The Diversity Story

Chapter 3: 'We Need a Miracle'

After the children were in bed, Mr. Fletcher went around the rooms to make sure everyone was asleep. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fletcher was in the office, marking Amari off of the attendance.

"That's the third one this week," she groaned. "Stupid, worthless negros. Every day, it's the same thing. We need to do something before they get wise."

She spots a catalog underneath a stack of papers on her desk. She picked it up and began to glance at it. The woman became interested as the catalog was filled with weapons for punishment. When she turned another page, she saw a device that really caught her idea. Soon, she got a wicked idea.

"Oh yes..." said Mr. Fletcher as he walked in the door. "Those blacks are up to something."

"Quiet. I'm onto something."

"They're organized...I know it. And that Mary one, I guarantee you, she's their leader-"

Irritated, Mrs. Fletcher slams her fist down on the desk to get her husband's attention. "Mr. Fletcher!"

"Yes, love?"

"Why is it every day, you expect those heathens to do something? Repeat after me: "it's all in your head." Say it!"

"It's-it's all in your head."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"It's all in your head. It's all in your head...but-but love. That Mary-"

"They're niggers, you dolt!" she shouted. "They're the lowest, unintelligent human life forms in the world. It will take them years to come with a plan, and if they do, so what? They're nothing but ignorant, dirty, savaging heathens! They don't plot, they don't scheme, and they're not organized!"
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In the bedroom, the black orphans were in the middle of a meeting. There was lots of talking and chatter as the kids talked over each other. Finally, Cato got their attention.

"Ago!" He shouted.

"Ame!" the children responded. The room was now silent.

"Thank you, Cato," said Mary. "Now, I know that our last attempt to escape was a failure, but we can't give up now. We just need to try harder."

"Mary, I hate to be negative, but maybe Amari's right," Leon explained. "I don't think we're getting out of here anytime soon. In fact, I think it's best if we stay here." The others murmured in agreement.

"Oh, okay. So, you guys would rather stay here and clean and be whipped and die and be burned to ashes instead of escaping."

"...it's a livin'," Cato quipped.

"You guys wanna know what the problem is? The problem is what you're thinking up here, in your heads. You keep thinking about the negative side of escaping. The reason why I'm not giving up is because I know we can do this. I'm not giving up because I know that there's a place up north where you don't have to worry about cleaning or flogging or pain. A life where we're free. Where we can live on our own."

"Who feeds us?"

"We feed ourselves."

"Where's the orphanage?"

"There is no orphanage."

"Where would we live?"

"Does it matter? We'll be free. Think about it: moving to a place where there's no headcount, no cleaning, no flogging, no dogs, no name-calling, nothing that would stop us. Cato, you've always dreamed of running your own train. You could be an engineer. And Akela, you've been sewing and patching fabric since you came here. You can make your own clothes. Leon can be a carpenter, and Regina can be a teacher. We'll all have jobs. Most importantly...we'll have families. Someone who would care for us and love us despite our color. Don't you want that? Don't you want a family?"

"Mary's right," said Akela. "It would be nice to have a mother who wouldn't call you a black savage."

"Or a nigger," Leon added.

"To have a father to teach me the ways of the railroad. An engineer."

"And to have parents..." Mary clutches her bracelet to her chest. "Two parents who would love a black daughter. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"How would we get to the North, Mary?" Jaliya asked.

"I'm not sure, but we will get there as long as we have hope. Trust me."

As the kids cheered, a girl named Violet looked out the window and saw the Fletchers' office door open. "Guys, Fletcher's coming! Fletcher's coming!"

"Everyone, in your beds!"

Frantically, the children scurried to their beds. Mary blew out her lantern and covered her head with her blanket. Mr. Fletcher walks into the room and saw what he did not expect. The black orphans laid still, sleeping. He looked, but didn't bother to walk around to room.

"It's all in your head. It's all in your head."

When Mr. Fletcher was out of the room, Mary got up and went over to the window. She saw the North Star shining bright in the sky.

"Mom," she whispered. "I hope I'm doing the right thing...but just in case, we could really use some help. Send a miracle. Anything." She looks at her bracelet and hugs her wrist. "I love you."

She kissed her bracelet and was about to head back to her bed when she heard a creaking sound. She looked and saw a brick falling to the ground. She opened the window and looked outside, but didn't see anything.

Suddenly, a large object hung in front of Mary's window, startling her. As it struggled, it turned around to reveal a male teenager tangled in telephone wire. Then, Mary received another surprise: the boy was white! When the boy saw Mary, he instantly turned red. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the wire snapped, causing the boy to fall to the ground. Two bricks fell from the roof and landed on him, one on his arm and the other on his head, knocking him out cold.

Mary was stunned for a minute until she saw a piece of paper floating down toward the boy. She grabbed it and began to examine it. While reading, a look of wonder spread across her face. Hearing the noise, Regina and Cato ran to her side.

"Mary, we heard a crash. What happened?"

The two kids looked through the window and saw the boy on the ground, groaning with the two bricks on him. Regina looked bewildered while Cato was dumbfounded. Suddenly, Mary remembered. The dogs! Fletcher!

"Quick! Get him inside."