“For my mother when she leaves the house will call on the Erinyes to avenge her.” – Homer

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       The first Erinyes who sought George Zimmerman came from a line of boxers, which made her the most impatient.

       She grew up hearing stories from her great-grandfather, an enslaved boxer, about how he fought anyone on the other end of his master’s brittle, pointed finger. He would fall to the floor in the living room until he received a quick jab to his right temple. Three days later, he was gone. She promised herself then that she would only fight on her own terms.

       Her father refused to train her. She asked him on her thirteenth birthday. She was half a foot shorter than him. He shook his head and said she was too small, thinking she was too fragile. For a year, she jabbed her fist into her pillow. Then, after an argument, she punched a hole straight through her bedroom drywall. That night, he gave her her first lesson.

 

       My beautiful warrior, he whispered into her ear. They had completed their first month of training together.

       She went to the gym every day after her mother picked her up from school. On weeknights, she practiced with kids, and on weekends, she practiced with men twice her age.

 

       Soon, she started fighting in middle school. She made a name for herself. The local news said she had potential. By high school, scouts flocked to her bouts. She would fight on her terms.

 

       She wouldn’t realize what she was training for until she drove home after practice with her father, with flashing lights behind them. The officer doesn’t realize he’s hit her. It’s too late.

 

       This anger chased after her when she reached the gates of heaven. You will be known as Iya, Oluwa whispers. The world will recognize your courage. All will see your strength.

       When she finds George Zimmerman, he’s watching the news. His face is on TV across the country. He stands there, cold to the touch. He feels the sinking sensation of being punched in the stomach.

       The second furry to seek George Zimmerman was the youngest child in a family of five.

       She was born on a snowy afternoon during a polar vortex. Her mother went into labor as the backup generators turned on. The first time her mother held her, she whispered, My beautiful snowdrop.

       She hated it when they belittled her. Jealousy welled up inside her toward her siblings.

       Whenever she saw her parents paying them attention, she would cry. Her siblings grew more annoyed with her and began playing tricks on her.

       They hoped to turn her jealousy against her, but it grew with each passing winter. Then, one summer, the Klan marched through her neighborhood, burning crosses on their neighbors' front lawns.

       Her father and her oldest brother took up arms. They shot at Klan members on horseback. They were celebrated as heroes. A week later, they came back on horseback. Their cries and chants were directly outside their door.

       Her father fought off three of them, shooting them in the legs, but they were overwhelmed. A torch flew through their window. The doors were torn away. The flames swallowed everything.

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       Upon her arrival in heaven, Oluwa cools her burns and steadies her trembling arms. From now on, you will be named Ebunoluwa, he says. You will be the whisper in the winter breeze. You shall be the flickering flames of the campfire. The world shall plea for your embrace.

       When she finds George Zimmerman, he’s shivering in a pool of his own sweat, goosebumps racing across his skin. She watches for hours.

       The third furry who sought George Zimmerman was born enslaved on a plantation along the Mississippi River. She knew that enslaved people should rarely dream, but her mind often wandered.

       The five acres of her fields were all she ever knew. She stared at the edge of the tree line and wondered what was beyond. Surely, there was a place where the dirt couldn't grow, so there must be a place without the need for enslaved people.

       She thought of Africa. If this truly was home, she wondered if her mother had ever reached Canada. Even here, the stars are unpredictable, hesitant to reveal themselves. She wondered until her mind split, drifting between two different worlds: one in reality and the other wrapped in imagination.

       Oluwa wipes away tears and says, I’m here, my child. I am here. They embrace until silence breaks the barrier between them. Oluwa continues, You will henceforth be named Chisimdi. The world shall know your wrath and your forgiveness. All will know your destruction.

 

       When Chisimdi finds George Zimmerman, he is kneeling and praying to Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. She extends her arms toward him. No one hears his cries.