My Cousin, Juju

This story is adapted from the short story, My Cousin, Juju by Loretta A. Hawkins. It is a tale of four young children who embark on an adventurous journey one hot summer day in Chicago. Although their destination is only several city blocks away from their home, the experiences they encounter and their final shocking discovery have implications beyond which they neither are aware nor understand. Told through the eyes of the youngest child, 4 year old Mia, in her own cultural vernacular and innocent, imperfect vocabulary, the children encounter events that testify to their own reality, revealing a world of images, simultaneously terrifying yet commonplace. It is a world the children themselves did not create nor choose, yet one in which they must survive. Although the characters are children, unfortunately, this is not, nor was ever intended to be, a children’s story.Loretta A. Hawkins is an American playwright, author, poet and retired educator. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.