on the waterfront. Only Emma there and she cant pay me no mind or the others give her trouble.
I grown but I aint feels grown. I feels loss with nobody to love on me. Pretty soon I looks for the white folks to call. I looks for them to call me from the fields to tend they near dead. I looks for them to take me into they houses and feed me in they kitchens.
I aint been inside much fore then. I only seen the inside of Mas Watsons house once. He call me in from the fields to tend to Old Miss. She got that chill in her body but me I aint never feels so warm. No smoke burning my eyes like in the cabins. I breathes real good in that house. They got light from the windows. Not just pinches of sun coming through the chinks.
The day Mas Watson call me to go to Mas Stevens my heart beat low in my chest. He say Mas Stevens cut hisself. White doctor cant get there in time.
I takes some wild geranium root and some leaves from the burr seed. My feet cracked from the cold but I hurries on down the road with Mas Stevens gal. I brings my knife with me. And my bowl.
We gets to the house and all the slaves lined up like somebody dead. Mas Stevens gal show me the bedroom door then she run fast down them stairs like she seen a ghost.
Mas Stevens laying up in bed with his red eyes all glassy with fever. He got a wet cloth on his forehead and his face all sweaty. When I comes in the room he turn his head to see who I be. He tap his cane on the floor for me to move closer.
I sees the blood then. He got his shirt stuff inside a wound in his stomach. Knife wound what it look like to me. Blood going purple. Like looking at a sow cut open for breach. Room smell like a stable. Like nobody done empty the slop.
He call me to him. When I leans over to hear what he gonna say he spit in my ear. Tobacco juice. I feels his nastiness running down my neck but I aint dares touch it. Just lets it run onto my shoulder. I holds his eyes steady so he cant try nothing else.
Whats wrong nigger. You aint never seen no cut.
He got a bottle of whiskey next to his bed and a old slave woman sitting behind it.
Mas Stevens want you to put some leaf on him she say. Help him breathe better.
She look down the whole time she talking to me. Look like she made out of paper she so thin. Burnt tobacco bout to fly away. When she finish talking she look up and I sees one eye half close and the other one loose. She see me looking at her eye and turn away.
He need a poultice for his stomach I says. Give this root to the cook. Tell her pound it for a powder and send it back with a paste of milk and egg and flour. Take these leaves and wilt them by the fire. And I gonna need some soap and hot water and dandelion juice. Stack of clean linens too.
She disappear. Soon she come back with the juice.
I takes some mint from my pocket. Mas Stevens eyes close and he breathing hard. I puts the mint on his chest and backs away again.
Then I hears his voice. Dont bring your dirty hands bout me gal. You been rolling round in the dust.
I comes in from the fields Mas. I runs straight here from the fields when they tell me you hurt.
He tap his cane and the old woman appear behind him.
Take this dusty gal and wash her up he say.
I cleans my hands when the hot water come I tells her. You go and see if it ready.
She hurry away. Mas raise his cane like he fixing to strike me.
I grabs it and tries to take it from him. He tap it on the floor but nobody come. I peels his fingers from the handle one by one. Each one burning with fever but his grip still hard. He cuss me where he lay. Never take his eyes off me. He burn them red eyes into me. I feels cold all over.
I goes to touch his forehead and he grab my hand. Put his teeth on it and bite down hard. I aint dares scream but now my eyes on fire.
I grabs hold the bottle and throws some whiskey on him. He cry out in pain. Howl just like he human but I knows better. Devil gonna howl if you get the best of him. I puts the bottle to his mouth
I grown but I aint feels grown. I feels loss with nobody to love on me. Pretty soon I looks for the white folks to call. I looks for them to call me from the fields to tend they near dead. I looks for them to take me into they houses and feed me in they kitchens.
I aint been inside much fore then. I only seen the inside of Mas Watsons house once. He call me in from the fields to tend to Old Miss. She got that chill in her body but me I aint never feels so warm. No smoke burning my eyes like in the cabins. I breathes real good in that house. They got light from the windows. Not just pinches of sun coming through the chinks.
The day Mas Watson call me to go to Mas Stevens my heart beat low in my chest. He say Mas Stevens cut hisself. White doctor cant get there in time.
I takes some wild geranium root and some leaves from the burr seed. My feet cracked from the cold but I hurries on down the road with Mas Stevens gal. I brings my knife with me. And my bowl.
We gets to the house and all the slaves lined up like somebody dead. Mas Stevens gal show me the bedroom door then she run fast down them stairs like she seen a ghost.
Mas Stevens laying up in bed with his red eyes all glassy with fever. He got a wet cloth on his forehead and his face all sweaty. When I comes in the room he turn his head to see who I be. He tap his cane on the floor for me to move closer.
I sees the blood then. He got his shirt stuff inside a wound in his stomach. Knife wound what it look like to me. Blood going purple. Like looking at a sow cut open for breach. Room smell like a stable. Like nobody done empty the slop.
He call me to him. When I leans over to hear what he gonna say he spit in my ear. Tobacco juice. I feels his nastiness running down my neck but I aint dares touch it. Just lets it run onto my shoulder. I holds his eyes steady so he cant try nothing else.
Whats wrong nigger. You aint never seen no cut.
He got a bottle of whiskey next to his bed and a old slave woman sitting behind it.
Mas Stevens want you to put some leaf on him she say. Help him breathe better.
She look down the whole time she talking to me. Look like she made out of paper she so thin. Burnt tobacco bout to fly away. When she finish talking she look up and I sees one eye half close and the other one loose. She see me looking at her eye and turn away.
He need a poultice for his stomach I says. Give this root to the cook. Tell her pound it for a powder and send it back with a paste of milk and egg and flour. Take these leaves and wilt them by the fire. And I gonna need some soap and hot water and dandelion juice. Stack of clean linens too.
She disappear. Soon she come back with the juice.
I takes some mint from my pocket. Mas Stevens eyes close and he breathing hard. I puts the mint on his chest and backs away again.
Then I hears his voice. Dont bring your dirty hands bout me gal. You been rolling round in the dust.
I comes in from the fields Mas. I runs straight here from the fields when they tell me you hurt.
He tap his cane and the old woman appear behind him.
Take this dusty gal and wash her up he say.
I cleans my hands when the hot water come I tells her. You go and see if it ready.
She hurry away. Mas raise his cane like he fixing to strike me.
I grabs it and tries to take it from him. He tap it on the floor but nobody come. I peels his fingers from the handle one by one. Each one burning with fever but his grip still hard. He cuss me where he lay. Never take his eyes off me. He burn them red eyes into me. I feels cold all over.
I goes to touch his forehead and he grab my hand. Put his teeth on it and bite down hard. I aint dares scream but now my eyes on fire.
I grabs hold the bottle and throws some whiskey on him. He cry out in pain. Howl just like he human but I knows better. Devil gonna howl if you get the best of him. I puts the bottle to his mouth
Similar Books
Broken
Mary Ann Gouze
Unnatural Causes
P. D. James
Scavenger
David Morrell
Collected Stories
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
The Princess and the Porn Star
Lauren Gallagher
Fractured
Lisa Amowitz
Shotgun Charlie
Ralph Compton
Safe and Sound
J.D. Rhoades
What a Bear Wants
Nikki Winter