BONUS: God's Hands - Free Book Reading + Song Preview

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Welcome back to NO.
Tears for Black Girls, the

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podcast.
Where we not only do true crime,

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but.
Also celebrate the.

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Strength, resilience, and untold
stories of black women

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everywhere.
I'm your host, Samantha Paul.

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Today is a very.
Special bonus episode.

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Because we're stepping.
Away from our usual true crime

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format to bring you something
completely different, an

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exclusive preview of a brand new
novelette written by our.

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Show's creator JC Reedberg The
book is called God's.

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Hands a no.
Tears for black girls story.

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And while it's fiction.
It feels as.

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Real and raw, as any true crime
case we've.

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Covered, it tells the powerful.
Story of Jasmine, a young black

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woman surviving on the streets
of Oakland who experiences a

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moment of divine intervention
that changes.

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Her life forever.
This isn't just St. fiction,

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this is a testament to how mercy
can break.

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Cycles of.
Violence and transform lives in

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just a few minutes.
I'm going to read you the.

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Entire first chapter.
And trust me, you're going to be

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hooked from the very first line.
But first let me tell you.

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How you can get this book
absolutely free?

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Right now, God's hands is.
Available as a.

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Free download exclusively on
Amazon Kindle until September

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10th.
After that, it remains free with

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your Kindle Unlimited
subscription if.

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You love what?
You hear today, and I know.

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You will please.
Show some love.

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With a 5 star.
Rating and review.

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And here's something extra
special at the end of.

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Today's episode.
We'll preview the song inspired

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by this.
Book.

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It's called God's hands.
By dat's hot.

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Featuring Jada Truth.
Who?

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Is actually the transformed
version of our main character.

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You can find it on SoundCloud,
YouTube, and all our social

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media channels right now, so get
comfortable.

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Because.
We're about to take you on a

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journey through the streets of
Oakland into a moment where

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God's hands intervene in the
most unexpected.

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Way here's chapter.
One of God's hands, A no tears.

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For black girls.
Story Chapter 1.

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Ghost Ride.
Jasmine wakes to the grind of

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her cheek on raw concrete, sweat
matting her skin in the pre dawn

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chill.
Above her.

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The ceiling gapes.
Like a battlefield.

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Wooden beams exposed like
splintered ribs.

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She blinks through the blue
gloom and sees the bone white

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walls.
Scrawled with layer.

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Upon layer of.
Graffiti tags.

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Threats, crude cartoons and
there in faded blue spray paint.

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RIP Marshawn Chavis, you're in
God's hands.

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Spray painted testimonies to 100
sleepless Nights.

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Cold seeps up her legs.
And her thigh burns with the

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ache of last night's.
Bruises, she flexes.

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Free one hand, feeling her.
Backpack's zipper.

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A small.
Relief that it's still hers.

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She rolls onto her side, hugs
her knees and fishes out her

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battered Samsung.
No new messages.

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Just Darius's last text sleep
light.

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Meet up tomorrow.
Hunger knots her stomach.

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But thirst is sharper.
She shakes the lone water

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bottle, only a throat tickling.
Rattle of backwash.

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She tips it to her lips, tasting
dust, plastic.

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And a.
Flicker of copper like old

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blood.
A burnt spoon lies near her

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shoe.
She kicks it aside.

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Stay sharp, jazz.
Never too tired, too hungry too.

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Soft the air.
Is a weapon here, Urine rotting,

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insulation, chemical haze from
the paint.

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She stands, joints cracking,
then stills.

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At a soft.
Clatter beyond the broken

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windows.
Clutching her pack, she creeps

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to the.
Sill International Ave. is a

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rumor, a single bus.
Squeaks.

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By empty save for one man asleep
in the back in the alley, two

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men in.
Puffy jackets argue over a dirt

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bike.
One missing 3 fingers.

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The other.
Scratching at a.

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Plastic wrapped wrist.
No sign of.

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Darius she.
Scans for surprises, heart

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tightening with a memory.
The stairwell off. 59th 6 months

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ago.
His hand at her throat.

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Wild Turkey breath.
Hot against her ear, the small

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animal sound she made still
burns inside her.

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Footsteps.
Skip down the hall, She spins,

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fist raised.
But Darius?

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Slips into the doorway, palms
up, grinning like an idiot.

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Yo, don't swing, I come in.
Peace she.

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Lowers her hand.
You're late, He.

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Shrugs under his.
Hoodie cops swept the block.

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Messed my timing but I got a
plan.

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You always do.
She notes his wet shoes, mud

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crusted knees.
He's wired on something,

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security cams dead for months.
He steps in, eyes flicking

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around 711 off.
Foothill Quick Lick, old school

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clerk.
Won't.

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Fight.
He produces 2 balaclavas.

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Black and Navy.
Like party favors?

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Jasmine studies the masks, then
her empty bottle, then the few

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coins hidden in her sock.
She wants to refuse.

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But her mother?
'S voice coils in her head.

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You don't eat, you don't
breathe.

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She exhales.
All right.

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Quick, in and out, no lingering.
Darius beams.

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In and out, Promise.
He fades down the stairs.

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Jasmine let's her.
Chest, relax.

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She doesn't trust him, trusts
only the plan.

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The pulse.
The need The sun's half risen,

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but international still sleeps
under long shadows that cling

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like fear.
Jasmine and Darius stick to the

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margins, feet crunching glass.
As they weave past busted bus

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stops.
And drifting trash.

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Last night's rain has smeared
everything.

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Colors.
Edges.

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The thin line between danger and
whatever.

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Passes for safe.
Jasmine clutches her.

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Pack knuckles, white eyes.
Flicking over every.

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Face for cops.
Or anyone who might remember the

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angle of her jaw.
Traffic on the main drag roils

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around them a.
Slurry.

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Of idling engines, weed smoke,
old grease and damp cardboard a

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woman in.
Scrubs shuffles past.

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Head down, earbuds sealing her
off, Darius leans.

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Close voice, low.
Bet she's.

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Carrying at least 20, Jasmine
says nothing and lifts her.

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Boot over a bloated.
Rat in the gutter.

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It's tail still.
Quivering at the next corner,

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they halt.
A white van drifts by, windows

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caked.
With dust Darius.

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Murmurs half.
Chant half.

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Plea.
After this we disappear.

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Lay low in San Leandro, maybe
even see the ocean.

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You ever seen the real Pacific?
Jazz every word.

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Stokes her anxiety.
Upward, she forces out.

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We do this clean, one slip up
and we're both dead.

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His grin is too sharp.
I know I got you yet.

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His thumb drums on his thigh and
his jaw twitches in the

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lamplight.
They veer behind the.

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Taco Truck Depot.
Into the flea market, fringe

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vendors haul tarps and crates,
chain smoke and shout over trap

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beats.
Darius nods at an old man behind

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a folding table, half his teeth
missing.

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Gloves.
Ski masks, Sunglasses fanned out

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the vendor.
Eyes the parked.

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Cruiser then tucks.
His lips together 2 black

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balaclavas, Darius says. 10
bucks for both 15.

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The man grunts, sizing up
Jasmine, his muscle.

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She counts out greasy.
Bills, they slip.

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Away with two masks rolled into
a sandwich.

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Bag Darius.
Conceals his inside.

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His sleeve.
A horn blares.

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Jasmine's skin crawls.
She's yanked into a memory, a

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mattress in a windowless room,
her voice strangled.

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By fear bleach.
Stinging her nostrils, the vent

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rattling overhead.
She's 17, already spent.

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Door crashes open.
Aunt Keisha stands framed in

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chaos, arms crossed.
Storm cloud face.

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You don't belong.
Here, she'd said.

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Scooping Jasmine up and wrapping
her in a denim jacket that

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smelled of cocoa butter and
cheap.

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Soap the 1st.
Good smell in a.

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Year, the scrape of a shopping.
Cart pulls her.

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Back they slip.
Into an alley.

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Scrawled with tags too sick
loco.

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Misdemeanor.
Darius paces.

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Spinning an unlit cigarette,
Jasmine leans against damp

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brick.
Heart pounding, he finally

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speaks and clipped breaths.
We hit just.

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Before shift change, old man
behind the counter freaks at

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masked.
Black kids.

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I'll wave the burner keeps him
pinned.

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You clear the register, we bolt
the back door.

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Cross the.
Tracks dump everything in the

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Creek by 20 3rd St.
Silence stretches.

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Jasmine watches him count Bricks
123.

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Her pulse echoes.
You sure?

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She asks.
He stops the cigarette spin.

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Yeah, no cameras until the
alley.

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His voice is.
Steady, but his hand trembles.

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You remember the safe code 7-4-1
dash?

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Zero, he says.
Same as last.

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Week.
She closes her eyes.

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Last job He.
Puked twice and almost left his

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phone behind.
She did all the work.

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You keep picking him even when
you know better, because he

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stayed when nobody.
Else did.

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Because nobody.
Else ever will.

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She rehearses the plan.
Entry, countdown, exit.

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They can't fuck up, not now.
Darius pulls his mask down.

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Breath.
Fogs the fabric.

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He grins in the dim.
Light, we're ghosts.

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She lets a thin smile slip,
adrenaline dulling the.

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Dread.
She pulls hers over her.

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Face sudden.
Hush, the world reduced to two.

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Slits of vision and her pounding
breath, they press into the

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00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:34,560
shadows and slip onto the
street.

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Let's get paid.
Darius whispers.

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00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,280
They slosh across the muddy lot.
Each.

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Footfall sucking cold sludge
onto their sneakers.

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Last night's rain clings and
thick, oily clumps.

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00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:54,080
Up ahead, the 711 crouches under
a flickering neon sign with one

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00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,080
letter dark.
It's grimy windows reflecting

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00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,800
distorted St. lamps.
The automatic.

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Doors shutter as if afraid to.
Open.

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00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,160
Jasmine feels the masks rigid
curve against her cheek.

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00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:12,000
Every exhale fogs the plastic.
Darius glides ahead, shoulders

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low.
One hand tucked into his sleeve.

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00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,200
10 years ago, they sprinted the
same block, she clutching stolen

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candy, he knocking over a
magazine rack, heart pounding

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00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:27,240
with the rush of being unseen.
We're invisible, he'd whispered.

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00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:29,960
Now she's older, steel in her
spine.

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00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:31,600
This is no petty.
Theft.

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00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,960
Tonight, they stake everything
on one gamble.

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Erase the past or die.
Under its weight.

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00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,840
A delivery truck idle at the
curb, hisses through its

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exhaust.
Jasmine nods.

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At the drivers watchful eyes.
Then ducks behind a drooping

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display of roses.
Pressing her damp palms to her

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jeans, Darius makes a.
Slow circle, a soft hiss of a.

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Whistle under his breath.
She counts distant noises, a

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freeway rumble, birds squabbling
on overhead.

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00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,480
Wires.
Muted laughter from a parked.

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00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:05,480
Car.
None of it matters.

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00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,360
She has tunnel vision.
The store's entrance.

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00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,840
He slides back into view and
inclines his head inside.

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00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,680
Only the old clerk perches
behind the counter, hunched like

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00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:19,840
a tired Sentinel.
Go time.

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00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,480
Darius murmurs.
Jasmine's throat tightens, Her

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00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,480
mouth turns to dust.
She exhales once, careful,

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00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,120
silent, and they step.
Through the doors together the

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00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:33,960
bell.
Emits A jarring shriek.

234
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,560
Jasmine drifts down the narrow
aisle.

235
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:39,280
Toward the frosted cooler.
Keeping her shoulders.

236
00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,120
Loose.
Her gaze casual.

237
00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,880
Every overhead light buzzes.
Every hum of refrigeration

238
00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:49,680
presses against her.
Skull Darius strides to the

239
00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:51,960
register.
Chin lifted mask.

240
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,280
Pulled high.
The clerk looks up.

241
00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,800
No startle, just slow, Precise.
Calculation.

242
00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,760
He's seen this before, Jasmine
thinks, heart stuttering.

243
00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:06,400
Darius raises.
The gun open the register now.

244
00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,960
His voice booms, cracking at the
edge like a snapped wire.

245
00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,800
Silence thickens.
The clerk stays stoic.

246
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,400
Watching Darius's trembling
hand, then glancing toward

247
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,920
Jasmine's frozen silhouette, he
simply waits.

248
00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:27,880
Calm as stone.
The refrigerator's wine swells,

249
00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,440
drowning out Darius's next
words.

250
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,160
Jasmine catches fragments.
Fast.

251
00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,320
Don't fuck around, nobody wants
to die.

252
00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,080
Time fractures.
Jasmine's eyes flick to the

253
00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,920
candy display.
Blue and white sunflower.

254
00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,120
Seeds.
Teetering on the.

255
00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:47,760
Edge.
She tastes.

256
00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,320
Vertigo.
Then the clerk moves with

257
00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,040
deliberate slowness, reaches
under the counter, and with one

258
00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,480
smooth motion pushes the drawer
open.

259
00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,360
There's a metallic.
Clack that echoes like a.

260
00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,280
Starting gun.
Darius stares at the fanned

261
00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,440
bills as if he's forgotten what
money feels like in his hand.

262
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,440
Her skin prickles.
This isn't right.

263
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,880
A sudden ring of the doorbell.
Jasmine whips around.

264
00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,240
A man in a fluorescent
construction vest stumbles

265
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,080
inside, nearly tripping over the
rubber mat.

266
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,040
His eyes.
Widen at the sight of the gun,

267
00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,960
the masks, the rigid tension in
Jasmine's stance.

268
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,960
For a breath.
Too long, none of them moves.

269
00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:36,640
Darius's voice cracks the air.
Get back, Get the fuck back, he

270
00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,000
levels.
The pistol at the newcomer panic

271
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:40,400
coils.
Through his words.

272
00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:42,400
His finger tightens on the
trigger.

273
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,240
The shot rings out.
Unplanned, A primal.

274
00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,840
Reflex the bullet.
Slams into a.

275
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,480
Rack of lottery.
Scratchers sending cardboard

276
00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,960
shards spraying like confetti.
Jasmine dives behind the

277
00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,640
coolers.
A storm of dust and gunpowder

278
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,320
fills her nose somewhere behind
her.

279
00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:01,880
There's a wet.
Sickening thump.

280
00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,280
Darius keels over.
Clutching his belly, pants

281
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,880
blooming red.
Shit, he wheezes.

282
00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,400
Jazz.
Shit, he collapses.

283
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,960
To one knee, then slumps fully
to the floor.

284
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,840
The gun skitters just out of
reach Jasmine's legs.

285
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,400
Lock.
She stares down at him.

286
00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,440
His fingers tremble against the
wound, blood pooling beneath

287
00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,040
him.
The world tilts, the clerk's

288
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,080
face blacks with fury.
Then flickers to something else.

289
00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,440
Fatigue or pity before?
Jasmine can brace.

290
00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,320
For the blast.
He Yanks a pump action shotgun

291
00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,560
from under the counter and Rakes
it back.

292
00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,760
With a practiced flick, he
raises the barrel.

293
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,520
Aims at Jasmine.
Her knees buckle.

294
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:49,440
Sure.
This.

295
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,960
Is the end.
But he hesitates.

296
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:53,360
Then.
Lowers the barrel.

297
00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,240
By inches.
He says.

298
00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,280
Go.
Jasmine snaps.

299
00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,600
Out of paralysis.
She lunges to Darius's side,

300
00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:03,880
kneeling in spilled milk and
torn lottery.

301
00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,360
Tickets.
His breaths.

302
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:09,960
Come shallow rapid iron metallic
in her nose she.

303
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,840
Rips at his.
Shirt pressing down on the

304
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,400
wound.
Don't.

305
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:15,080
You can't.
Don't.

306
00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:20,360
Die, she hisses, voice raw.
He tries a smile trembling.

307
00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,040
Told you we'd make history, huh?
Sirens wail in the distance,

308
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:28,640
growing louder, closer.
Jasmine glances up.

309
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,960
No gun insight.
The clerk talking quietly into a

310
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,760
phone behind the counter.
She shifts her weight.

311
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,760
Presses harder on Darius's
wound, counting each second.

312
00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:43,760
His eyelids flutter.
Run Jazz, he murmurs.

313
00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,640
She shakes her head, tears
bright as.

314
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,240
Splintered glass.
Her chest hammers, the bell in

315
00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,080
her ears, the sirens in her
blood.

316
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,120
She remembers the garden shed 10
years.

317
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:56,920
Ago the sticky.
Candy.

318
00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:01,040
Their childish laughter.
We're invisible, but they were

319
00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,079
never unseen.
The world watches.

320
00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:07,839
The world never forgets.
The sirens crescendo.

321
00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:10,680
Jasmine stays.
She's not running.

322
00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,800
She's not invisible.
Not anymore.

323
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,760
And that's where we'll leave you
for now.

324
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,839
Right at that.
Pivotal moment where everything

325
00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,760
changes for Jasmine.
But trust me, that's just the

326
00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,599
beginning of her incredible
journey from the streets to

327
00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:29,600
salvation.
If you want to know what happens

328
00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:34,120
next and you, absolutely.
Do go get your free copy of God.

329
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:37,440
'S hands a no.
Tears for Black Girls story by

330
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,040
JC Reedberg.
Right now on Amazon Kindle,

331
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:44,120
remember it's completely free
until September 10th and free

332
00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:45,880
with Kindle Unlimited after
that.

333
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,560
And if this story moved you the
way it moved me?

334
00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,600
Please take 2.
Seconds to leave a.

335
00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,680
Five Star Review It helps other
people discover these powerful

336
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,560
stories.
That need to be told now.

337
00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,160
As promised, here's something
extra.

338
00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,080
Special you just heard.
Jasmine's story.

339
00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:06,200
But what you're about to hear?
Is her transformation.

340
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,920
This.
Is God's hands by dot?

341
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:10,680
'S hot.
Featuring Jada.

342
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,640
Truth, the artist.
That Jasmine becomes.

343
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,080
This track will be.
Featured on our upcoming No

344
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:18,520
Tears.
For black girls.

345
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:23,440
Volume 1 compilation You can
find this song right now on

346
00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,760
SoundCloud, YouTube, and all our
social media channels.

347
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,560
Links are in our bio.
Before we go.

348
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:32,840
Remember every black.
Girl has a.

349
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,800
Story worth telling, a strength
worth celebrating, and a voice

350
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,320
worth hearing.
Don't let anyone convince.

351
00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,960
You otherwise stay loved, stay
blessed.

352
00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,240
And stay safe.
This is Samantha Paul, and we'll

353
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,000
see you next time on No Tears.
For black girls.

354
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:07,440
Sometimes when you've got.
Nowhere to go and nobody to turn

355
00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:14,480
to you Find out who.
Really got you when you got

356
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:15,640
nothing left.
To lose.

357
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,720
And the.
Word on turning back on you.

358
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,280
That's when you.
Find out what's true.

359
00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,160
Hands got me, got me, got me.
When no one don't want me, hold

360
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,160
me, God's hands hold me, hold
me.

361
00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,160
When the devil tried to own me,
hold me, God 's.

362
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:39,200
Hands.
God's hands.

363
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:44,520
That's who really understands
hands.

364
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:45,760
Hands.
God's hands got me when I.

365
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,920
Couldn't stand in years.
Cold concrete, my bed where you

366
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,520
sleep warm food dreams dancing
in my head.

367
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,400
What you need East Oakland
nights in the national spread

368
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,200
Where you from Mama go home.
Listen daddy, go to birth.

369
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,480
Foster home spell me left
questioning my birth desperation

370
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:06,480
whispers got my thinking.
Wow $20 bills for what makes me

371
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,920
a child.
Virginity traded for roof and

372
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,040
something.
Oh the creditors circling young

373
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:14,440
flesh.
They see gas station bathroom

374
00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,880
fluorescent light flickers.
There shows a girl, but the pain

375
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,720
runs thicker.
Nasty ever streak in heaven.

376
00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,320
Why God, if you're real, why you
let me cry.

377
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:26,800
Aunt Keisha's Honda pull into
the curb.

378
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,680
Baby girl, come home.
Let love be your bird.

379
00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,520
First warm meal, first clean
sheets in weeks.

380
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,720
He knows First time I felt God.
When my spirit speaks.

381
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:36,800
I hear you.
God's hands got.

382
00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:43,040
Me got me got.
Me when the world won't me.

383
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:47,640
Won't me my hands holy, holy,
holy.

384
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:48,800
The devil tried to own me.
God.

385
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:54,120
That's who really understand
God.

386
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,560
God.
God, there, it's been my eighth

387
00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,400
since 2nd grade recess.
Now he's 17.

388
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:07,000
He's preaching about some
success.

389
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,320
Easy lick J, just be the
lookout.

390
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,960
The same 711 robbery, but my
soul filled with doubt.

391
00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:17,320
The mass tight, adrenaline
pumping fast, Gina's bounce, but

392
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,560
the moment can pass.
Clerk duck low.

393
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,920
Derry's finger got nervous now,
my childhood homie breathing on

394
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,960
the surface, Chrome barrel
pointed at my trembling frame,

395
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,000
froze like a statue, couldn't
even say his name.

396
00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:32,880
Old man's hands shaking, tears
in his eyes.

397
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,720
And you right now, but God hears
your cry.

398
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,480
Thank the universe child.
God got your back.

399
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,480
Leave my store now.
Get your life on track.

400
00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:43,880
Garry's blood pooling on the
linoleum.

401
00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,360
Flo.
That night I prayed like I never

402
00:21:46,440 --> 00:22:11,600
prayed before.
Three years later, still sending

403
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:15,000
money to his Mama.
Baby girl born never met her

404
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,200
daddy's drama.
Lil Grace got his eyes smile his

405
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,480
chin to convince the Mama to
name after my sin.

406
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,520
Every month I send what I can
spend because everything here

407
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,760
but see he can't guilt eating at
me like cancer in my chest.

408
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:32,720
Sometimes I wonder if death will
bring me breasts.

409
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:36,520
Part of me wishes I went with
him that night, part of me

410
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,960
curious about that eternal life.
If I spoke up more.

411
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,720
Would he still be breathing if I
pulled him back when we both be

412
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:44,440
leaving?
What?

413
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,760
To be sincere, since he ain't
here.

414
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:51,760
I shed invisible tears crystal
clear, his soul resting in God's

415
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,560
mighty hands.
The same hair strong enough to

416
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,280
crush Satan's plants.
Look in the mirror.

417
00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,440
I see her.
I've kissed myself for choosing

418
00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:02,680
fervent destruction.
Since that.

419
00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,600
Night I've been listening,
calling.

420
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:07,120
God has caught me when I was
falling.

421
00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,560
Never let go.
Every star tells the.

422
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:12,960
Story of survival.
I'm still here.

423
00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:16,200
Every tear was a prayer for
revival.

424
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,520
Me knew.
From the streets to the.

425
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,040
Station.
From the pain.

426
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:25,520
To the light.
Your pants told every pain.

427
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,040
Everything's going.
To be OK.

428
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,360
Grace Running.
Round calling me Auntie J, you

429
00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:35,480
lie.
Darius lives on in a different

430
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:36,640
way.
God's hands got me, got me when

431
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,040
the world will want me for me.
God's hands hold me for me.

432
00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:51,280
When the Devil.
Tried to own me, on me, my

433
00:23:51,280 --> 00:24:07,480
hands, God.
18 Now scars tell my story, but

434
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:09,800
God's hands held me, gave me
glory.

435
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,640
From the streets to the stage,
from the pain to the light.

436
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,520
Jerry's watching over me.
Everything's all right.

437
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,520
Little grace got us now I got
his memory.

438
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,280
God's hands got us all.
That's my testimony.