"I-I promise, no one." And we start headin' back, my tears slowly dryin' on my cheek.
He's always three strides ahead, his legs carryin' 'em farther with each step than myself. And it's as silent as before, neither of us darin' to say one word. It ain't so bad, though, 'cause it means I've won. He's bigger and stronger, but he's comin' back with me, not even verbal words as his fight.
As we get closer to the manor, the more that light floods are eyes. Daddy tries to keep it bright with fire, tellin' me some story if I ask why. I never remember though, it ain't important. When I start bein' able to see, I find myself glad that the slave can't look upon my face and I can't look upon his.
As soon as he goes into whatever shack he sleeps in, I'll sneak back 'round and sleep beneath a tree. I can't go back there tonight, it's jus', I dunno. I jus'- I can't. And I don't want this slave readin' my face and makin' me go.
We come up to a few of the slave houses, and I can hear some talkin'. It's real late, and they gotta start early, so I don't know why they ain't asleep. They can talk tomorrow as they plow.
"You live here?" I ask, hopin' he says yes.
"No."
And we continue walkin'. We go another minute in silence, when I decide that I don't need to stick 'round no more. He can find his way from here, he ain't real stupid, like most of his kind.
"I'm gonna go now, you jus' hurry to your house."
He makes no response, so I turn around headin' back to where we had come. There's a tree up the road, far but not as far as I'd gone originally. It'll be some walkin' though, and my feet beg of me to, instead, head to the manor. But my heart and my brain force me to keep puttin' one foot in front of the next.
"Where you goin'?" The slave asks, his footsteps no longer makin' noise. He stopped walkin'.
"My home of course, though I don't see why you gotta know."
He doesn't say anythin' for a while, so long I start my walkin' again. I don't get but two steps when I hear 'em.
"Jus' don't tell nobody. I don't want no whippin' again."
It ain't 'till I'm under my tree that I remember, I only healed one whippin' recently. He wasn't jus' any slave, he was the new one. He was Samuel.
He's always three strides ahead, his legs carryin' 'em farther with each step than myself. And it's as silent as before, neither of us darin' to say one word. It ain't so bad, though, 'cause it means I've won. He's bigger and stronger, but he's comin' back with me, not even verbal words as his fight.
As we get closer to the manor, the more that light floods are eyes. Daddy tries to keep it bright with fire, tellin' me some story if I ask why. I never remember though, it ain't important. When I start bein' able to see, I find myself glad that the slave can't look upon my face and I can't look upon his.
As soon as he goes into whatever shack he sleeps in, I'll sneak back 'round and sleep beneath a tree. I can't go back there tonight, it's jus', I dunno. I jus'- I can't. And I don't want this slave readin' my face and makin' me go.
We come up to a few of the slave houses, and I can hear some talkin'. It's real late, and they gotta start early, so I don't know why they ain't asleep. They can talk tomorrow as they plow.
"You live here?" I ask, hopin' he says yes.
"No."
And we continue walkin'. We go another minute in silence, when I decide that I don't need to stick 'round no more. He can find his way from here, he ain't real stupid, like most of his kind.
"I'm gonna go now, you jus' hurry to your house."
He makes no response, so I turn around headin' back to where we had come. There's a tree up the road, far but not as far as I'd gone originally. It'll be some walkin' though, and my feet beg of me to, instead, head to the manor. But my heart and my brain force me to keep puttin' one foot in front of the next.
"Where you goin'?" The slave asks, his footsteps no longer makin' noise. He stopped walkin'.
"My home of course, though I don't see why you gotta know."
He doesn't say anythin' for a while, so long I start my walkin' again. I don't get but two steps when I hear 'em.
"Jus' don't tell nobody. I don't want no whippin' again."
It ain't 'till I'm under my tree that I remember, I only healed one whippin' recently. He wasn't jus' any slave, he was the new one. He was Samuel.
