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Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
A woman walked toward the row of slave cabins through the deepening twilight, the humidity of the day still dampening the air. Cicadas buzzed in the trees, and mosquitoes swarmed around her, drawn by the sheen of sweat on her skin. Her back and head ached from the day she had spent sewing summer clothes for the master's daughters, but at least it had been slightly cooler inside the great house. Outdoors, the air settled down on everyone like a wet blanket, muting them.
The slave woman paused at the bottom of the hill, dreading the insects and heat of the cabin and wishing to prolong her walk. Her attention was caught by a group of slave children playing on the slope, laughing and chasing. Three of them detached themselves from the group and ran up to her, shouting, "Mama, Mama!"
She smiled and embraced each of them. "What has you so excited?" she asked them playfully. "Sneak pastries from the kitchen again?"
The littlest boy jumped up and down enthusiastically. "Master says I get to start learning violin tomorrow!"
"And he says I get to start training as a carpenter soon!" piped up the oldest.
The woman beamed and hugged them once more, before they scampered back to play with the other children. She stayed where she was, lost in thought. It made sense that the master would favor them, and she was lucky that her children would be better off than most of the slaves.
Glancing back up the hillside, she noticed a silhouette walking through the gardens. The master. He raised a hand to his cap in acknowledgment of her.
She turned her back on the father of her children and walked on.
