Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I finish up preparing McNeil’s dinner with Mama. I pick up the tray and set it up in the dining room. I yawn and walk back to where my cot was beckoning me to lie down. I open the door and see Mama and Pop talking. Mama was crying.

I rush over to her, “Mama! What’s the matter?!”

Then, Joel comes in. He takes one look at everyone and says, “Alright. What’s going on?”

Mama explains to us everything that happened today, Pop getting whipped, McNeil threatening to split us up, and their conversation.

“Tonight?!” I exclaim.

Pop, Mama, and Joel all shush me at the exact same time. I sit down slowly, feeling a wave of nausea overcome me.

“Yes, tonight. We got no other choice. Goodness, y’all are such worriers.”

“But not you and me, Pop,” Joel stands up, “Us men are WARRIORS!”

This time Mama, Pop, and I go into a round of shushing. Joel sits down with a sheepish look on his face.

“Anyhow, start packing anything- extra clothes, a blanket, whatever y’all will need. We ain’t leaving until after midnight- when everyone’ll absolutely be asleep.”

“But, what about food? We were supposed to be grabbing some extra food from the kitchen over the next couple weeks so we’d be supplied. And McNeil wouldn’t notice because it would be only a little bit every day. But we don’t have enough!” Joel exclaims.

Pop sighs, “I know. We’re gonna have to grab some more food tonight. That’s where Mara can help us out.”

“WHAT?!”

“Hush up, Mara!” Mama hisses.

“Why am I getting the food? Why ain’t it one of you?” I hiss back.

“Mara,” Pop says in a low, soothing tone, “I ain’t gonna be able to do it because there’s no reason at all for a man to be in the kitchen, and if I get caught, I don’t have no excuse. Same with Joel. Mama can go in the kitchen, but it’d be hard to come up with a reason for why she’d be in there, too. Since you’re young, you can have plenty of excuses. You could be sleepwalkin’-“

“Mama could be sleepwalking, too!” I say.

“Most adults don’t sleepwalk, pumpkin. Or you could just say you forgot to put the eggs in the ice box. You could even just say you were gettin’ a drink of water.”

“There ain’t no water in the kitchen. We pour out any extra water outside.” I growl.

“Mara,” Joel says, “can you just do this? We all makin’ sacrifices, you know.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what are you sacrificing, Joel?!” I ask.

“Actually, I’m glad you asked, ‘cause Joel’s gonna fill up our canteens at the well.”

“Yeah, Mara, I’m filling up the canteens at the- wait, what?”

“Don’t worry y’all, it’ll be fine. But we need food and water.”

I sigh for an admittedly long time. Then, I give in.

“Fine, but if I get caught, I’m blaming you, Joel.”

“Alright, now finish your packing, and then can we settle down for a while? Mama and I will wake y’all up when it’s time.”

I grab my sack and start filling it with the only clothes I own. I pack my two cotton dresses that I wouldn’t wear tomorrow and a few pairs of socks and stockings. I stuff my only shawl into my almost full sack and tie a piece of twine around the mouth. Then, I plop down onto my cot and fall asleep before I could even think.

         ***

I have a dream that I am being shaken. I open my eyes and see Joel shaking my shoulders.

I try to push him off, “I’m awake, I’m awake. Darn it, Joel, I said I’m awake!”

“Just making sure,” He grins. He jerks me one more time before standing up and dodging my swipes.

“Get back here, so I can rattle your teeth!” I rant.

“Hush up, y’all. We need to be silent, remember?” Mama gives us a reproving look.

“Mara, c’mon, now. You need to get in the kitchen, remember?” Pop ushers me. He hands me a burlap sack.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. Snuff that candle, will ya? They don’t need to know y’all are awake.

Joel licks his fingers excessively and pinches the wick on the candle. The room is suddenly clothed in darkness.

“Okay, don’t make a sound. I don’t want to get caught if I don’t need to.”

When I don’t hear a reply- thankfully- I open the door slowly and creep out. I let go and the door closes louder than I expected. I wince and wait for the lights to flicker on in the mansion. When nothing happens, I sneak slowly and silently to the small kitchen. 

I glance up at the moon for a moment, thankful that it was full. I could see just enough to know where I was going. I squint and see a silhouette of the kitchen. Not wanting to be in the open, I hurry over to the door. I clutch my bag tighter and open the door without a sound.

I walk in and close the door. Then I realize I can’t see two feet in front of me and I open the door a crack. I slide a rock over with my foot to keep it propped open. The moonlight shines in enough so I can see where I’m going. 

I look up at the shelves and see some carrots and apples. Those would be useful. I grab them and shove them in my bag. I look in the corner and see a basket in a burlap bag. I carefully untie the twine and pull the basket out. It’s leftover bread from a few days ago. I grab one and squeeze it. It’s stale and cold, but it would have to do. I tilt the basket into the mouth of the bag, and the rolls tumble inside. I open the ice box and take a peek inside. There wasn’t much in here that could just be taken along without being cooked first. I found two jars of some sort of soup- possibly black-eyed pea soup. I shrug and toss it in. I rummage around in the box a little more before moving on. I found some leftover cornmeal in a jar and put that in, too. 

I search the rest of the kitchen, but find nothing else that’s able to be taken along. This would have to hold us over.

I tie the mouth of the bag in a knot and am about to leave when I hear a noise. I quickly shove the bag on the shelf and try to duck behind the ice box. 

The door creaks open, and I hear a small voice, “Mara?”

I peek over the ice box and see a small figure. That voice could only belong to one person on the plantation.

“Walter?” I whisper.

Walter Lewis is the only other kid besides Joel and I on the plantation. He is around ten years old and as curious as he is short. I thought he was around five when he first came to the plantation.

“Walter, what are you doing here?” I ask.

“Well, I was gon’ say the same thing to you.” He whispers, eyes wide.

“I was sleepwalking, but it’s okay now. I’m awake. Do Mr. and Mrs. Lewis know you’re out here?”

“No, I just heard your door close and I thought you were trying to leave. I followed you here. You’re not leaving us, are you?

I hesitate before speaking, “I won’t do anything that ain’t necessary, okay?”

“That’s not an answer.”He whispers.

I pause, and then say, “You can’t tell nobody, okay Walter? Promise me.”

“I promise.”

Then, I have an idea.

“Walter, do me a favor. Take this bag and put it behind your house or somewhere. Don’t let nobody see it, okay?”

“Wait, why?”

“Because if they find me, they’ll know I’m up to something if I’m walking around at night with a bag of food. Just take it back and put it behind your house. Then go back to sleep, okay? I’m gonna stay here and make sure there’s nothing else we can take.”

He grabs the bag and hurries off. I wait for a moment, listening quietly. When I can’t hear him anymore, I start to search the shelves, pantries, and ice box one more time. When I was certain that there was nothing else we could take, I stood up. Suddenly, the door opened so swiftly, that I had no time to react.

“What are you doing here, girl?!” I heard a voice demand. They had a candle, and my eyes adjusted to the sudden light. I saw it was one of the overseers. 

I stutter a bit, hoping to add to the confused, little girl act, “I-I was s-sleepwalking. I d-didn’t realize what I was doing.”

“Sleepwalking, my butt! You were looking for extra portions, weren’t you? Get over here, you!”

He grabs my arm, and I resist the urge not to scream. He drags me over to where my cabin is and throws me against the door.

“You’re lucky I don’t whip the living daylights outta you right now!” He snarls. “Don’t you EVER let me catch you sneaking around anymore, you hear! If it wasn’t the middle of the night, I would tan your hide. Now git in there!”

I scramble to my feet and rush into the room. I look around and see darkness and hear nothing. I scurry to my cot and lay down, in case he comes back. I wait for several minutes and hear nothing. My foot keeps clinking against something that I guess could only be the canteens. Joel must’ve filled them up already.

“Did you get the food?”

I growl. Joel sure has a way of making himself irritating in the most dangerous of situations.

Pop sits up and lights a candle. I blink my eyes repeatedly until I’m used to the light.

“I did. It’s behind the Lewis’ house.”

Mama looks at me questionably, “Why?”

I sigh, “It’s a long story, but wait a few minutes before getting it. That overseer might be around still.”

“Naw, he’s probably back in bed by now.” Joel shrugs.

We all sit in silence for a few minutes. Then Joel sneezes and I jump.

“Joel! You donkey, that scared me!” I shout.

“Well, it ain’t my fault that my cot is dusty!”

“Alright now, that’s enough! I’m going out to grab the back, so everyone hush up.”

“I’ll do the honors of snuffing the candle!” Joel states. Then, he licks his fingers even more excessively than last time.

I shudder and smack him on the arm. Then, he shoves his wet fingers in my face. I grab his hair and yank him down. We keep wrestling until everything goes black.

“Hey, what gives! I wanted to snuff out the candle!”

“I’m not gonna tell you again. Hush. Up.” Mama says in a low tone.

Pop opens the door and sneaks out, fast, but quietly. We wait for a minute before he returns with the bag. He slips back in and closes the door.

“We’re ready.”