The rain was pouring hard that day as I walked down the street. I was heading to a crossroads both literally and figuratively. At this crossroads I was supposed to meet a man. He was a man who promised that he could change my life. He said that I could become a part of something.  I had met him through someone else who told me I could trust him. For some odd reason I trusted her, so, I decided that I would listen to what he had to say.

I rounded the corner and saw him. He had the look of a great man. He wasn't very tall but that didn't seem to matter. All I knew was that this day was going to be a turning point in my life. It would lead to an end to the misery and the start of something more. I had no delusions that this new life I was choosing would be perfect. No matter the problems it would have to be better than what plagued me before I had come here. The curse that it appeared I had escaped since coming to Los Angeles.

I approached him and told him my name. To which he responded "What kind of a name is that? Myrddin?".  I explained to him that my mother had read about a man from Wales named Myrddin. That she had decided she would name her first born after him. This was unfortunate for me as I was the one who had to suffer with that name growing up. It was not easy.

The man went on to tell me about what would be expected of me. The tributes I would need to pay, the support I would need to show for the rest of the family. He told me of the loyalty he expected from me. I told him that it would not be a problem. I explained that I would be loyal to him until the day I died. He was giving me a fresh start. I owed it to him to do just that.

What he did next surprised me. He reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope. It had cash in it. "This isn't for you to play around with" he said as he handed me the envelope "it's meant for drugs. You're to buy low and sell as high as you can. Make money for yourself and for the family". I told him that I had no inkling about selling drugs.

He then went on to explain to me that I should focus on barbies, smack and coke. He said that these had the best profit yield potential. I should try and concentrate on those. He smiled, said "welcome to the family" and with that turned away, disappearing into the midst of the others walking down the street.

I pulled open the envelope and counted the money. It was fifty thousand dollars. That was the most money I had held in a long, long time. My life was grand. I could start buying and selling drugs and everything would go so very well.

As I rounded the corner, I saw it, the thorn in my side. The one that I thought I had shaken loose since coming to LA. I panicked and didn't know what to do. I thought that I had escaped it.

I was wrong. 

Ell sees the new man talking to her associate.  He was tall, walked slightly tipped over as though he was pushing himself through harsh stormy weather, and had a flowing shock of brown hair.  As he saw her associate approach the man stood taller, shook himself a bit, and spoke so softly she couldn't hear from her place across the way.  Ell didn't need to.  She knew what was going down and the thought of having new blood in the family excited her.  She didn't stay to see how it all played out, instead she lit a cigarette, the end flaring to life for a bright second as she turned and proceeded down the street.

*Nice start Myr.*