Beyond the Cotton Fields

Chapter 8

"The harvest moon has appeared, meaning hunting will come to a halt as the animals start their long rest. We will have to begin to save the meat which we get from hunting, as the women begin to harvest the maize and yams for the approaching cold moon."

Koi sat silently and attentively as he listened to his father talk about the fast approaching winter. The entrance to the chief's hut was closed and a fire was lit to keep the scantily-clothed men warm. They don't begin to bring out their fur-lined clothing until the first snow fall occurs. Until then, they will be wearing their small loin cloths, and eventually begin to wear clothing that covers their entire body.

As his father continued to talk, Koi zoned out and his ears picked up on a different voice.

"Sister Lucy, come braid my hair." A squeaky voice said excitedly.

"I have ta go back an' keep the fire goin' for Koi." The angelic voice said in the southern drawl that Koi had come to love.

"He is in a meeting with the chief and the other men! Those meetings always take forever! Come now, come now!" The squeaky voice urged.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm comin', I'm comin'." Lucy laughed.

Koi tried to suppress the smile that was forming on his lips so that his father or the other men looked at him strangely. The past few months with Lucy by his side had brought an immense amount of joy into his life. Before encountering her, he had begin to accept that he may remain mateless and childless and have to go on to rule over the tribe with no one by his side. After that fateful night when his arrow accidently struck Lucy in the leg, he believed that the spirits guided that arrow into Lucy's leg so that they would meet. He still remembered that night clearly.

He was hiding in a bush, looking for animals that liked to look for food at night. He had been restless for the past few nights, so he kept going in and out of sleep. As his eyes were closing, he heard movement and sprang into action, shooting the arrow in the direction of the noise without thinking. It hadn't occurred to him that it may not have been an animal, until he heard a high-pitched scream of pain. He ran in the direction of the noise, almost tripping over the young girl he had just injured. He stopped and bent down, looking at her. The moonlight shined on her, revealing her darker skin and tattered clothing. He lifted her up in his arms, careful not to hit the arrow stuch in her leg.

"Koi."

"Yes, Father." His father snapped him out of his thoughts and he focused his attention back on him. He heard rustling behind him, meaning that the other men were leaving and the meeting was over.

"What are you going to do about this slave girl?"

"What do you mean, Father?" He asked, cluelessly.

"What purpose does she serve in this tribe?"

"She does the jobs that the other women do. She has become a part of this tribe."

"But, what about when it comes to finding mates? What will she do then? Every women in this tribe is to help the harvest, gather food, become the mate of a man, bring children onto the Earth, and care for her family. She cannot do any of this."

"She can do all of that, Father. She is a woman like the other women of this tribe."

"Wrong! She is a slave! She is not one of us! I will not have her black blood tainting my tribe! And, I will not have her tempting the future chief of this tribe, and tampering with our lineage! We are a strong tribe of Indians, and she will only ruin that!"

"You are wrong, Father! She will not! Just because she is black does not mean-"

"I will no more of this, Koi! She will have her own hut built, so that she does not tempt the men of this tribe. Her hut will be done by the next full moon."

"But, Father-"

"Consider it a gift, seeing as how I am not returning her to the white men. You may go now, Koi."

"Father, this-"

"You may go now, Koi!" He stated with finality. Koi glared at his father for another minute before leaving in anger.

~~~

"Why do I get ma own hut?" Lucy asked, sitting on the ground of her new hut.

"Father thinks it will be better for you." Koi stated, keeping his voice emotionless.

"Why's it so far from the others?" She asked. He had hoped she wouldn't have noticed that her hut was built away from the others of the tribe, but he knew she was too smart not to notice. He didn't know how to answer the question, but Lucy figured it out from his silence.

"He doesn't want me here." She said, moving her fingers slightly through the dirt.

"Father is being unreasonable. Do not let him bother you. Everybody else of the tribe accepts you as part of the tribe and does not understand why he is being so cruel."

"It's okay. It ain't all that bad. I could still be on Massah's field." She looked down at her calloused hands, remembering the pain and horror she experienced on those cotton fields.

"Are you going to be okay in here by yourself? My hut is a few paces away."

"I'll be fine." She looked at him, giving him a weak smile.

Koi nodded his head and turned around to leave. He turned his head as left ducked under the entrance, seeing Lucy look around the hut, and then proceeded to walk back to his hut.