Beyond the Cotton Fields

Chapter 18

Lucy woke up warm and comfortable so, in her mind, she concluded that she was dead. She always imagined heaven to be cool, since it was up in the clouds, but she couldn't recall anything that would send her to hell. Because of this, she decided to actually open her eyes and see where she was.

She opened her eyesand was greeted by a crackling fire. I dead and I'm in hell, she thought. She looked around and discovered that she wasn't surrounded by the eternal burning fires of hell. Rather, she was covered in the patched quilt on a bed. She moved her head and looked around, seeing wooden walls, a wood stove, a ladder leading up to another part of the cabin, the fireplace, and a small table with two chairs with dishes. She sat up and moved her legs off the bed, but before she completely removed the quilt from her, she felt a breeze on her shoulders. She looked down and saw that she had been completely disrobed. She was as naked as the day she was born. She quickly wrapped the quilt around her again when she heard someone rattling the door. The door opened and in walked a large white man holding a skinned and gutted animal with a hound following after him.

"Oh, good, you're up. I was gettin' worried that I found you too late." The man took the skinned animal to the table and began prepping it to cook and eat. Lucy just looked at the white man, wondering why he brought her into his cabin and why he was talking to her like a human. When he realized she wasn't speaking, he looked up at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. The name's Boone, and this here is Blue." He motioned down to the hound sitting next to his leg. "What's your name, little girl?"

"Lucy, sir." She responded, formally. She stood up and bowed to the man in front of her.

"Now, quit all that bowin' and 'sir' nonsense. I don't believe in all that shit." He waved his hand as if to dismiss the idea. "So, what were you doing in my barn, sleeping in my horse's hay and freezing to death?"

"I was runnin' away." She said, looking down.

"From what? Your master?"

She thought about the question and then her answer. For now, that answer would do. "Yes, s-. Yes."

"How long you been runnin', Miss Lucy?"

Again, she thought about the question and her answer. "About 2 or 3 months."

"You should've been north by now? What happened?"

Her story was so profound, she didn't think he would believe it.

"Um, where're my clothes?"

"They're hangin' in front of the fireplace, dryin'. They, like you, were wet and frozen. You're some trooper, traveling out in that snow as small as you are." Boone walked over to the wood stove and threw some chopped wood into it. Blue walked over to Lucy and began sniffing her.

"Do ya, by chance, got any garments I could wear?"

"Yeah, you can wear some of my wife's ol' stuff. It might be a li'l big, but it's better than nothin'. She's visitin' her sick ma to take care of her. She should be home by night." He dug through a wooden chest next to the bed and pulled out a pale green dress and female undergarments.

"I should git goin' an' be on ma way 'fore she-"

"Nonsense. You gonna stay right here til this snow here melts and travelin' is easier. My wife gonna love a young girl like yaself. She always wanted a daughter, but after she had our son, she became barren. She'll make you feel right at home. Now, you gone change into these here garments 'fore you catch your death."

"Um..."

"You can gone up that there ladder to my boy's old bed. You can sleep there 'til the snow melts."

"Thank ya, s- Boone."

Boone smiled at Lucy and then she made her way up the ladder to change. The small loft had a bed with sheets, a pillow and a quilt on it, and a small window. Lucy threw the quilt off of her and got dressed in the clothes Boone gave her. Once she was dressed, she walked over to the window and looked outside. It overlooked the barn and the trees behind the cabin. The sky was gray, but the snowing had ceased for the moment. As she looked out the window, she couldn't help but think about Koi. Instinctively, her hands went to her stomach. She didn't want a life without Koi, and she certainly didn't want their baby to grow up without his or her father, but a life with Koi was a distance possibility at this point in time. She sneezed and continued her thoughts of Koi.

~~~

Koi stepped out of the stream with the horse behind him. After traveling by stream for the past 10 hours, with no sleep in the past 19 hours, he needed a small break before continuing his search for Lucy. He began shoveling the snow from a small area on the ground. He gathered some wood and struck a fire with his sparking stones. With a fire started and some wild berries in his hand, he rested and let the horse rest, as well. He was worried about his lover and the mother of his child. Was she still alive? Was she safe? Was she found by white men and taken back to her plantation? Or, was the scenario worse?

Koi shook the negative thoughts from his head and laid back on the cold snowless patch of Earth. He thought about Lucy's smile, her laughter, the way she'd braid his hair into one long ponytail before he went out hunting, how she laid on his chest when they were sleeping, how they conceived their first child. Soon, his eyes drifted close and he fell asleep.

When he woke up the sky was pitch black and the temperature had dropped slightly. He blinked until his vision was clear and climbed back on top of his horse. He guided the horse back into the stream and continued his journey.

As the horse trotted through the cold water, he noticed a distance orange glow. He steered the horse out of the stream and towards the orange glow. After trotting for about 600 meters, a cabin and a barn came into view. Koi jumped down from the horse and led the horse to the barn. He left the horse next to the doors, not noticing him push through the open doors and walk inside. Koi crept over to a window to see who may be in the cabin.