Abraham was white and just by the color of his skin he was privileged. He was meant to grow up, marry and take over his father's plantation. Including the many slaves he owned. His life was planned from the moment he was welcomed to this earth but...
As I headed back home, I tried to push the haunting memories to the back of my head. It was bad enough that they tortured me in my sleep. I kept my eyes on my surroundings, watching as the slaves worked. We had close to a hundred here. It made me sick to think about how these people have spent almost all their lives being owned by another human being.
Though these were thoughts I kept to myself. Voicing it would only cause my own demise and cause me to lose my life. People around here didn't like their lifestyle to be threatened. They prided themselves on how they have managed to use slavery. It wasn't right.
When I made it past the fields to my house I noticed my father's wagon was back. Quickly, I tried to compose myself. He wasn't a man to be trifled with. My father was a wealthy man of status and aimed to make the people around him aware. Taking a deep breath I stepped into the house and the living room where him along with my mother, were having a conversation.
"Welcome back sir" I greeted standing with perfect posture.
"Abraham where have you been?" he asked his tone holding disappointment with my lack of appearance.
"Checking the fields sir" I lied.
"Taking some initiative and responsibility I see. That's good. Pretty soon this will all be yours and I need to know you won't run it into the ground" he stated standing up from his seat
"Yes, father" I replied.
"I bought some more negroes from the auction. Ruth is taking care of the ones that will be in the house and Bo is on the ones in the fields. I want you to help my new caretaker for the horses. Make sure he understands his place here. He's young and I don't want him getting any ideas. I swear these niggers are always trying to escape especially, nowadays with all this mess about a railroad" he muttered.
"They are ungrateful. We give them a home, food and their still not satisfied" my mother commented shaking her head.
"I'll take care of it father" I replied.
"Be sure you do. I'm holding you responsible. Don't disappoint me. He's out in the barn" he told me.
I nodded before excusing myself from the room. When I was back outside, I exhaled. With each passing day, it was getting harder to listen to the derogatory statements that left my parents mouths.
Glancing over to the barn that sat a few feet away from the house I could see a figure moving about. When I stepped into the doorway I got a look at the stranger that my father had brought home or what he would call his newly acclaimed property.
He looked to be around my age or a little younger. His muscles were kind of defined, which told me he didn't spend a lot of time out in the fields. Though his ebony skin was tinted red as it was used to the sun.
The boy seemed drawn into himself, not really aware of his surroundings. His lean build and beautiful skin was like a work of art. A painting you spent all day looking at but, wouldn't dare to touch.
"Hello" I spoke deciding to finally make my presence known. He jumped dropping the bucket he was carrying.
"Sorry, sir" he muttered quickly picking it up from the ground. He didn't look at me and instead stood still with his eyes to the ground.
"What's your name?" I asked walking over.
"Thomas" he replied in a quiet manner.
"I'm Abraham. My father sent me out here to make sure you understand what is expected of you" I explained. He nodded but, still refused to give me eye contact.
"Yes sir" he murmured.
"Okay. Have you ever been a stable hand before?" I questioned looking around at the horses. We had six in total and they were all mixed breeds but, still beautiful.
"Yes, sir" he repeated.
"Good. That means you won't really need my help. I'll sit back and watch you work. If I see you doing something wrong I'll step in. Alright?" I said.
"Yes, sir" he responded.
"When it's just us you can call me Abraham or Abe" I offered. I really hated being addressed as someone above them. It made me feel like my father and that was the last person I ever wanted to be compared to.
"No. No, thank you. I want to greet you the right way sir" Thomas spoke.
This time he raised his head so our eyes finally met. They were brown and reminded me of chocolate cake. Ruth would always bake one for me on my birthday and it was my favorite. I wanted to get a better look but, his gaze only lasted for a few seconds before it was back to the dusty stable floor.
"Sir it is then. You can get started now, Thomas" I whispered.
I strolled over to one of the benches and took a seat. I watched him as he began to work. It was like a door had closed keeping him unaware of all outside forces. He became locked in his own state of mind, focused on his task. It was amazing. I sat back and just watched, trying to figure out who this person was that just stumbled into my life.
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Yes, an update. I feel like I'm going to love and hate writing this book. I'm looking forward to it though. Next, I dive more in Thomas background with his past master and old plantation. Also, I just realized I named the guy Abraham like the president. I didn't even realize how connected it was. Especially since he was the one that advertised for the abolishment of slavery. Crazy coincidence. Anyways let me know what you guys would like to see in this book? I'm open to suggestions.
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