Cane

This was one situation they couldn’t get out of, it was going to happen fast and they had no control over it. The three men were lined up chained to the fence like dogs waiting for their meal. Their bodies were a sweat box standing in the hot sun waiting for the women to come out of their shacks that were set up on the twenty acre sugar cane plantation. “Come on boys look alive! As he looked out towards the bottom of the hill the women came up the hill with their bodies exposed and fear in their eyes. The slave driver readied his whip and gripped it tight. “Man they can’t be doing this to us one whispered to the other, as long as he has that whip in his hand they gon’ do it to us, Alaric shook his head, mis-treating our women like this it just ain’t right. Three young women who were fifteen, seventeen, and twenty, had unsure in their eyes, being forced to have sex with men they were never going to see again had all of them in array of what was about to happen, Nie, fifteen wasn’t ready to give a man her virginity and the men were older and she didn’t believe their jasper’s was going to fit into her space. Talya, seventeen couldn’t see herself bearing a child she didn’t want, to bring a child into this type of world where they were just taken to go have sex with random studs, she felt lost and helpless. Sen was twenty and she was ready to be bred she couldn’t wait to have a child with one of the three it didn’t matter she was ready and wanted it. All three women didn’t greet the men instead they got down on their hands and knees and the studs got behind them and entered their sacred space. The men looked away while pumping harder into them. Sen was screaming in pleasure and pain. Talya and Nie had tears falling out of their eyes while the two studs went harder and harder. Nie and Talya thought about when they would be finished. The Slave driver just stood there looking in pleasure as he got really close to Nie and Talya, ya’ll betta scream! They started to scream so he wouldn’t whip them. Ten minutes felt like hours. As the men were finished they were led back on to the wagon that drove them there and the women were led back to their shacks shaking and cold because of the sun setting and being naked. The women in the other shacks came out and took each girl to go clean them up in separate places. Nie your shaking baby girl calm down the older lady said as she lay her on her cot and wiped her up. I feel so empty inside Nie responded in a shaky voice. He took the only thing that was a part of me, the only thing pure and real. The older lady looked at Nie and put a wash cloth on her forehead, “we all went through our first break in to multiply so the slave drivers could have enough of us to work the cane fields”, the women replied with cold eyes. Why us? Why do we have to work in those fields day and night no rest no sleep breaking our backs for these white men? We are so many why haven’t we fought back? Of course Nie thought about this in her head she didn’t dare  say it out loud because the older lady told everything to the slave drivers. “Get some rest for tomorrow”. Nie closed her eyes and fell asleep.

      Tayla couldn’t stop crying with a young fair skin looking women. The woman didn’t even care, in her eyes Tayla was beneath her and was disgusted with her dark complexion. “Your fine the lady told her with an annoyed look now go rest. Tayla’s heart grew cold and she couldn’t even think for herself anymore. As her black curls fell over her face, she knew her days as a slave were numbered.

Sen was a different story she loved it and couldn’t wait to have the bastard child that was about to grow inside her. The lady that took care of the girls after breeding had long gone. Sen was strong and nothing could break her heart mind or soul. Sen was born with only her mother and worked on the cane fields when she reached age. At age 12 the master had called her to his side and she followed him up to the house. He touched her in different places, she wasn’t really sure how to feel then she performed acts a twelve year old girl should never even think of.

      Her mother was killed for retaliating against the master he tied her hands and legs and threw her in a nearby river with a gag in her mouth. Sen felt her heart harden and go numb, her mother was her life and if her mother said what the masta was doing was wrong than it was. The last night he touched her she bit down hard and there was blood everywhere. “Nigga bitch! You just made me bleed how  can I produce my own seed!? Sen looked up with mad eyes with blood dripping from her mouth. As her master lay there in his own blood bleeding to death. She was whipped and then sold to another plantation where she felt comfortable and did her work as she was told. When she met Nie and Tayla she felt they were her long loss sisters. All three of them worked in the cane fields together and picked cotton together danced together and they were probably going to have babies on the same day together. For Sen it was just another day in the Cane where the slave drivers played their sex games to get into all the newly broken bed wenches. She felt afraid for Nie and Tayla  had to bring them to her shack before they got a hold of them. She ventured out but was too late. Sen hid behind the farm house and watched from afar with feelings of hate and death in her mind. One slave driver had Nie by the tree trusting and drooling on her long curly hair she had no expression on her face and was beaten inside. To the right Tayla was on her back while the slave driver forced her neck down into the dirt as he went up in her. She too had a dark and non-existent presence in her soul.  Sen looked away and ran back in her shack she knew it was going to be her turn soon, all she could do was take it because fifty lashes was something she didn’t want. The door swung open and in came the third slave driver who was red and fat all over. Sen looked in fear and balled up, No, No, No, please sa do not do this to me ,Sen had broken down, he covered her mouth and got her from behind, Sen felt old feelings rushing back and acted fast to go down, oh no you aren’t going to do that to me like you did your old masta. Get back down there gal and I’ll take it the way I want it!. Sen let him and she was hurt, enraged, forgotten. She wanted to fight so deep within her heart but couldn’t, He was heavy and sweat was dripping which made him slippery. He put his trousers back on and left Sen where he put her. Sen had passed out and was sprawled out on the floor.                         

SEN

      Sen woke up the next morning feeling light headed and sick, the event that took place made her throw up on the floor. She went to the bucket and washed her face off. Did she have a dream? She put her hand under her dress and touched and lifted her hand up which was draped in red. Sen painfully ran out the shack to the brook where the water ran and jumped in it. Blood stained the water as she jumped in. Sen wanted to free herself from the pain she felt her mother being raped. All the aspects of her life was coming towards a close bubbles were visible on the top of the water. Sen longed for love and a family like she saw with her previous slave masters. Sen knew it was time to go she was no longer needed in this world and just wanted to stop everything. She came to the surface and took a deep breath, two slave drivers were standing next to the water’s edge they made a bet on if she was going to sink or live. As she looked at both of them as they exchanged coins her blood boiled, they walked away laughing as if her life was a gamble. Sen knew she had to live to teach her child how to overcome this life.

      That same morning she went to drown in the hot sun cutiing sugar cane. Tayla and Nie were a short distance away from her she could hear them both humming a tune that was not familiar in their regular early routine. Sen started to sing,    

“My soul, my soul is in trouble how do I save my soul?

 There is no waking up the next morning, my soul my soul they took it with them,

I’m empty inside, there is no soul inside of me,

There’s no love, no pain, no feeling inside of me

My soul my soul my soul has left me.

Tayla and Nie had joined in and many of the other slaves around her. They worked from morning to dusk with hardly any breaks. Water was brought around once for them to drink.

Sen looked around to see if anyone was looking and sneaked a piece sugar cane in her mouth and sucked the juices out. Sen hit the ground, the sugarcane went flying out her mouth on to the ground everyone around her ignored what had just happened Sen looked back at the slave driver with piercing eyes that could kill, Get Back To Work Gal, and stop eating the profit, don’t put ya black diseased mouth on our product. You do it again and you’ll see what you get. Sen got up off the ground and dusted herself off. Tayla and Nie looked over at Sen and She could read them like a book like why did you go make them angry you know what they are going to do to you, Sen didn’t care she had tasted the sweet juices of the sugar cane and was going to do it again tomorrow.  Nie and Tayla caught up with Sen on her way back to her shack. “Sen you can’t be doing that you gon get us all in trouble.” Tayla quietly exclaimed. “I don’ care anymore let them kill me”, me have nothing to lose Sen said without a care in the world. Tayla being from her native country knew not to meddle with Authority she had been in trouble with her tribe leader so many times they almost banished her at age twelve. Sen, Nie and I need you here for us if not we will be taken somewhere else, you are our sister we need you. Sen knew she had to stay for the sake of them, as much as she wanted to kill them slave drivers she had to survive.

      Sen was back in her shack without her new named sisters and thought about escaping but how? They were on an island and couldn’t go but so far, the vast landscape was bred with hills and beautiful beaches even though she hadn’t been and only heard about beaches]  she wanted to experience the waves crashing on her feet, the sand beneath her felt like freedom when she went into that part of her day dreams.