Please do not copy the diary entries. They belong to the author, I would not be sharing any of them if I did not purposefully comment and respond to almost every other sentence. And FYI really dark stuff coming has already started up. Unless you use it as a model to write your own example of annotation or a challenging writing prompt to follow NEVER COPY IT EVER. I will never put this book in stores or on another website either. This is a solo Wattpad story only and only exists for the convenience of those who wish to catch onto several writing skills and practiced them, Skylights, when they have no resources to use and accessibly provide themselves off line. I don't want any money for it and I don't want popularity for it. It is just a simple gift to less fortunate than me and to me them being able to read this is satisfying enough. It is enough for me that readers will want to read it.
You, however, may quote whatever annotations I have stated that you find make a very good lesson and point I will allow that. I quote people all the time. And I will be listing several quotes from the story in these chapters to come up later because they are really good to quote, my friends.
66: 88th diary entry annotated.
Thursday
I've been tryin' to piece together all that's done went on for the last few days. (6 words)
No time to grieve, 'cause our work nine never stopped. (10 words, we know that isn't exactly true they had enough to get him buried and cry and sing over him because it is mentioned in the entry last chapter Skylights.)
Mas' Henley wants his food served on time and the Missus wants her house cleaned, her bed made, her water brought up for baths, and on and on and on — no end to the work she thinks up for us to do. (42 words)
Aunt Tee misses Uncle Heb so much, she just shakes with hurt. (12 words)
Then she sings a lot — (5 words)
Help me, help me, help me, Jesus.
Help me, help me, help me, Lord.
Father, you know I'm not able
To climb this mountain by myself.
Help me, help me, help me, Jesus.
Help me, help me, help me, Lord.
(I feel like this prayer is always in my heart every morning and night, Skylights-Lumna10.)
Nobody should have to live as a slave. (8 words)
If a slave can be an abolitionist, then I want to be one, 'cause I hate slavery and I want it to end. (23 words)
67: 89th diary entry annotated.
Friday
Whenever I write the word F-L-O-W-E-R I will think of that kindly old man who grew beautiful roses and told the best stories ever. (24 words, I am not sure they were the best stories for everyone on the plantation, honestly.)
After the dinner meal, Spicy and I walked through Uncle Heb's flower beds all the way down to the river. (20 words.)
The sunflowers were turned toward the evenin' sun. I remembered Uncle Heb called me his little Sunflower Girl. (18 words, why did he ever call her that? Are we about to find out now?)
He said my face always looked like it was facin' the sun — full of brightness. (15 words, oh)
I squeezed Little Bit, my birthday doll, which I've come to carryin' round in my apron pocket. (17 words, similar to a stress ball used in the same way today, Skylights.)
I like the feel of the smooth wood on my hand. (11 words, nice touch.)
That would please Uncle Heb. (5 words.)
My thoughts made me smile. (5 words)
Spicy found a four-leafed clover. (5 words)
It's s'posed to bring good luck. (6 words, I never believe in those sayings.)
We sure could use some 'round this place. (8 words.)
68: 90th diary entry annotated.
Saturday
Spicy and me took Miz Lilly's bath water up to her room. (12 words)
She sent Spicy out, but she asked me to stay and fan her for a while. (16 words)
I obeyed. (2 words)
"Clotee, things are goin' to change round here. (8 words) But, I'm takin' care of you. (6 words
Don't you worry. (3 words) Just promise me you won't say a word 'bout your talk with me 'bout William. (15 words) I never dreamed that he would do somethin' so stupid. STUPID!" (11 words the past last two sentences.)
I think Miz Lilly is worried that if Mas' Henley finds out I had warned her 'bout William's plan to ride Dancer, and she'd done nothin' to stop him, he would be really, really mad with her. (37 words, she is quite embarrassed but she is also warning you that she won't let the Master put you in a bad job itself, Skylights.)
Now she's tryin' to still my mouth with favors. (9 words.)
What is gettin' ready to change ' round here? (8 words)
And how is Miz Lilly in gon' help me? (9 words)
None of this makes me feel very good in the stomeck. (11 words, she is still queasy as ever, dear Skylights.)
69: 91st diary entry annotated.
Two weeks later
I saw the calendar in Mas' Henley's office. (8 words)
We in August already. (4 words)
August 10, 1859. (3 words)
So much has happened since last I wrote in my diary. (11 words) I knew somethin' was comin', but didn't know what. (9 words, you did because Lilly also knew these changes would be coming and she had the heart to warn you like you warned her.)
Mas' Henley done changed everythin' — everythin'. (6 words) Nothin's the same. (3 words)
First, he moved Aunt Tee out of the kitchen. (9 words) Say he cain't trust her to cook for him no more, 'cause of what happened to Uncle Heb. (18 words, not surprised cause he still feels guilty in his own eyes.) He put her down in the Quarters to look after the babies. (12 words, at least he gave her the second job she was good at and not a really hard job.)
Then to make it worse, he done brung Eva Mae up to the kitchen to be his new cook. (19 words)
There's more. Missy is takin' Spicy's place, 'cause Spicy's been sent to the fields. (14 words in the past two last sentences.) I get to stay in the kitchen, doin' what I been doin'. I guess that's what Miz Lilly meant when she say she was gon' take care of me. (29 words, she kept her promise.) I'd just as soon go to the Quarters with Aunt Tee than to stay near Miz Lilly. (17 words, be appreciative she's making sure you stay in an easy job.)
Spicy aine sorry to be goin' to the fields. (9 words.) She say she'll miss talkin' to me all hours of the night. (12 words, of course she will you were her best friend ever after all, Skylights) I will miss spendin' hours talkin' to her under the stars. (11 words, of course you were you're soul sister best friends forever.)
I will miss her stumblin' and fallin', then laughin' 'bout it. (11 words) Things will not be the same up here in the Big House without her. (14 words, nothing will be the same after loss and guilt remain and linger on without a tether.)
Aunt Tee is who I worry 'bout. (7 words)
This is the thanks she gets after all those years of service. (12 words) Mas'ers don't care how long and hard we work for them. (11 words, Again, so much bias from our main character, Master Henley wouldn't have made them: all the changes he did, if he didn't care but he does. He felt so guilty about losing his temper which he actually admits on his own no one forces it out of him not even his wife. When you feel so guilt towards someone you no longer have the courage to trust them just as you don't trust yourself too. He knew Aunt Tee and Spicy wouldn't feel ever feel comfortable anymore around him.) They own us, so they can do whatever they want to us. (12 words)
That's the worse part of bein' a slave. (8 words)
Never havin' a say in what happens to yourself. (9 words)
70: 92nd diary entry annotated.
Third Monday in August
Everybody knows that Eva Mae aine half the cook Aunt Tee is. (13 words)
But she likes to think that she is. (8 words)
It hurt me when Miz Lilly wouldn't let Aunt Tee take the old iron bed she and Uncle Heb had slept in for years. (24 words, an iron bed honestly that doesn't sound any more comfortable than a rock or tree stump for a pillow, Clotee.)
The bed had been a gift from Miz Lilly's grandfather to Uncle Heb for his years of service. (18 words, it is not much of a gift only men can can sleep on such things of course because their backs are hard-headed as real corpse skull backs.) Now Miz Lilly done gave it to Eva Mae and Missy to sleep in. (14 words.)
It's not right that Aunt Tee should have to sleep on a pallet at her age. (16 words)
When we abolitionists end slavery, everybody will have a bed to sleep in. (13 words)
Wonder will I ever get to meet a real abolitionist? (10 words, honey that day is coming, in fact, it is really right around the corner.)
71: 93rd diary entry annotated.
Next day
A horse and buggy turned into the front gate, gallopin' at full speed. (13 words)
Whenever I write the word S-T-R-A-N-G-E, I will remember seein' Mr. Ely Harms bouncin' round in that buggy, comin' up the drive. (22 word, horse buggies do bounce a lot more than cars because they rise and fall with the rhythm of the hitched horses' galloping, Skylights.) The tutor is here and I can't wait to find out 'bout him. (13 words.)
72: 94th diary entry annotated.
Monday again
The tutor's been here a week. (6 words)
He's a little freckled-faced man with a shock of red hair that sticks out of the side of his hat. (20 words) He looks like he's been pieced together from parts took from other folks. (13 words) His teeth got a big gap in the middle, and his legs and arms seem a bit too long and too thin for the rest of hisself. (27 words)
I can't guess his years, but he's got young eyes that look at you over cloudy glasses that sits on the tip of his nose. (25 words, guessing someone's age by just how their body looks is hardly an easy task to master. But physical eyes are easier and quicker to read.) I'll guess and give him 'bout twenty-five years — give or take one or two. (14 words.)
Miz Lilly fluttered on and on 'bout how sorry she was that nobody — nobody — had told Mr. Harms not to come 'cause of William's bad fall. (26 words) Mr. Harms used a lot of fast words — real fancy-like. (10 words)
And by the end of supper, he had Mas' Henley and Miz Lilly set on him stayin' on here at Belmont. (21 words)
I was glad, 'cause if William's studies stop, then so would mine. (12 words, so bold, so gutsy despite all the rough tough time you literally just went through.)
Trouble is, what sort of tutor was Mr. Harms gon' be? (11 word)
After the dinner meal that same day
Things in the kitchen be a big mess! Eva Mae got her own way of doin' her recipes. (18 words in the last sentences)
When I try to show her somethin' she tells me to shut up. (13 words, ewww so rude, Eva; you're as sour as your Mother.) "I'm the mistress of the kitchen, now." (7 words)
So, I decided to just let her alone — do what I'm s'posed to do, and keep my mouth shut — just like she say. (23 words, be patient the more badly she cooks the sooner justice will be around the corner.)
73: 95th diary entry annotated.
Week later
Dr. Lamb came by — say William was well enough to start studyin' — an hour or so a day, and added it would be good for the boy. (27 words, some better mews is great when there is bunch of bad around.)
The first lesson time with Mr. Harms was today in William's bedroom. (12 words, bet that is quite different.)
I was standin' in my place ready to fan. (9 words)
"Why are you here?" Mr. Harms asked, lookin' at me over the top of his glasses. (16 words, it would be a decent question for someone who is not usually there living on the plantation.)
William s'plained that I was a fanner. (7 words, love that William answered for her, must have been a real big surprise.)
Mr. Harms say they didn't need a fanner. (8 words.)
My heart sunk down to my toes. (7 words)
My learnin' would have ended right then, too, if William hadn't gone to whinin' 'bout how it was too hot. (20 words, sometimes even a whiny child is a precious blessing in disguise gift from God, and William just happens to be one currently)
He let me stay. (4 words.)
I never thought I'd be glad to hear William's whinin'. (10 words)
74: 96th diary entry annotated.
Few days later
I went down to Aunt Tee's cabin in the Quarters after the last meal. (14 words)
That gave me a chance to visit with her and Spicy. (11 words) She's holdin' her own, but it's got to be hard on Aunt Tee, losin' first Uncle Heb and then her job. (21 words)
They live in a real small cabin now with a dirt floor — no windows, only a door that don't shut all the way. (23 words) Yet, everybody in the Quarters is seein' after Aunt Tee. (10 words, everyone in the current quarters living there love lending a helping hand to their neighbors Christian-like act more Christians should be doing. Love your neighbor as yourself.)
All them years Aunt Tee took care of them and they children, now they payin' her back with love and kindness. (21 words, absolute Christian-like behavior, so many people who are actually black in the United States many of them are quite godly people even if they act out something bad in movies, Skylights. It's a Miracle show has plenty of both real stories where black people are good people and somewhere they aren't but most of the time in it's a miracle show several white people are the ones who bring the danger.) Aine none of them got much, but what they got, they's willin' to share. (14 words) I slipped out a piece or two of day-old bread and a few leftovers for her to fill out their meal. (21 words, even in this way Clotee is also behaving a bit Christian-like.)
I told them how Missy and Eva Mae had changed. (10 words)
They are thick with Miz Lilly, grinnin' and smilin', gettin' in with her. (13 words)
Before I left, I told Aunt Tee 'bout my warnin' Miz Lilly 'bout William and her not listenin'. (18 words, of course Miz Lilly's so embarrassed.) "She's scared I'll tell Mas' Henley." (6 words) Aunt Tee agreed. (3 words, absolutely true.) She took me to her heart. (6 words) "Be careful, chile. Miz Lilly aine gon' stand for you to have nothin' over her head. (16 words) She'll keep on 'til she find somethin' on you to use — to get rid of you — to keep you down. (20 words, absolute truth people hate when something is held over their head like this especially within the particular topic of life debts in stories, Skylights. Even Winx used one with Sky between him and Ogron, Sky nearly manages to actual kill Ogron in Season 4 by getting him stuck squished between Subways because Sky wouldn't let go of his legs and it forces Ogron to do something he never would have wanted to do, save Sky's life in in order to save his own. This is a favorite trope to put a hated villain through. And it is one of the best and most well done ones around today. Even Natasha Romanoff has a strong life debt urgency as an Agent of Shield that is what makes her cool and relatable and an honorabld heroine in the end. When she says, "I have blood in my ledger I'd like to wipe it out," she actually means I have life debts I owe back. Pyrix_Fairy )
She'll use them two in the kitchen to help her. (10 words)
To win favors, Eva Mae and Missy will tell everythin' they know and then make up some. (17 words) Be particular, and watch as well as pray." (25 words, great advice always pray for God to keep you safe even if you are being particular and keeping a careful eye out, you're so awesome Aunt Tee.)
Now I've got to be very, very careful, 'bout my readin' and writin' 'cause now Miz Lilly is lookin' for somethin'. (21 words)
Now I know how Daniel must have felt in the lion's den. (12 words, when we encounter real life analogies of the Bible Stories then their meaning becomes clear not just in the eyes of our hearts, but in our physical sight as well the bright splendor of God begins to appear.)
75: 97th diary entry annotated
Thursday night
Woke up after dreamin' 'bout Mama — all in a sweat. (10 words) It was unlike any dream I've ever had 'bout her. (10 words, hope you're intrigued.) She was sandin' beside Mr. Harms. (6 words, it is a weird dream, but it was also quite vivid, and strange.)
He was smilin' at me, all the while Mama was sayin', "It's gon' be jus' fine, baby girl. It's gon' be jus' fine." (23 words,)
Rufus say, God talks to us in dreams. (8 words, this is actually true, God communicated with Joseph through dreams by the vessel of an angel in the New Testament gospel of either Matthew or Luke. But he doesn't always need an angel to carry the dream to use.)
If that's so, then I wonder what God is tryin' to tell me? (13 words, I think this message of God's dream to her is not be bias about Mr. Harms because he was white. Mr. Harms is a vessel from God in this story. Remember last chapter I said Mr. Harms' "Harms"
his last name is a complete red herring introduced by the author to throw you off his actual trail.)
76: 98th diary entry annotated.
Last Monday in August
Calendar say it's August 29, 1859. (6 words)
Mr. Harms brought a book to study time. (8 words) William wouldn't read it. (4 words)
Mr. Harms never said a word. (6 words, the teacher here is as patient as Hince was with William about a complete chapter ago.)
He opened the book and he started to read. (9 words)
"Long ago, in a far away place called Greze there lived a great hero named Herquelez." (16 words, Greze is supposed to be Greece and Herquelez is supposed to be Hercules in Roman language the way the spell the Roman version of the name is the way it has been sounded out for years. Herq-uelez is the pronunciation phonetic sounds of Hercules we often hear people use, but the Greek name has an entirely different pronunciation and spelling of the name the pronunciation being H-er-ACK-les) The Ack tip follows the word sound rule of R-ACK-et. Heracles is the spelling of his Greek name. Lol, bet some will laugh at this. The theme has continued in this book of this over all book.)
I knew Mas'er John Hamby's slave named Herquelez who lived on a nearby plantation. (14 words) He was powerful strong, too. (5 words) But this was not a story 'bout him. (8 words) Mr. Harms told us how the long-ago Herquelez killed a big serpent. (12 words, hydra is too scary for a young child to understand so the teacher using the similar word serpent as a temporary substitute.)
Then the teacher-man stopped, closed the book, and walked away without sayin' another word. (14 words, the teacher's doing that one purpose to keep William excited about lesson times fyi. And will it work? It does often work.)
"There's more, right?" William called out. (6 words)
"Tomorrow," said Mr. Harms. (4 words)
I can't wait to find out more, too. (8 words, I betcha you would, you never heard stories from across the sea except the ones told by Uncle Heb passed down through his family relatives who once came across the Atlantic through Africa, Clotee, of course, you'd be excited too.)