A Piece of Mine Read Online Free PDF Page B

air and he was able to penetrate the goodness of the home. He took out his knife and stealthily made his way through, reaching the bedroom where Teresa, after a morning of good loving, was sleeping with a slight, gentle smile on her face. He proceeded toward her but when he reached her he did not recognize the plump, smooth-skinned, smooth-browed woman with the softly curled hair with one arm thrown out in abandon. He was confused. A relative? A friend? He backed out of the room, turned and stumbled through the door toward the store. The noise awakened Teresa and she said, “Baby?” full of softness and love and warmth. The sound hit his ears, ricocheted, passing his eyes to his stomach up to his chest and down to his buttocks, first one then the other, then back to his head as he burst into the store.
    Mrs. Ginny had seen him leave his house. She knew by instinct he was going to the store. This she was not going to miss! She reached for the nearest thing, the shoulder shawl, and followed him. When he burst into the store, her back was to him and he turned directly to the shawl and raising his knife, brought it down into her back. Again and again. Mr. Wellington had a large soup bone, a cow’s leg, in his hand and he flew to stop Mr. Rembo and struck him with it. WHAM! Each time he struck, Mr. Rembo struck with his knife. SLASH! WHAM! SLASH! WHAM! SLASH! , till he fell to the floor beside Mrs. Ginny amidst the screams of the terrified customers.
    The trial didn’t take long and he was sentenced to death. Between each electric shock that was killing him, he screamed, “Oh God, help me! Oh God, oh God.”

Loved
to Death
    D EAR Mr. Notebook: her heart, soul and body was filled with love and she was well hated for it; she loved liquor, men, song and dance and laughing. She loved God too but she didn’t have time for Him. She loved her two daughters but she gave them away, but only to people who she knew loved them too. She loved learning but she couldn’t do any reading cause everybody loved her wouldn’t let books stay in her hands! I did all the reading cause nobody loved me enough to bother me! Late nights or early mornings musta caught her coming or going! She was like a lone thread, waving in the breeze longing to be part of a woven fabric of life, but the weaver couldn’t catch her, she didn’t have time! I’m talking bout my sister, Zalina. But, Mr. Notebook, you know that cause she’s in all your pages running through my life and yours.
    Ahhhh, I hurt all over … AHHHHhhhhhOhhhhhhhh, all outside and all inside! I wished she was dead so many times when we were young cause she was so pretty and I was so ugly! Uncomely, the Bible says! I wished it, but I didn’t mean it! I didn’t like her then, but I loved her! I know she loved me.
    She was the second child born to my mama, but she wasn’t my daddy’s! Now everybody understand if the first child might not be his, but if the first one is and the second one ain’t, that’s a bad sign in a husband and wife!
    Zalina knew it and always said she was a “love child!” I wanted to be a love child too, but what kind of love could I represent with this spine all crooked and legs going to the side, face looking like somebody threw my nose and mouth, eyes and ears at me and they hit and stuck all wrong? My daddy is half Indian and I got his long straight hair; Zalina got short kinky hair, but when that natural stuff came out and that hair was all picked nice around her face and that smile … she was just beautiful sunshine! When she smiled, the sunshine just spilled out all over you! You could have long straight hair all the way to the corner and back but wouldn’t look no better than Zalina and her short hair!
    Zalina wouldn’t stop bothering mama bout being a love child so she told us Zalina’s daddy had made her right in the bedroom next to where my daddy was sleeping a drunk off! She said he had been kind and good to us, helped us keep going