Spoiler! :
Young Dakarai was an African-American slave, only seventeen. He was born at the Millington Plantation, where corn was the cash crop. The owner of the Plantation was James Millington, a kindly man. James was born in Britain and was tall, with dark hair and dark eyes. Dakarai's only family had been his mother and older sister, Dashi. His mother, Malaika, was born in a small village in Africa. She had been brought to the colonies in 1720, pregnant with Dakarai and with one-year old Dashi trembling at her side. When they hit land, they were given simple clothes to wear; the wife of the man in charge of the slave auctions did not tolerate seeing so many malnourished, naked people in such a way.
Before reaching the location of the slave auction, the cruel white soldiers separated Dashi from Malaika, all too aware they were related. A distraught Dashi wailed and kicked but all attempts were futile. The sounds of her sobs would have broken your heart if you had heard them. Malaika screamed and yelled and hollered but the men just laughed. She looked to her fellow captives for consolation, but they just stared with vacant eyes. Their words would have been idle anyways; they have made shells of us, thought Malaika bitterly.
At the auction, James Millington looked at the white men in disgust. He knew about the way slaves were treated on the way to America. He was going to buy a slave so he could at least save one soul the pain that other slave owners would no doubt inflict. He scanned the rows of slaves, trying to find the one who seemed to need the most help. Finally, he saw her. A tall woman, looked quite strong and fit. She was beautiful too, but that is not why he had spotted her. Tears were running down her cheeks...she had such a broken and melancholy look in her wild eyes. The other white men were harassing her! James. Oh, my dear lord, James! Look at her arm. Malaika kept her right arm protectively over her hidden belly as if...as if she was pregnant! That did it; James was planning with his wife to raise a family and soon, she would be pregnant also. How could he allow such a thing to happen?
There had already been many bids by men wanting to purchase Malaika. But James would never be able to live with himself if he let someone else buy the woman. The last bid placed had been seventy-five pounds. What he was going to offer may have seemed like too much but he was willing to do it.
“NINETY POUNDS!” he hollered.
The crowd turned around to look at him in bewilderment. The auctioneer leaned over to make sure he had heard right.
“Do I hear Ninety-Five? Ninety -Five? Last chance to purchase this African beauty!” .
He looked around. No one dared offer a higher price.
“Going once. Going twice. SOLD, to Mr. Millington of the Millington Corn Plantation.”
The man handed a quill and ink and the customary forms given when buying a slave to James.
“You must be a madman, Millington. Purchasing a slave girl for ninety pounds.” the auctioneer chuckled.
“So be it.”, James hissed as he signed the papers.
James got into his wagon with the woman, and drove off to his plantation.
During the trip back, the woman gasped and groaned several times, but James misinterpreted them as her sobbing. Thus, all he could do was say, "Everything will be all right. We'll take care of you". Upon reaching the plantation, James heard the woman gasp loudly. He turned around to find the woman crying and bleeding from her legs.
“Alred-ee! Wah-tur! Wah-tur! Brok'!” she sobbed, pointing to her belly. James was surprised to find that the woman spoke a bit of English.
Having heard all the yelling, Joseph Daniels(the doctor), a man of curly blond hair and blue eyes and a usual smile, rushed outside and astonished by the sight.
“Joseph!!! I think she's trying to say that her water just broke!”, urged James.
Joseph took a quick look at the woman. “ James, I think it's past that. This woman is probably going to give birth at any moment now!” he speculated.
With Joseph's help, James carried the woman to his own bed. In his room was his wife, Helen, and her best friend, Marianna( also the cook). Saddened by the sight, Helen started crying. Marianna comforted her, and told her not to look.
Unfortunately for Malaika, the shock of losing Dashi had indeed been too much and her life was merely a flickering candle in the abyss of time. Soon, the baby was out. At that moment, there was not a single dry eye at the Millington Plantation. Joseph held the baby boy tenderly and handed him to Malaika. She cradled him with her feeble arms and raised him to the ceiling. “My... child...Dakarai.” she whispered. And with that, she closed her eyes, forever.
Two years and a day from that miserable moment, Mrs. Millington herself was going to give birth to her own child. If it was a boy, they decided, his name would be James, after his father. And if it was a girl, her name would be Sarah-Helen. Dakarai was also there to witness the birth of the awaited child. He remembered vaguely that Mrs. Millington had been upset, muttering under her breath about bad omens. He later found out that she had been talking about Dakarai's mother dying in front of her a year and a day from that moment. Helen was caught between a rock and a hard place; she wanted Dakarai to be there but the memory of Malaika's death was haunting. She started breathing hard and rapidly and shaking her head and her legs bucked on the bed.
“Helen?! Helen?!”, called James desperately as he grabbed her face in his hands.
“It's okay, honey. Relax, the baby's coming out.” urged Joseph, although it seemed like he was trying to calm himself more than her or anyone else.
“I can't do it, Joseph. I'm not going to live.” she whispered.
“ NO! Yes. You. Are.” he insisted.
“You know I won't... I'm sorry.” she uttered.
She turned to her frantic husband. “James, I love you and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You know I love you, but I have to leave...” she sobbed.
Finally, the baby came out, and Helen grabbed her gently. “Beautiful baby girl”, she cooed and kissed the newborn child's forehead. She looked exactly like her, except young and healthy. She gave the baby to Dakarai so he could hold her. “Take care of my Sarah.” she croaked. Helen Millington then ceased to exist. Dakarai looked at Sarah-Helen lovingly. He was not sure of what was happening but he knew deep down that Mrs. Millington would not be here the next morning. From that moment on, he vowed to take care of this beautiful creature with hair like a golden sunrise and eyes like sea-glass. He would do it for Miss Helen, who had been like a mother to him. He, too, kissed her on the forehead and said, “I love you.” Then, he watched as Mr. Millington got down on his knees and started screaming. Now he was truly a madman.
But this is not the story of these two unfortunate mothers. This is the story of the unbreakable bond between their two children.
Mr. Millington raised Dakarai as if he was his own son. Sarah looked more like her mother each day. Mr. Millington educated Dakarai and took the same classes as Sarah, in the same classroom as her. The two became best friends and often stayed up late into the night, just talking. When they were young, they made nick names for each other; Karai for Dakarai (obviously) and Lenny for Sarah because of her middle name, Helen. Dakarai was not an outside worker. The only difference from him and any other member of the Millington household was that he worked as Marianna's (the cook) assistant in the afternoons. But he had his own room and he had nice, decent clothes.
Millington's plantation was a curious place. Partly because most of the workers were white unlike other plantations, which were filled with black, emaciated slaves, scarred by being constantly whipped. About ninety-six percent of the workers were white because they were indentured servants(The other four percent were black refugees from other plantations). Indentured servants were people from Europe who came to work for another person for a certain amount of time in the colonies under a contract(called an indenture), usually to pay off a debt. The standard period for an indenture was 7 years. Some even had to work double indentures, to pay off earlier debts made by their parents. Millington preferred to hire indentured servants because not only did he feel sorry for the poor things that had to compete with the slaves for a job ( who didn't like free labor?) but also because he simply hated slavery and refused to be a part of it, although Dakarai's mother had been an exception. He had to accept it though because he knew that some men could not afford not to have slaves. It was just something that could not be helped.
The other factor that contributed to the Millington Plantation's uniqueness, was that Millington had declared that 'everyone was of same importance, although it did not always seem like it in this world.' All the workers loved serving Mr. Millington. They loved the feeling of equality that working there brought. They had grown accustomed to the friendly mood and the family-like warmness. Millington was the kind of man who remembered all his workers and their children, that asked about their health, and understood when they asked to take the day off because it was their wife's birthday. He was what others might call “filthy rich” but he lived like an ordinary man. He refused to mock his workers in that way and also wanted to make sure they had decent working conditions. That was how great of a man he was.
“Good Afternoon, Anna!” said Dakarai brightly, addressing Marianna. Everyone called her Anna for short.
“Well, aren't you cheery today? Did you peel the potatoes like I asked you?” inquired Anna.
“Yes...of course!” he lied pitifully and he forced a smile.
“ Si, claro1...sure. ¿Porqué yo tengo que hacer todo aquí?2”she questioned, in mock exasperation.
“You don't do everything around here, Anna! I do about half the work in the kitchen!”, he said, pretending to be indignant. Then, dropping the theatrics, they both laughed.
“Yo se3, mi vida4, I know. You work very hard. Peel those potatoes for me now, okay?” she said as she pulled him into a hug and kissed him on the forehead.
Then, the door slowly opened. From it, emerged Sarah. Dakarai was dumbfounded; to this day, he still found her to be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Strawberry-blonde, tall, graceful, and hazel eyes that always gleamed like precious diamonds. She was so beautiful! And she was also so smart and the things she could do with words...now that was something.
Oh no! He's looking at me, thought Sarah nervously. Yes, it was true. She and Dakarai had been best friends since birth. But the love she felt for him grew too strong and it overcame their friendship. But he mustn't know you love him, she told herself every day. She felt a pang of hopelessness yet tried to smile at him.
Anna watched in amusement as the two stared at each other. Ahh, young love, she pondered. She would have let them do as they pleased but she needed those potatoes now so she decided to make Dakarai snap out of it.
She snapped her fingers in his face. “Romeo! Please peel those potatoes for me now, will you?”
“Oh! Umm...yes! Uhh..sorry!”he stammered and scurried out the kitchen.
Anna turned to Sarah. “Sorry, Lenny. You can stare at him some other time.” she said and with a wink, she left Sarah in the kitchen, alone and scarlet-faced.
That moment was not the only one that occurred. Everyday, there was a stolen glance, an awkward silence, a brushing of the arms, an attempted compliment, you name it. They loved each other so much but neither had the courage to say it out loud. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and no one was going to admit to anything.
All the workers knew about how Sarah and Dakarai felt about each other. It was just too obvious. They were all very supportive of their relationship and they hoped it would thrive. Oh, how they yearned for Dakarai to make his move! They grew desperate and so the meddling began. The workers teamed up and started dropping hints and mentioning relationships and complimenting one of them when the other was near. All were determined to bring them together.
Anna groaned inside as she watched yet another worker trying to goad poor Sarah into action. Anna had never been truly in love. She thought she had been, at one time, but was left heartbroken. She gave up on love and never looked at anyone in a romantic light again. She looked up from the dishes she was drying as Dr. Daniels came into the kitchen.
"Afternoon, Anna!", said Daniels.
"Good Afternoon, Joseph", sighed Anna.
Daniels frowned. "What's the matter, darlin'?" Daniels was Southern and called everyone things such as "honey", "darling", or "sweetheart". Well, not the men, particularly. But he always meant it for Anna.
"Oh, nothing...Everything is fine. Just thinking." she said in glum voice.
Daniels leaned on the counter top."'Bout what?" he asked. She turned her head away from him. He grabbed her shoulders gently and made her face him. He looked her straight in the eyes, a concerned expression in his.
"Please. Tell me what's wrong."he whispered.
"Take. Your. Hands. Off. Of. Me."she hissed.
Taken aback by her sudden rancorous behavior, he took his hands off immediately.
"I..umm..uhh..sorry..."he stammered.
She silenced him with a wave of her hand and looked at him apologetically. "The female workers were still here and I didn't want them to gossip. I didn't mean to sound that harsh." she said.
"No, it's okay. I'm sorry." he mumbled, face reddening.
"You don't have to apologize.", she whispered.
"Yes, I do", he insisted as he took a strand of black hair and put it behind her ear. "That's the kind of thing a southern gentleman does."
"I can think of other things a southern gentleman would do" she said, remembering the first slave auction she witnessed. Daniels guessed at what she was talking about.
"No...No...No! You know I would never do any of those things. You know that, Anna." he implored. She smiled.
"I meant that in a lighthearted way."she said gingerly. Then she hugged him warmly. He stood there with a lovestruck face, just staring at her. She cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Joseph? "
"Yes, Anna?" he asked dreamily.
"You may leave now," she laughed.
"Oh! Yes,! Ummm...I, uh, have some business to attend to! Good day!"he blabbed pathetically.
"Good-bye, Joseph."she finalized. Then he darted out of the room, terribly embarrassed. She sighed and went back to drying the dishes, with a small smile on her face.
***
Dakarai contemplated about what the last worker had told him.
'Lenny's a pretty girl', the worker said.
'Yes...' he answered, unable to contain himself.
'Go tell her, then' the man said and with that, the worker disappeared.
Maybe I should tell her, he thought. Maybe he should tell her about how he felt every time she walked into the room, every time she looked at him, every time she winked at him, every time she smiled! But if he was going to tell her, he would have to bring a present; it was an important custom! But...what would he bring? He searched his mind thoroughly, seeing if he could find an answer. Suddenly, he got an idea. It's perfect! She'll love it, he thought joyously. He would have to talk to the gardener, André Lacroix.
Sarah sat on her bed, tormented by thoughts. How she loved Dakarai! How she longed for him! How she ached for him. What if she told him? That question created several million others in her head. Say, she told and he felt the same way? Say, he didn't? What would her father say? She knew her father loved Dakarai as if he were his own but would he consent to their love? She sighed and lay the rest of her body on the bed. She thought of the years she had spent with Dakarai in school. All the cherished moments in class; Math, Science, Latin, French, Grammar, Literature, Art..,she smiled dreamily. At once, she opened her eyes and sat upright. That was it! She would show him how much she loved him with art! She got up and went to the small table in the corner of her rather large bedroom. There, she opened the drawer and took out her paper, coloring pencils, and watercolor. She dusted off the top of the table, sat down, and began to draw.
After hours of procrastinating, Dakarai walked down the hallway and knocked loudly and hesitantly on Sarah's door.
"Lenny? It's me, Karai", he said and his voice cracked.
Inside, Sarah rushed to hide all of the gifts and wondered if Dakarai was upset. Maybe today was not the best time to tell him, she thought nervously. No! You will tell him, and you will tell him now, she scolded. "Come in!" she squeaked, a little too eager.
Dakarai came in slowly and carefully, as if he was afraid. He certainly seems so, thought Sarah. He asked Sarah to sit down at her bed while he got something. Obediently, she sat down. From his coat, he pulled out a bouquet of eight flowers and a card. Then he spoke.
"Sarah. I need to confess something. I need you to promise to sit and listen and not talk until I am finished." When she nodded, he continued.
"I've always loved you, ever since I first held you in my arms. At first I loved you like a sister, then like a friend, and now like a lover. I know that such a relationship is not allowed in such times, but I need you to know that my feelings for you are irrevocable and I cannot ever go back.
"I have brought this bouquet of flowers and a card. I want you to know that like these flowers, my love for you will only keep blooming. But unlike them, my feelings for you will never die. Each of these flowers stand for something. The meanings are written on the card, in case you ever want to look at them. The arbutus means 'thee only do I love'. The arum is my burning ardor for you. The gloxinia means 'love at first sight.' The wild rose is poetry, because you are a living poem and your writing is also beautiful. The white violet says, 'let's take a chance'. The wild daisy asks 'dost thou love me'? And," he paused and held out the solid and striped carnations to Sarah. " The solid colored carnation means 'yes' and the striped one means 'no'. I ask you again, Dost thou love me?!" he asked desperately.
She grabbed the solid colored carnation eagerly, nodding like crazy, sobbing with joy and hugged him tightly. "I love you so much. I thought you'd never ask. Can I show you my gifts to you now?"she asked tearfully.
"Of course, my love", whispered Dakarai.
She got up and grabbed a few papers off her desk. Then she stood in front of him and started to talk. "I also loved you as a friend in the beginning but then love conquered all my previous thoughts of you. Today, I was actually telling myself that I was going to admit my feelings for you. But I had no idea what to give you; I was perplexed. Then I started to drift off, remembering all the precious moments at school and I got an idea. I decided to draw you something." Then she showed him a painting of them together and a painting of many flowers. "I drew the painting of us a few weeks ago, out of great longing and the flower painting, I drew today. I find it quite humorous that you gave me these flowers to me today and that I drew you this also! I decided to paint flowers because I thought 'what, like love, is beautiful and delicate?' The only answer I had, of course, were flowers.
"These flowers, too, stand for something. The pink camellia stands for my longing, the forget me not stands for our cherished memories, the lilac means that you were my first and are my only love. The jonquil stands for my desire to spend the rest of my life with you. Finally, the ambrosia stands for mutual love. The ambrosia flower was not colored in because I did not know if you loved me as well." she finished, blushing. Then, Dakarai grabbed the white violet and put it in Sarah's hair.
"Well, my dear, are you ready to take a chance?" he asked.
"What kind of chance?" said Sarah curiously.
"Escape with me, Sarah-Helen Millington. Escape to a new life."he implored. She sighed and shook her head.
"You know I would do anything for you, Karai. But first, how would we do it? And where could we possibly go?" she asked.
"I talked with Anna earlier today and she told me of this church in Virginia where we can seek sanctuary. Her friend's cousin is a young nun in the convent. She has prepared a wagon with a strong, healthy horse. We have plenty of water and food to last us weeks, clothes, paper, quills, and ink! All you have to do is say yes and come with me." he whispered and pulled her close.
" All right. I shall go with you." she agreed and they went to the barn with that.
***
In the barn, was Anna. She was waiting with the cargo when the couple entered. Dakarai and Sarah rushed to hug Anna and thank her for everything she had ever done for them .
"Why can't you come with us, Anna?" said Sarah.
"I wish I could, mi vida. But I have to feed your father and everyone else. Plus I have to see if a certain Mr. Joseph Daniels is going to propose already!" she laughed. She hugged the happy pair one last time and was about to leave when Sarah called to her suddenly.
"Can you please give this letter to my father, Anna? It explains why we left. Tell him that I will write to him as soon as we know we are safe." she said.
"Of course, Lenny. Good bye and good luck! " she said.
And then, they drove off into freedom, no longer afraid. True love takes care of all these fears, reassuring you that you will always have somebody that will support you throughout life's journey.
) parts but that is what I'm working on. I am still not completely sure how the p.o.v. will be. But I have to write the rest of it so it will make sense(it was kind of a glimpse; the people you don't know much about WILL be important, I promise.) So this is exactly what I needed to hear and thanks again!
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