Black Love Short Stories

Be The Change

Two new stories in one day?! I'm on a roll! But this story is important to me, and I hope you find inspiration in it.
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        Crack!, the sound of the whip made Elijah wince in slight fear and irritation. But he kept his face as hard as stone, because he knew he had to. If the overseer saw his face twisted anyway that he considered wrong, then it would be over for him. And his baby girl, Ruth.
        He trudged along with all of the other thirty slaves that were on the Jackie Grimes plantation. Jackie Grimes: a filthy rich plantation owner, who didn't break a sweat. Being born on the Grimes plantation, Elijah had never met the master, he'd only ever saw his icy blue eyes from afar. They always intrigued Elijah, though. Something about them always made him wonder.
        Hearing the slow and careful trot of a horse, Elijah's body stiffened slightly, but he kept his hands picking the cotton. The softness of the fabric somewhat soothed his calloused, bandaged hands and his nerves. The trotting of the horse stopped, and Elijah glanced down only to see that the horse had stopped a several feet away from him.
        "Elijah, boy. Get me some water." The rough voice of the overseer cried out.
        Elijah looked down, and walked over to the water well. After lowering the bucket and bringing it back up, he grabbed the ladle and bucket, walking it over to the overseer.
        "Here y'are, sir." He told the overseer. The overseer snatched the bucket away from Elijah and Elijah looked down, knowing better than to look the overseer in his eye.
        The overseer gulped down the water, and when he was full he dropped the bucket on the dirt ground. Elijah picked up the bucket, and put in its designated spot near the well. He walked back to his row of cotton, and began to pick.
                                       **
        Hours had passed, and the night had finally come. Elijah watched his baby girl Ruth sleep on her mat as he removed the bandages from his fingers. He sat them down on the makeshift table his brother, Solomon, had made for him. He flexed his hands back and forth, releasing some of the tension that was in his fingers. Leaning back into his rotted, wooden chair, he exhaled. Thank you Lord, for another day, he thought to himself. No matter how many times he picked cotton, his body always seemed to ache from it.
        A soft knock on his door made him look towards it. He got up, shaking off his stiffness, and unlatched the door. He opened it and saw Abram standing before him. Elijah stepped to the side, and let him in. He had forgotten about this, forgotten all about it.
        "You ready?" Abram asked as soon as Elijah turned to face him.
        Elijah looked from Abram to his baby girl Ruth. Abram followed his gaze.
        "She's gon' be jus' fine." Abram whispered in a hushed tone. "You gots to do it, Lijah. It's ya only chance."
        Elijah hesitated to speak. He knew that Abram was right, he was just scared to do it. But he was more scared to leave his baby girl Ruth behind.
        "I'll go." Elijah spoke, breaking the thick silence that had lay before them. Abram eyes lit up, and he formed a smile.
        "I'll tell Mary to come and tend to Ruth." Abram spoke hurriedly. "Get what ya' need. Take very little. We ain't got time." Abram rushed out of Elijah's cabin.
        Elijah began to gather his things to go: dried pork and his trousers.
        Elijah took one last look at his baby girl Ruth before leaving out the door.
          
                                        **
        Run, Elijah thought as he crossed the thicketed forest.. His feet were quick as he purposely avoided fallen branches.
        Run, Elijah thought as he remembered the time the overseer had whipped him because he'd dropped the water bucket.
      Run, Elijah thought as he stopped to look at at tree, pleased to see that the moss was growing on the north side.
        Run, Elijah thought as he remembered Jackie Grimes selling his wife, because  he'd said that she was too pretty for him.
                                        **
        The sound of dogs is what woke Elijah up. The sun shone in various places and the green and browns of the woods brightly colored the forest. He had slept on the side of a tree, where the moss grew. Without thinking Elijah stood up and bolted up. He ran, but was stopped short due to a sharp pain in his leg. Looking down, the eyes of a canine looked back at him.
        "Boys we got em!"
         "Well er, let's get em back to Mr. Grimes."
        Two red haired white men appeared and smiled down at Elijah.  He snapped and the dog let Elijah's leg go. Elijah stumbled and fell, but was soon hoisted up by one of the men. He sneered at Elijah as he tied his arms with the rope. He got on his horse and commanded it to move, which it did. It yanked Elijah along with him.
        It didn't take long for Elijah to arrive back at the Grimes plantation. When he did, all eyes were on him. Some were glossy, and others were wide in shock or fear. No one could have guessed that Elijah, sweet little Elijah would have ran off. But he did.
        Elijah was led to the old willow tree, or better known as the hanging tree to the the slaves of the Grimes plantation. The red haired white man untied it the rope from the horse. Soon enough Elijah straddled the horse, with a noose around his neck. All thirty slaves of the Grimes plantation came to watch.  Elijah's face was stone cold hard. He looked around, and saw his baby girl Ruth holding hands with Mary.
         His gaze finally settled on the icy blue eyes of Jackie Grimes, who stood puffing away of his pipe. His brown hair blew slightly due to the early September wind. To Elijah's surprise he was a tall and built man.
        "Well, well, well, Elijah." Jackie Grimes blew the smoke from his mouth. "You know you was wrong. And now you got to pay for it."
Jackie Grimes snapped his fingers, and the horse rode from underneath Elijah, and he stared into the icy blue eyes.
        That day, Elijah hang.

Present Day

       Elijah Grimes III stood tall. He was dressed in all black and was proud that he was standing up for a cause. He was the leader of the organization, so he was center front.
       Taking a step forward, Elijah felt the pocket Bible his  great grandmother, Ruth Grimes had given him. She knew what he was doing, and although she hadn't approved, she knew he had to learn.
       The others watched as Elijah stepped into the white policeman's face. They were the same height, and looked at one another through the policeman's clear shield. His icy blue eyes stood out to Elijah. J. Grimes was the name on the police officer's name tag. Elijah burned with anger as the story of his great-great grandfather Elijah ran through his head.
        Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as his jaw tightened. As much as he wanted to yell, curse, and hit the officer that stood before him. He knew he couldn't. His grandmother's words had rang in his head: My daddy still had that anger in him, from them selling my mama. And it caused his death. You remind me of him, Lijah. But you can be the change. Be that change.
        Elijah lifted his hand up to the officer. But instead of his fist colliding with the officer's shield, Elijah held his hand out in a handshake position. The officer named J. Grimes was hesitant at first, but he took Elijah's hand.
Both men had tears in their eyes, and allowed them to spill over. They knew, this was the first step to overcome that hate that had swallowed their country.
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I wrote this story a few years ago. I want to share it with you all today. With the world climate changing and America in flux, I encourage you all to be the change.

Whether you protest, kneel, sit, or stand- be the change.

I personally empathize with the families of those who have been murdered by police officers. But I understand not all police officers are bad- but things must change.

I pray you are all well during these ever changing times.

With love,

Malaysia