. He provided the boys with finances; he tutored them; he acted as a taxi, taking them to and from practices and games. LaTravis told them about how to conduct or handle themselves while out on the streets when encountering law enforcement. LaTravis told the boys to stand up straight, speak with confidence, and look a person in the eye when talking to them. LaTravis believed that looking someone in the eyes showed that an individual is trustworthy and confident. One thing LaTravis remembered his father saying was that the eyes are the window to a person's soul.

Chapter 2

Could It Be Déjà Vu?

LaTravis & Trish

One night after practice, LaTravis stopped at a nearby neighborhood convenient store to gas up. As he was getting ready to insert the nozzle in the gas tank, he heard what he thought was a familiar voice calling from a distance. Though he wasn't quite sure of what he heard, he turned and looked toward the direction of the store parking lot. He didn't see anyone he recognizes. He thought he saw a shadow lurking under the dim security lamp. He turned back around and leaned against his car tirelessly and refocused his attention on his fill-up. Once again, he heard his name. It was closer and clearer. He at this time had no doubt whom he was looking at. As the person walked magnetically closer, she locked eyes with LaTravis.

His eyes lit with excitement. To his surprise, it was his high school sweetheart. All he can speak was her name, Trish, Trish, Trish, in succession. Trish echoed his name in succession: LaTravis, LaTravis, LaTravis. They both wore smiles as wide as the Kool-Aid picture on a commercial. After learning that it was Trish, LaTravis stepped from his car with big strides. They greeted each other with a huge long hug. Simultaneously, they both stepped back to get a good look at each other and went, "Wow." They laughed. LaTravis joked about how he remembered a scrawny little Trish, and she commented on his past physique.

I remember how you were a scrawny little LaTravis, Trish told LaTravis. She continued, Perhaps that is why we were a good match.

Now look at us. You have grown into a very voluptuous young woman, LaTravis responded. The curves are not bad either, he thought.

Blushing from the way LaTravis stared her up and down, she decided to return a compliment. LaTravis, she said. I see that you have been working out since our high school years. I do admire a man with arm curves. She reached over to squeeze them slightly.

LaTravis just smiled, showing that he liked the soft touch of her hand on his muscles.

Their relationship was strained when they went to separated universities on the opposite sides of the state. Trish was now an OBGYN. LaTravis was impressed with her career path. He remembered how Trish came highly recommended among the local moms when she used to get babysitting gigs in the neighborhood and how she was really good with caring for the children she babysat. LaTravis wasn't surprised of her career choice.

However, there was one thing he did briefly forget about Trish. She was long-winded. She loved to talk. Though he was happy to see her, he figured he needed to cut the conversation short. Without telling her that he needed to get up early for work the next morning, LaTravis kept glancing at his watch, hoping she would get the hint.

Instead, she kept on and on until LaTravis kindly interrupted and said, I apologize, but I have to cut our conversation short. I have to get an early start in the morning. If you don't mind, can we exchange phone numbers?

Trish was very understanding and was pleased that he asked to exchange numbers. They exchanged numbers and parted ways.

On her way home, suddenly a thought came over her. She wondered if she was too forward when she squeezed LaTravis's biceps, and what if he is already in a relationship?

She thought, Oh, wow! She felt as though she had made a fool of herself. What is LaTravis thinking of me now and about my behavior in that parking lot? He knows I have never been that forward. I hope that he doesn't think I went off to college and had gone wild. He really has grown into a fine specimen of a man. If he never calls me, I couldn't blame him.

Trish, after the fact, was embarrassed. She had always believed that chivalry isn't dead and that all men's attitudes should reflect that toward women regardless of their social background. Nonetheless, she remained hopeful that he would call.

Trish and LaTravis were grown and mature-minded individuals. They were no longer young innocent teenagers in a puppy-love relationship. This was real life with real-life decisions which had real-life consequences.

LaTravis couldn't seem to shake the visual image of Trish's phenomenal body. Her articulate conversation and her intellect on subject matters seared into his brain. This is the kind of woman I want in my corner, he thought. As Trish did, LaTravis wondered the same thing.

He thought it was useless to get excited too soon over Trish because he didn't know if she has a significant other. I have to be cautious and take it slow, but I cannot help to think that she is that person to settle down with. I am no fool. She has not sat around waiting on me for nine years. I am sure she has had college relationships as I have. None of my college relationships headed to a promising future. Hopefully, Trish's hadn't either. What Trish and I had was innocent love—perhaps not so innocent because we did some adult things that could have led to early parenthood that would have set us back. LaTravis's mind raced with all those thoughts.

Days had passed. What seemed like two months was only two weeks, and Trish did not hear from LaTravis. She tried to convince herself that he is a busy professional man. After not hearing from him for two weeks, Trish decided to direct her attention elsewhere during her spare time. However, she did think for a moment that maybe she should perhaps put chivalry or coyness aside and give LaTravis a call. Then her mind went back to being too forward, so that thought was an instant bust. Therefore, Trish held strong to