Southern Heartbreak

Southern Heartbreak

It was a crisp cold night. I lay up here holding my beautiful wife, Leanna. Her beauty revealed itself even deeper to me through the whole in the roof under the moonlight. I had neva seen or eaten chocolate before, but I heard a description about it once being rich in flava, smooth as molasses and so sweet tast'n that it brings you to a sudden and instant joy. A feeling I felt every time Leanna’s smooth skin embraced mine. The crickets sang dey song. The frogs joined in for an amphibious sympathy.

It was like music to a fresh love that she and I shared. My favorite thing about Leanna was ha jet black hair. It sat on top of her head, coiled up on top in two braids with pieces of curled-up hair on each side of her face. Her hair danced back and forth as I rubbed my strong but scarred hands on her face. We lay on the dirt floor, keeping each other warm with a knitted quilt that momma sowed for us. She had woven this with her 80-year-old hands for a wedding gift.

You see, Leanna and I had just jumped the broom 2days ago. I was ready to be her husband from the first time I saw her by that rusted water well-fetching water in the hot and scorching Georgia sun. I wanted to always protect and love her with no fear. Watch our children be born, and although the world was cruel, be loved by they big strong daddy and beautiful momma.

"Marsell, do you think we will be ok?" she asked, looking up into my eyes at those big beautiful, pitch-black pupils.

"I'm going to do my best to protect ya, Leanna. I love you so much, woman. Now come on, let's rest up," I squeezed her body tightly and closely to mine as we slept soundly.

On the inside, I hurt so bad. I knew that our fate was in another man’s hands. The look in Leanna’s eyes had given me a drive that was stronger than my heartbeat, responsible for my very existence which I cared nothing about. She was my existence. She was why I lived.

The Day Unseen

Waking up next to Leanna, tasted and smelled like freedom. Calculating by the mental clock in my head, I could feel that there were a couple minutes until sunup. We lay there in each other’s love as the rooster crow at sunrise. She kissed my lips warmly and gently and planted kisses of love into my strong and hard chest as she kissed my heart.

"Quick Masta is coming fo ya son! Sharpen up!" My daddy ran into the little brown shack that barely held its own foundation up.

We all line up in order starting with the men to the women.

"Good morning y'all," Masta said walking back and forth as the rickety floorboards creaked. He had some strange red-bearded man with him. I could feel my palms begin to sweat.

"This boy here is the finest buck I got. Marsell is strong and extremely handsome, and he just got married to that little beautiful nappy-headed winch ova there, Leanna.

I burned with rage, as the men admired my wife’s beauty, but I could not react because I didn't want to bring trouble on the others who lived here also. I could see my poppas’ eyes begin to fill with tears because there was nothing, he could help his son.

"Marsell, you coming to the big house with me for a while," Masta motioned for me to come along.

"Please, masta, don’t sell me. I'll work harder for ya," I was grown man having to beg this man who held the rights to my life.

"I'm not gonna sell ya boy. I would be crazy to do that. Why you're the strongest nigga I got. I'm just going to use you for breeding for this fine-paying gentleman right here. With your look and brown complexion, you’d give Eliza a fine baby. Her good hair and fair skin will make a fine baby that will be a beautiful fine house nigga for looks. After that, you can come to Leanna. I promise yo granddaddy on his death bed that if you got married, I would never sell you or this pretty wife of yours. Know, if anybody knows one thing Marsell. it is that your master is a man of his word na," He patted me on the back as we walked as if I was a dog or something.

Walking off, I could hear Leanna's low whimpers and sobs as momma and daddy comforted her. As I walked from the fields to the big house, I could see the instant transformation of scenery. The grass seemed greener as the red dirt clay road led to the white building and huge brown oak doors. Walking through the front door was so foreign to me. I had lived on the land all my life and had never seen the inside of this place.

"Yo daddy and his brothers build this house with their bare hands Marsell. You should be proud. Ladies, take him to the breeding room," he said, giving me a fancy white glass with a brown, strong-smelling liquid inside.

"Welcome to the big house Marsell," The ladies snickered while admiring my physique and sweaty clothes as we walked down the long hallway.

I kept silent. All I could do was think of my sweet wife and how I was the only man that ever touched her smooth chocolate skin, I had left her, but not by choice. I would rather have been beaten a thousand times than hurt her like this. This was not the first time Masta had used me to breed a baby. I was 16 the first time this happened. That time was with a girl in the fields who was sold off late in pregnancy, so I never knew nothing about my child.

"Well, what are you waiting on boy? Eliza is a beautiful Mulatto gal, that nappy-headed winch you got is extremely beautiful, in fact, if yo master didn't love you so much. I'd be going right on down there while you here with my gal," The red-bearded man laughed encouraging me to drink the strong, brown-smelling liquid.

I wanted to kill this mutha fucka right on the spot. In my head, I had done it already, a thousand times. I walked into the room feeling uneasy and lightheaded from the drink. She lay on the bed as her long black hair flowed down the side of her light shoulder. Her body was covered in a white sheer gown. I felt nothing because this wasn't beauty to me.

"Marsell, you shol are handsome, the most handsome man I'd ever bred with. You are educated too. Don't be afraid to touch me. We’re gonna make a beautiful baby that will make Masta proud," She walked toward me and began to rub all over me and kiss me everywhere.

She had this seductive way about her. She was not innocent like Leanna, in fact, everything about her body language and words were very opposite. This seems like a normal thing for her which made me feel bad for her in a way. She had no control over this. Although, my heart was with my wife. Her nature led me straight into passion and ecstasy.

I got dressed right away in an attempt to get back to Leanna. I had no words for Eliza, she had asked me to stay a bit longer with her. I can imagine she had lacked attention, which I could tell by her inner anatomy, and so I did, but I had one thing on my mind. I lay there for a little while listening to her life story. I kissed her on the forehead and rushed back home with the thought of the baby that would be born from Eliza's womb in 9 months. I wanted to come home and give my wife the same advantage for that would be done out of the strongest love ever known to man.

The rain began to pour down. As I got closer to home, I could hear the loud cries from several women, but more distinctly my mother. The rain beat my eyelids down, but as I got closer. I could see Leanna's life’s body lying in my mother’s breastplate. I shuffled to the ground and began to grab her body. I checked for a heartbeat. I felt nothing. I cried out to my mother.

"Momma, what happened!" It felt as if my heart was ripped right out of my chest. I rocked her back and forth, cradling her like a baby in my arms as the rain and my tears continued to fall endlessly.

My dad touched my shoulder softly and gently.

"Son, I'm afraid Leanna has died from heartbreak.