Beyond the Cotton Fields

Chapter 9

Lucy sat quietly in her hut, cooking her dinner over the fire she had built. The tribe was having a special dinner for the arrival of the harvest moon and the chief, personally, made sure that Lucy was not a part of the festivities. Although she had helped with growing and harvesting the maize and yams that were grown, she was banned from tasting the fruits of her labor. The chief gave her a stone bowl of 2 yams and an ear of maize and sent her back to her hut.

As she cooked the mashed yams in the stone bowl over the fire, she couldn’t help but remember her nights on the plantation. She would sit alone in her shack and cook a pot of rice, potatoes, or whatever scraps Master Aberling gave the slaves from the family’s dinner, while the other slaves were in the barn, sharing their pot of food.

She found similarities between her past and present situations and began to think that she didn’t belong anywhere. The few differences were that the other slaves shunned her, thinking she was stuck-up and she had Cyrus putting down her dreams of gaining an education. Here, the only person shunning her was the chief, since everyone else had taken a liking to her, and she had Koi, who listened to her as if what she was saying was pure gold.

A cold chill came across her, despite the fire burning in front of her. Koi’s hut seemed to have a constant warmth in it that never diminished. She figured it was because he liked to have a fire going the minute the sun began to set, but in the back of her mind, she knew it was because his presence warmed her up.

The smell of roasting meat and the sound of laughter and talking flowed into her hut. For the first time in about 10 years, Lucy felt alone. She looked around her hut and saw her sleeping pallet and the sack she had run away with in the corner. She stood up, walked to the corner where her sack sat, sat down, and opened it. She looked at her book, her dingy white head wrap, the other dress she owned, which was a worn pale orange dress, some thread, and a needle. She had planned to take this stuff up north and start her new life with only these things. She scoffed and placed the stuff back in the stuff. What was she going to do with those things? How was she going to start a life with any of that? She was a 17-year old slave girl. She was no bigger than the 12-year old slave girl who once said to her “Ma mama say you’s a bitch an’ I ain’t ‘spose ta be ‘round no no good bitch like ya.”  She would be lucky if she wasn’t raped and left for dead on her way up north.

She sighed and walked back over to the fire. She grabbed the long stick and eased the hot bowl from over the fire. As she was letting the bowl cool off, she heard footsteps approaching her hut. At first she thought it might be the chief to tell her to leave his tribe, but her mood elevated when Koi’s tall frame entered.

“Hello, small one.” Koi smiled, sitting down next to Lucy.

“Hi, Koi.” Lucy smiled. Throughout the day, the two of them were barely able to capture a glance of one another. It seemed as though the chief was purposely keeping Koi busy all day.

“How have you been today? I have not seen you today.”

“I’m fine. How’re ya? I saw dat ya papa kept ya busy all day.”

“Yes, Father had me hunting all day for the night’s festivities. I am very sorry that he made you return to your hut. He is treating you unfairly and the whole tribe knows that.”

“Like I said, I’m fine. A lot o’ folk ain’t liked me in ma life, an’ one mo’ person ain’t gon’ do nuttin’.”

“You have such a strong heart for such a small woman.” He tucked one of her hanging braids behind her ear and gently stroked her cheek.

Lucy’s cheeks warmed up at his touch as a smile grew across her lips.

“Why’d ya come in here, Koi?”

“Because I wanted to see you. As I have said, you are my other half and being away from you brings on a deep pain that will not go away until I am near you.” He held her face in his hands so that they were looking into each other’s eyes.

As they were looking into each other’s eyes, something stirred inside Lucy. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it made her do the one thing on her mind: kiss Koi.

She moved her head forward and pressed her lips to Koi’s, shocking him momentarily. Once he regained his composure, his lips began moving against Lucy’s. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer so that her breasts were pressed against his bare chest. Their lips were engaged in a tight lock as their tongues became involved in their own dance. Koi’s fingers began to make small trails up and down Lucy’s back, eliciting a soft moan from her. Her moan caused him to bring her even closer to him, allowing his hardened manhood to press against her thigh. His hands went to the hem of her dress and pulled it up above her waist. He laid her back, not caring if they were in the dirt, and positioned herself in between her legs. He was moving his loin cloth to the side, but the sound of squeaky giggles were heard from outside the hut. The two sat up immediately and fixed their clothing. Koi was standing up to run after the sources of the giggles until they heard the sound of small footsteps running away and fading giggles.

“Those little ones are in trouble.” Koi said with his manhood still erect under his loin cloth.

Lucy laughed and dusted herself off.

“Would you like some yams, Koi?” She smiled, sliding the cooled stone bowl towards him.

He smiled and picked up the bowl, scraping some of its contents out with his fingers and eating it.