Black Sunday

The high pitched tone from his alarm clock woke Robert Smith up. With his almond brown curls matted, he hungrily trudged into the kitchen. He knew not to complain as he entered the room. Dust covered the floor, countertops, tables, and chairs. Robert’s mother, Mary, stood over the stove top wiping off the dust. Her body weak and slim from lack of food. The smile she wore told a different story from her eyes. Her smile showed joy, hope, happiness. Whilst her eyes were that of worry, fear, and sorrow.

He felt the need to take care of his family, and wished he could do anything to help. They had no food and barely any money. No crops had grown in four and a half years, they had no way of making a profit.

After walking through the kitchen he passed his younger sister, Betty-Sue, playing with rag dolls Ma had made with ripped up washcloths. He looked at her solemnly, she was 6 years old and had barely seen the sky. The only thing reminding her of the color was a bright blue bow Ma put in her hair. She looked so happy playing with her dolls. If only he too could be as optimistic and joyful as her. This was all she really ever knew.

Robert picked up a large bed sheet and wet it. Being careful not to leave any open spaces, he hung the sheet in front of the window to prevent any dust from getting in. He smiled at his sister, then continued on with his chores.

Robert went to the small coat rack by the door and grabbed his hat and “dust scarf” as he called it. After wrapping the scarf around his face so that his mouth and nose were covered, he grabbed the shovel and headed outside to work.

The sky was a light gray, as always, and the dust had built up over the empty barn in the back. Letting out a groan, Robert set to work on clearing the road. The rusted shovel lifted pound after pound of dark gray dirt.

Tom, Robert’s father, came out to join him. His once burly body was now scrawny and slim. The hat he wore — that used to fit his head — fell slightly forward in front of his sullen eyes.

The day went on as usual, he did all of his chores, ate his meal and was off to bed. Only one dust storm came in today. Maybe they’re laying off for a while. Robert thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep. He was looking forward to tomorrow, April 14, 1935. His 19th birthday.

The next morning Robert woke up, walked past the kitchen, Ma and Betty-Sue, and got ready to do his chores. CLANG! The shovel, once held tight, was now on the gray, dusty, ground. His head looked up at the sky.

“Hey Bobby, what’s that—” Betty-Sue started. “Mama! Pa! Come look!”

Everyone rushed out to where Robert and Betty-Sue were standing. Their eyes pointed up to the sky. It was blue. A color they hadn’t seen in 5 long years. Tears started forming in Mary’s eyes as her husband, Tom, stood there in awe, taking his hat off and just admiring the beauty that was the blue sky.

“Betty-Sue, do you see that? It’s the sky, in a glorious shade of blue!” Ma said, her voice filled with excitement as she lifted her daughter into the air. “Tom, hun, why don’t we go to the church for a picnic?”

“I don’t see why not?” Tom said. The family hurried into the house to prepare for the day. Betty-Sue grabbed the blanket, Robert the basket, Pa got the car ready, and Ma prepared the food.

“Ma, don’t you think it’s a little strange how the sky was gray yesterday but it’s blue today?” Robert said with uncertainty in his tone.

“You’re right, it is a little strange. Let's bring the dust scarves just in case,” A hint of worry was in her voice. “Let’s go enjoy your birthday though, okay?”

The family piled into the car. After about half an hour of driving the Smiths made it to the church building to enjoy a nice picnic. They weren’t the only ones there, many families who stayed in Oklahoma were there as well, enjoying the beauty that was the sky .

Robert scanned the crowd of people for his friends, but they were nowhere to be seen. That’s right. He thought. They all moved West to California.

“Bobby!” Betty-Sue came running up to him with a big smile on her face. He hadn’t seen her like this in years. Her golden locks tied back in a neat braid with a yellow ribbon holding them in place. Her yellow dress blowing in the wind. He couldn’t help but smile back at her.

Just then his smile faded. Wind? It dawned on him. He quickly spun around. His eyes widened as he looked toward the horizon. A wall of black dust was fast approaching.

“EVERYONE GET INSIDE!!!” He screamed. Picking up Betty-Sue, Robert ran to his parents who were in shock with what they saw. “Ma! Pa! What are you doing? We have to go, NOW!”

The wind picked up and the sky turned black. The bright sun was blocked out by the immense amount of dust. It started piling up against the side of the building as people were rushing inside in fear they might get caught outside. The church filled up quickly as families filed in.

The Smith family rushed into the building along with the many others. Everyone was hugging and kissing their loved ones, in case this might be their last day together. Sobs were heard throughout the building, families sat on the floor or on benches embracing each other.

“Mama, are you okay?” Betty-Sue asked as she sat down in a pew.

“I’m okay Darlin’. It’s all gonna be okay,” Mary hugged her daughter tight. Robert could tell his mother was nervous.

“Don’t cry, Ma,” Betty-Sue wiped the tears away from her mother’s face.

“I’m not crying dear,” Mary closed her teary eyes and started praying for her family’s safety.

Robert sat down in the pew next to his father. “Pa?” Tom just looked at his son with tears in his eyes. Just then the room went black. It was so dark in fact Robert couldn’t see his own hands in front of him.

CRASH! Screams were heard throughout the building, as children and adults alike feared for their lives. Shards of glass fell onto the floor. The wind shrieked as it blew hard outside, it sounded like ghosts were moving throughout and around the building.

The Smiths put on their dust scarves and embraced for what could be the last time. Dust piled in through the windows and pounded against the doors of the facility. Tears started rolling down Robert’s face as he thought about the memories he had made with his family. He thought about how much he loved Betty-Sue’s beautiful smile. He thought about the time he spent out in the fields with Pa and all the jokes they told while working. He thought about the delicious meals Ma had made.

Days passed until the pounding finally stopped. The room slowly started to fill with light, albeit a dim one. Candles started being lit and the faces of Robert’s family were illuminated. A wave of relief washed over everyone in the room.

It had been nearly 24 days when the church doors were finally opened again. The water rations had finally run out. People and families started running outside with their faces covered to prevent any dust from entering their lungs.

Robert and his family were one of the last to leave. After uncovering their car from all of the dust and settling in for the drive, the Smith family was homebound. What felt like hours had gone by when they reached the family farm.

Robert looked at his father. His grief stricken eyes quickly turned to frustration and anger. His lips pursed as he looked at the sad remains of the house the Smith family had lived in for years.

“Alrighty then,” Tom began, clapping his hands to get the family’s attention. Clearing his throat he continued, “We’re gonna be stayin’ at the church building for a little bit until Bobby and I can get the house rebuilt.”

Mary looked over the vast expanse of land that had once held her home. Wood was spread for miles and the items she treasured were nowhere to be seen. Robert looked over at his little sister. Tears were streaming down her pink cheeks. Her eyes as green as grass, once optimistic and hopeful, were now gloomy and despairing. Everything Betty-Sue had loved was gone.

Weeks turned into months and the family started rebuilding their little house. They found planks of wood, tore down the remains of the unused barn, and rebuilt the foundation. Betty-Sue’s hair was always tied back in tight braids with gray bows holding them in place. Her smile, once greeting her family every morning, was now replaced with an emotionless expression.

It was a dust storm that hit and it locked us inside. It blocked out the sun and everyone ran into the church building. They said so long to loved ones and strangers alike. It was a thought Robert had one night as he crawled into his newly made bed in his rebuilt house.

He thought about how happy little Betty-Sue had been even when everyone else was troubled. Her big, bright smile would look up at him every morning as he passed her. Now it was gone. The storms had scared her and she lost everything but her family in the winds. Why aren’t I like that? She had so much joy in every situation. What if another storm like this happens again and we don’t survive.

Just as he was falling asleep an idea popped into his head. The next morning Robert did his chores as fast as he could. He ran into the house and went straight toward his mother.

“Ma, do you have any rags with holes in ‘em?”

“Yeah, why?” Robert explained his idea to his mother. A small smile grew across her face as she went into her tiny room and grabbed cloth scraps and some twine. She came back a few moments later with a bright expression in her eyes. “Here ya go Bobby, take this into the bedroom.”

Robert quietly shut the door behind him as he slid into the bedroom he and Betty-Sue shared. He sat in the corner and set to work. He carefully folded and tugged on the fabric. He wrapped twine around the rags and knotted it.

There. He smiled as he put the final touches on his creation. After hiding the rags and twine under his bed, Robert walked out of the room to his mother. A large grin spread across her face as he looked at her.

Every day for the next few weeks, Robert would hurry to finish his chores and then work with more rags and twine. He would sit there in the corner for hours knotting, and tugging, and patching rags. Robert grew more excited by the day, until it finally came.

Betty-Sue’s 7th birthday, September 20, 1935. She had grown sadder everyday, her smile was now gone and gray was the only color she ever wore. Her eyes were now a grayish green. Today will be different, I hope. Robert thought as he put his gift in a blanket from his room.

The family cheered and sang happy birthday as Betty-Sue came in from her parents’ room. Her dress was a beautiful white dress and a beautiful light pink bow held her loose braids in. A small smile grew on her face as she sat at the table surrounded by her family.

Soon after the meal it was time for gifts. Robert stood quickly and ran to his bedroom. He brought out the blanket and set it on the floor beside his sister. His smile reflected onto Betty-Sue as she opened up the blanket.

Her eyes grew wide and tears began to pool in her eyes. She beamed up at her older brother as she pulled out beautiful little dolls. Quickly she stood up and embraced Robert. It was the smile he hadn’t seen in months.

Although it wasn’t a permanent fix, Betty-Sue now had some form of normalcy. Her house had been destroyed, everything she had cared about had been lost. This, she knew, was her brother’s way to put a bandage on the wound. It wasn’t going to heal the past but it would give her hope for the future.