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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: History / Historical
- Published: 10/27/2012
Dirt-black
Born 1998, M, from St Petersburg, Fl, United StatesThe man woke up, he had no idea where he was but the first thing he noticed was that almost all of his friends were with him. There was also a great many people around him that he didn't know. Many children were crying, women were praying. The man saw a young teenager, probably around the age of 16, clutching a dirt-black Bible with a golden cross, letting his tears fall onto the pages. They were all sitting in at least 10 inches of water, maybe more. When the man tried to stand up he felt himself be pulled back by a chain that was wrapped around his ankles. He looked around for his family, but was unsuccessful, although it was a big space, he told himself that they could be somewhere out of his sight. A hatch or door of some kind opened from above, letting rays of light beat the man’s face. A fat white man walked down two steps. “Alright you Negros! listen here. We’s about to dock, and I don’t want no trouble from none o yous!”
The man was confused, but he came to realize he was on a ship. “Reckon they gonna kill us?” the man heard the voice coming from his left, he wanted to say something to reassure the young man who asked the question, but he had no idea what to say.
When the moving of the ship stopped the hatch opened again, and the fat white man was shouting orders at the helpless slaves. They formed a single-file line and walked up to the deck. When the man’s feet hit the wood of the deck he immediately got splinters in all parts of his feet. One man he saw tried to run but there was nowhere to go. he got shot. Panic went across the line of slaves. Mothers clutched their children close to them. The boy with the Bible was in front of the man, and when he saw all the possessions being taken away he hid his Bible in his clothes. They all walked across a narrow ramp and formed a crowd on the other side. The hard cobblestone street burnt the slaves’ feet, but they continued to stand. Many white people walked by them, looking disgusted at their color, but the slaves’ didn't feel any different. For the first time the man saw white women and children, they looked odd to him at first, but he noticed they were exactly like him, only a different color. “Snap!” the whip hit right in the middle of the man’s back, he let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor. The boy with the Bible helped him up. “Alright now, you Negros better follow me and don’t think of escapin!” the fat white man shouted at the slaves. They followed. after seeing what happened to the man back on the ship none of them thought of escaping.
After a long time of walking the man found himself standing in a crowd behind a sort of wooden stage, with spectators in front of it. One by one they were being called up, it was too far for the man to hear what they were saying. But when one man went up, men would talk, he would get down and go with one man, and the process was repeated. The man still saw no sign of his family. But suddenly when he looked up on the stage, he saw his mother and his sister. they were frightened. “Mama!” the man shouted. “Ma!” he ran up to the side of the stage and almost climbed up to his mother and sister, who were reaching out their hands to him. But the white men grabbed him. He was flailing and kicking and screaming “Mama! Mama!” he kept repeating the word.
“Son! I’m so sorry!” his mother said back to him. Tears ran down both of their faces. the man was pulled back as his mother and sister were sold to a skinny white man with a tall hat. The only thing the man could do was wait to be called up.
“I’m sorry, bout your mama.” The boy with the Bible started “I know how it feels, to be taken away from your family, I’m sorry.” The man was grateful for the boy trying to comfort him, but he had no response. The boy was called up and sold to a young white man in a suit. When the man was called up no one was eager to buy him but a short fat man finally bought him for ten cents.
The man rode in a hay cart pulled by horses, one of which his master was riding. The short fat man didn’t say a word to him until they arrived at his house.
“Slave,” he said “You are to call me Master Higgins and you are to do as I, and as Mrs. Higgins say. You are not to interact with my three daughters, or any of the other slaves.”
The man nodded his head. He received a sharp smack across the face. “...Y-y-yes Masta Higgins.” The man stumbled. His master gave him the signal to follow, as he turned and approached the front door.
After the man was familiar with his primary job, which was washing the dishes, and as his master said anything else that needs done, he was shown to his sleeping quarters by the other three slaves. In about four days he became friends with the other three, whose names were Dorothy, Maggie and Jim. They all talked and interacted when the master or mistress weren't around, although the man was reluctant to interact, because he was afraid of the short fat man.
One night at dinner his master called for the man to bring some sugar for his coffee. The man slipped over the youngest daughter's toy, sending sugar flying in the air and making a huge mess of it on the floor. The master stood up from his seat, and beat his slave multiple times, as the man was begging him to stop. He was thrown into his sleeping quarters with the door locked. The man began to sob.
“I’m sorry about that,” he heard a soft voice behind him. “Gracie forgot to pick up her toys. She didn’t mean for you to slip.”
The eldest daughter said trying to make the poor slave feel better. She could see blood soaking his shirt from the beatings he had received. When she tried to help him clean his wounds, he turned away from her.
“I- I’m not sposed tu-tu talk to ya.” the man’s voice was shaking, he was still traumatized from being beaten. “It’s okay, my fathers asleep.” She said to the man, receiving no response from him. “My names Elizabeth.”
He looked at her and stuck out his hand for her to shake. She shook his bloody hand, “Well aren’t you going to tell me your name?” she asked with a smile. the man shook his head slowly “I, d-don’t know, ma name. Only ma motha’s name: Harriet.”
Elizabeth Was silent. She handed him a new clean white shirt and some of her food she managed to sneak off her plate. He slowly ate the meat and bread. “Thank ya. Ma’am”
“You're welcome.” Elizabeth answered. After they both sat there in silence for a while she got up and left.
Days went by, the man couldn't count them, but every day he made a mark on the wall of his room with a piece of charcoal. On the twenty second day the slave and the master went into town to obtain groceries. At the market the man saw from across the many white men, another slave. It was the boy with the Bible. the boy also looked up. they looked at each other for a time, and then moved on with their masters. That boy was somehow like a friend, or brother to the man.
More days went by. Elizabeth started bringing more food to the man. And she eventually started teaching him to read and write. He wasn't very good at it but he slowly learned. Just about a year had gone by, and the man turned 20. He didn't know his exact birthday but he knew the general season. For his birthday Elizabeth spent almost all the money she had saved up, to buy him a notepad, and pencil. He was immensely grateful for the gift. The man liked to draw in his little book but he loved practicing writing more. it was clumsy but he had learned a lot. He practiced writing “Elizabeth” the most.
Many days had gone by. the man had to make smaller marks so that he didn't take up too much space writing marks on his wall. One night the man awoke to hearing shouts and two gunshots. He jumped out of bed and rushed into the kitchen, from which the noises had come. He saw a dark figure jumping out an open window with a sack slung over his back. The master was on the floor with a gun, he had only been knocked down. “Get the thief! Why are you just standing there?!”
The man saw this opportunity to redeem himself, and he bolted out the window, and chased the thief. Since his legs were much longer than the thieves, he easily caught up to him.
He boxed the thief's ears and threw him on the ground. “Please! Oh please Lawd help me!”
The thief was clutching a small dirt-black Bible with a golden cross. The man stared into the boy's eyes, he was weeping and shaking. They were both silent, the man stepped away from him. The boy slowly got up. “The great Lawd will rewad ya.” the boy said as he placed his small Bible in the man’s hands, and turned and ran. The man was shocked to see the same boy again.
“You let him get away!” He heard his master far off. But before he could explain anything, the master shot three times. The man fell to the floor.
The man woke up, in his bed. He slowly got up, and felt his body, checking for the bullet wounds. All he found were three holes in his shirt, and no wounds. The man got up out of bed and felt perfectly fine. He got back to his work. It was a miracle he thought. From then on he copied stories from the Bible that the boy had given him. But he wondered why the boy had given him the Bible. he was very grateful for his new possession. About a week later, Elizabeth was giving him a lesson on writing, when the master burst through the door. “Ah-ha!”
he shouted. “What did I tell you about interacting?!” he asked the man. “Father please! It’s my fault.” Elizabeth told him, but he paid no attention. As soon as the master put his hands on the man, he was jerked to the ground. With Elizabeth screaming, the man beat his master on the head with his fists.
He finally stopped, with his hands bleeding, he looked at Elizabeth, who had tears in her eyes. She ran away from the scene shouting. “Mother! Mother!”
The man didn’t know what to do. he sat on his bed and wept. Mrs. Gibbins found him with tears pouring from his eyes, praying. “Oh great Lawd, please fogive me. I never meant to hurt nobody, I-I-I don’t know what tu do! Oh Lawd please help me! Have mercy Lawd please!” The man wept more and the weeping turned into wailing, which turned into screaming.
The next day the man was in jail, but soon came out. He stood on a platform of wood with two other men, one black and the other white. A scratchy rope was tied around his neck, along with the other two men.
“Theft! Attempt to escape! And murdering his own master!” A man on the corner of the stage began. “These men have all committed crimes, and must pay.” the helpless man stared into the faces of the people in the crowd. A platform under the white man’s feet released, after a pause, a platform under the black man’s feet released.
“Gawd bless Jeremiah Tubman!” the man heard the familiar voice of the boy about the age of 16. He looked up and saw the boy who comforted him, the boy he had let escape, the boy who had given him the Bible with the golden cross, the boy who showed him the light of Jesus and the boy who had revealed his name.
The platform released but Jeremiah didn't feel a thing, he just opened his eyes and saw a garden, with a staircase made of gold. He approached the steps, and clutching the small dirt-black Bible with the golden cross, he climbed the staircase.
Dirt-black(Author Unknoahn)
The man woke up, he had no idea where he was but the first thing he noticed was that almost all of his friends were with him. There was also a great many people around him that he didn't know. Many children were crying, women were praying. The man saw a young teenager, probably around the age of 16, clutching a dirt-black Bible with a golden cross, letting his tears fall onto the pages. They were all sitting in at least 10 inches of water, maybe more. When the man tried to stand up he felt himself be pulled back by a chain that was wrapped around his ankles. He looked around for his family, but was unsuccessful, although it was a big space, he told himself that they could be somewhere out of his sight. A hatch or door of some kind opened from above, letting rays of light beat the man’s face. A fat white man walked down two steps. “Alright you Negros! listen here. We’s about to dock, and I don’t want no trouble from none o yous!”
The man was confused, but he came to realize he was on a ship. “Reckon they gonna kill us?” the man heard the voice coming from his left, he wanted to say something to reassure the young man who asked the question, but he had no idea what to say.
When the moving of the ship stopped the hatch opened again, and the fat white man was shouting orders at the helpless slaves. They formed a single-file line and walked up to the deck. When the man’s feet hit the wood of the deck he immediately got splinters in all parts of his feet. One man he saw tried to run but there was nowhere to go. he got shot. Panic went across the line of slaves. Mothers clutched their children close to them. The boy with the Bible was in front of the man, and when he saw all the possessions being taken away he hid his Bible in his clothes. They all walked across a narrow ramp and formed a crowd on the other side. The hard cobblestone street burnt the slaves’ feet, but they continued to stand. Many white people walked by them, looking disgusted at their color, but the slaves’ didn't feel any different. For the first time the man saw white women and children, they looked odd to him at first, but he noticed they were exactly like him, only a different color. “Snap!” the whip hit right in the middle of the man’s back, he let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor. The boy with the Bible helped him up. “Alright now, you Negros better follow me and don’t think of escapin!” the fat white man shouted at the slaves. They followed. after seeing what happened to the man back on the ship none of them thought of escaping.
After a long time of walking the man found himself standing in a crowd behind a sort of wooden stage, with spectators in front of it. One by one they were being called up, it was too far for the man to hear what they were saying. But when one man went up, men would talk, he would get down and go with one man, and the process was repeated. The man still saw no sign of his family. But suddenly when he looked up on the stage, he saw his mother and his sister. they were frightened. “Mama!” the man shouted. “Ma!” he ran up to the side of the stage and almost climbed up to his mother and sister, who were reaching out their hands to him. But the white men grabbed him. He was flailing and kicking and screaming “Mama! Mama!” he kept repeating the word.
“Son! I’m so sorry!” his mother said back to him. Tears ran down both of their faces. the man was pulled back as his mother and sister were sold to a skinny white man with a tall hat. The only thing the man could do was wait to be called up.
“I’m sorry, bout your mama.” The boy with the Bible started “I know how it feels, to be taken away from your family, I’m sorry.” The man was grateful for the boy trying to comfort him, but he had no response. The boy was called up and sold to a young white man in a suit. When the man was called up no one was eager to buy him but a short fat man finally bought him for ten cents.
The man rode in a hay cart pulled by horses, one of which his master was riding. The short fat man didn’t say a word to him until they arrived at his house.
“Slave,” he said “You are to call me Master Higgins and you are to do as I, and as Mrs. Higgins say. You are not to interact with my three daughters, or any of the other slaves.”
The man nodded his head. He received a sharp smack across the face. “...Y-y-yes Masta Higgins.” The man stumbled. His master gave him the signal to follow, as he turned and approached the front door.
After the man was familiar with his primary job, which was washing the dishes, and as his master said anything else that needs done, he was shown to his sleeping quarters by the other three slaves. In about four days he became friends with the other three, whose names were Dorothy, Maggie and Jim. They all talked and interacted when the master or mistress weren't around, although the man was reluctant to interact, because he was afraid of the short fat man.
One night at dinner his master called for the man to bring some sugar for his coffee. The man slipped over the youngest daughter's toy, sending sugar flying in the air and making a huge mess of it on the floor. The master stood up from his seat, and beat his slave multiple times, as the man was begging him to stop. He was thrown into his sleeping quarters with the door locked. The man began to sob.
“I’m sorry about that,” he heard a soft voice behind him. “Gracie forgot to pick up her toys. She didn’t mean for you to slip.”
The eldest daughter said trying to make the poor slave feel better. She could see blood soaking his shirt from the beatings he had received. When she tried to help him clean his wounds, he turned away from her.
“I- I’m not sposed tu-tu talk to ya.” the man’s voice was shaking, he was still traumatized from being beaten. “It’s okay, my fathers asleep.” She said to the man, receiving no response from him. “My names Elizabeth.”
He looked at her and stuck out his hand for her to shake. She shook his bloody hand, “Well aren’t you going to tell me your name?” she asked with a smile. the man shook his head slowly “I, d-don’t know, ma name. Only ma motha’s name: Harriet.”
Elizabeth Was silent. She handed him a new clean white shirt and some of her food she managed to sneak off her plate. He slowly ate the meat and bread. “Thank ya. Ma’am”
“You're welcome.” Elizabeth answered. After they both sat there in silence for a while she got up and left.
Days went by, the man couldn't count them, but every day he made a mark on the wall of his room with a piece of charcoal. On the twenty second day the slave and the master went into town to obtain groceries. At the market the man saw from across the many white men, another slave. It was the boy with the Bible. the boy also looked up. they looked at each other for a time, and then moved on with their masters. That boy was somehow like a friend, or brother to the man.
More days went by. Elizabeth started bringing more food to the man. And she eventually started teaching him to read and write. He wasn't very good at it but he slowly learned. Just about a year had gone by, and the man turned 20. He didn't know his exact birthday but he knew the general season. For his birthday Elizabeth spent almost all the money she had saved up, to buy him a notepad, and pencil. He was immensely grateful for the gift. The man liked to draw in his little book but he loved practicing writing more. it was clumsy but he had learned a lot. He practiced writing “Elizabeth” the most.
Many days had gone by. the man had to make smaller marks so that he didn't take up too much space writing marks on his wall. One night the man awoke to hearing shouts and two gunshots. He jumped out of bed and rushed into the kitchen, from which the noises had come. He saw a dark figure jumping out an open window with a sack slung over his back. The master was on the floor with a gun, he had only been knocked down. “Get the thief! Why are you just standing there?!”
The man saw this opportunity to redeem himself, and he bolted out the window, and chased the thief. Since his legs were much longer than the thieves, he easily caught up to him.
He boxed the thief's ears and threw him on the ground. “Please! Oh please Lawd help me!”
The thief was clutching a small dirt-black Bible with a golden cross. The man stared into the boy's eyes, he was weeping and shaking. They were both silent, the man stepped away from him. The boy slowly got up. “The great Lawd will rewad ya.” the boy said as he placed his small Bible in the man’s hands, and turned and ran. The man was shocked to see the same boy again.
“You let him get away!” He heard his master far off. But before he could explain anything, the master shot three times. The man fell to the floor.
The man woke up, in his bed. He slowly got up, and felt his body, checking for the bullet wounds. All he found were three holes in his shirt, and no wounds. The man got up out of bed and felt perfectly fine. He got back to his work. It was a miracle he thought. From then on he copied stories from the Bible that the boy had given him. But he wondered why the boy had given him the Bible. he was very grateful for his new possession. About a week later, Elizabeth was giving him a lesson on writing, when the master burst through the door. “Ah-ha!”
he shouted. “What did I tell you about interacting?!” he asked the man. “Father please! It’s my fault.” Elizabeth told him, but he paid no attention. As soon as the master put his hands on the man, he was jerked to the ground. With Elizabeth screaming, the man beat his master on the head with his fists.
He finally stopped, with his hands bleeding, he looked at Elizabeth, who had tears in her eyes. She ran away from the scene shouting. “Mother! Mother!”
The man didn’t know what to do. he sat on his bed and wept. Mrs. Gibbins found him with tears pouring from his eyes, praying. “Oh great Lawd, please fogive me. I never meant to hurt nobody, I-I-I don’t know what tu do! Oh Lawd please help me! Have mercy Lawd please!” The man wept more and the weeping turned into wailing, which turned into screaming.
The next day the man was in jail, but soon came out. He stood on a platform of wood with two other men, one black and the other white. A scratchy rope was tied around his neck, along with the other two men.
“Theft! Attempt to escape! And murdering his own master!” A man on the corner of the stage began. “These men have all committed crimes, and must pay.” the helpless man stared into the faces of the people in the crowd. A platform under the white man’s feet released, after a pause, a platform under the black man’s feet released.
“Gawd bless Jeremiah Tubman!” the man heard the familiar voice of the boy about the age of 16. He looked up and saw the boy who comforted him, the boy he had let escape, the boy who had given him the Bible with the golden cross, the boy who showed him the light of Jesus and the boy who had revealed his name.
The platform released but Jeremiah didn't feel a thing, he just opened his eyes and saw a garden, with a staircase made of gold. He approached the steps, and clutching the small dirt-black Bible with the golden cross, he climbed the staircase.
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