Sisters

•Chapter 23•

The carriage comes to a slow stop as we arrive at the Slave Mart. Black men, women and children are everywhere dressed in either thin piece of clothing covering their privates or nothing at all. Some are crying and screaming, others singing, others silent with an empty look in their eyes.

Not a white woman is in sight. It's all white men who are either selling slaves or buying. I watch in disgust as they feel all over the slaves, letting their hands touch women inappropriately while no one says a thing.

"Daddy I wanna-"

"We's in public Delilah".

I swallow, "Massa can we please go ho-"

"Mr. jones!" A big man exclaims as he walks over to our carriage. "Haven't seen ya here in a while? Ya buying or selling?"

I lower my head as his eyes rake through me with a sharp gaze that sends chills down my spine.

"Just lookin", daddy says keeping it short.

The man reaches out to touch me and I flinch, "let me get a good look at ya girl. Stand up".

I wait for Daddy to tell him to leave me alone but he does the exact opposite.

"The man said stand, so you stand".

I carefully stand up and face the man as he instructs.

"Ain't she too dark to be a house slave Phillip?" He criticizes.

"I run my plantation how I want Billy".

The man grins as if he heard the best joke in the world, "she a little too young for ya pal, but still, she's ripe for breeding. I got a few bucks that can help with that. First child I keep, second child you keep-"

"Not interested".

"Not interested?" The man bellows. "Ahh I see ya here for the buck breaking. The Dens over that way".

I look over to the Big Den he was pointing at. Johnny told me about them, it's where male slaves get rapped and beaten so white men can assert their dominance. He said Uncle Joe frequently goes in there but I always doubted the existence of such a place....until now that is.

Daddy gives him a disgusted look, "I ain't into faggot behavior Billy".

Billy throws his head back and laughs, "you the only man that can say some shit like that to me and I won't take offense. Listen let me buy this pretty nigger from ya. I say she goes for 98 dollars".

Daddy tilts his head as if he's in deep thought, "I say you got enough women-and men for that matter".

Before Billy can answer, a woman bound by chains falls on him and he pushes her to the ground yelling. She scrambled to get up but he strikes her with the whip in his hand and I watch as her brown skin glistens with blood.

Turning my head away I look at Daddy, begging him to take me away from here. He nods and I sit back down trying to calm my breathing.

"That's enough, Mike head on home".

I sob on the ride home and refuse to look at Daddy. How could he take me to such a place, and let a strange man touch me aswell!

Once the carriage stops in front of the house, I take off running inside. Mrs. Jones comes out the living room when she hears my cries and pulls me to her.

"What in the world? What's the matter Delilah?"

"Daddy took me to a Slave Mart Mama!" I yell for everyone to hear.

Her face pales and she releases her grip on me when the door swings open as Daddy strides in.

"Phillip you ought to be out your damn fucking mind! How could you do such a thing?"

Daphne comes up behind me and touches my arm gently, "Delilah are you okay?"

"Quiet!" Daddy's voice booms.

"Delilah go to your room, Daphne wait for me in my office" he demands.

I watch as he grabs hold of Mama by her arm and drags her upstairs to their room. Daphne scurries to the office and I slowly make my way to my room too.

Before I open my door I hear the sound of a belt coming down on flesh and Mama's whimpers. I walk closer to their room thinking if I should knock and ask her if she's okay but then I hear it. She makes the same sound Daddy made last night when I found him with the pregnant slave.

I press my ear to the door thinking I might have imagined it but sure enough, the belt came down again and a soft moan came out of her mouth.

I rush into my room as I try to convince myself none of this is real. I didn't just get traumatized at the slave mart and Daddy wasn't actually going to sell me and Mama isn't being weird.

"Ugh stop calling her that Delilah she was mean to you yesterday", I tell myself.

A knock comes on my door and Daddy pushes it open without waiting for my reply. His sleeves are rolled up exposing his tan thick veiny arms and the sweat on his forehead is soaking his collar. I don't miss the belt clutched in his big hand.

"Now you tell me, are we gonna have a problem about this freedom bullshit? Cause if we are we's gonna take care of it right now".

I shake my head quickly, "n-no sir no problems".

He points a finger at me with the hand holding the belt, "good cause if you open that mouth and bring that shit up again, I ain't gonna warn ya when I pull ya over my leg. We clear?"

I nod unable to form a sentence.

He steps closer to me and his eyes burn into mine, "I said are we clear?!"

"Y-yes sir!"

I keep my head down and hands gripped onto the skirts of my dress. I don't want to look at him right now. He'll see right through me and know I'm lying. I might be scared of him, but I know he's scared of loosing me more. And he knows I'm stubborn, I'm not gonna ask about the papers anymore, but the first thing I'm going to do when I get the chance, is find them.

Freedom is taken, not given.