The Wisteria Tree

The clock on the diner wall struck eleven and Althea started to gather her things. After a long day of washing dishes and cleaning every nook and cranny of the kitchen, she was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get back home. She put on her coat, turned off the lights, and locked the door behind her. As soon as she stepped outside she was hit with a cold breeze that made her shiver. She was always the last one to leave the diner and by then the streets were empty.

She started down the dark road and turned onto a path that crossed through the grove of trees by the river. It was a lot faster and no one ever went that way at such a late hour, except this night.

The grove was filled with many trees that grew naturally in Alabama land, except one. In the very middle of the little woodland stood a huge wisteria tree. It was planted over a hundred years ago by some immigrants who wanted a piece of home in this strange new land. It was said to hold a deep magical power and anyone who sat under it would be gifted with true happiness. 

Of course magic didn’t exist but it was still a nice story. During the day you’d see many people sitting under the tree, praying or just enjoying their day. 

When she was passing under the tree she saw a group of white boys walking her way and laughing at some joke. They couldn’t have been much older than her, maybe early twenties? Once they were only a few feet ahead of her, one of the boys, the only one with blonde hair, stopped for a second. He stared into her eyes as if assessing her soul. He must have seen something in her because slowly, a smile formed on his lips.

It was a warm, genuine smile. Not the fake, cruel ones you get in the street from judgemental passerbys or the creepy smirks you get from old men who could care less about you as an actual person. His smile was one of happiness growing, much as a spring flower opens. You could see how it came from deep inside to light his eyes and spread into every part of him. She couldn’t help herself, she smiled back. It was the wrong choice.

“What are you looking at nigger?” Sneered one of his friends, spitting on her.

“Go back to picking cotton where you belong!” Said another. Laughter erupted as the boys pushed the blonde away from her and kept on walking. Their cruel laughter echoed in her ears all the way home.

It made her blood boil but she knew better than to react. After all, that’s what they wanted.

The next night when she was walking home from work she saw the blonde boy again. He was sitting under the wisteria tree, reading some kind of book. He looked up and smiled at her.

“Hello.”

“Good evening sir.”

She didn’t meet his gaze but could feel him watching her as she walked away.

He was there again the next day, and the day after that, a different book in his hands on each occasion. They exchanged greetings and she kept on walking, never looking him in the eyes.

This continued for two weeks until one day he strayed from their usual routine.

“I still don’t know who you are?”

“Huh?” she said, turning around.

“Your name, we see each other every day and yet we still haven’t even exchanged names.”

“Oh, I’m Althea. Althea Williams.”

His lips turned upwards into that warm smile, the one that would change her life. “Althea.” He said it as if he was tasting it on his tongue. His accent made her think that her parents were saying her name wrong her entire life. “It’s a beautiful name, fitting for such a beautiful lady.” Again she couldn’t help it, she smiled. It was as if her body had a mind of its own.

“I’m James by the way, van Doren.” He walked up to her and stuck out his hand. She took it and he bowed down, kissing her hand. “It really was a pleasure meeting you Althea. I hope I’ll get to see more of you around.”

She could feel her cheeks growing warmer. “Oh, it was a pleasure to meet you too. Goodnight James van Doren.” With that she sped back home.

She burst into the little house she shared with her friend from school and headed straight for her room. Althea grabbed the first pillow she set her eyes on, shoved her face into it, and screamed as loud as she could.

She hadn’t known Cecile was at home.

“Althea? What in God’s name are you doing girl?”

“I’m happy!” She yelled it for the whole world to hear. “I just met a boy and he’s... I don’t know. He’s amazing!”

Cecile looked less annoyed, she was smiling now. “No way, come on! Tell me about him!”

Althea tried to forget about James, but she saw his smile every time she closed her eyes. 

The clock struck eleven and she practically ran out of the diner where she worked. He was waiting for her under the wisteria tree.

“Do you mind if I walk with you for a while? We could get to know each other…”

They talked about many things, the weather, colors, flowers. Anything they could think of.

“So you’re a student?” She asked, they were almost at her house. She purposely slowed her pace.

“Yeah, I’m studying to become a doctor but more than anything I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I love books. If I could, I would sleep in the campus library.” He let out a hearty laugh. Althea couldn’t tell if he was laughing at his statement or if he noticed that she was dragging her feet.

“I wouldn’t know. I never learned how to read.”

“Really?”  They were in front of her house. James took her hands in his, “I’ll teach you if you want. Every day where we usually meet. What do you say?”

Althea looked down at her shoes. “I don’t know. It’s dangerous… What would people do if they found out?” 

“Come on, I’m willing to risk it. Are you?”

She thought about it for a second but she didn’t need to. She knew the answer from the very moment James proposed it.

“Yes!”

She should have said no.

For the next eight months, Althea met up with James everyday. He taught her how to read and about the world outside her little town in Alabama. During that time her life was at its best, she was happy. But all things must come to an end.

“So in the end, the beast turns out to be a prince? And they lived happily ever after?” Today they were reading Beauty and the Beast  by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

“Yeah, happily ever after.”

“That doesn’t seem realistic. Happily ever after doesn’t exist.”

James laughed as he got to his feet. He stuck out his hand and as she took it, he pulled her towards her. “Dance with me and pretend the world doesn’t exist. Maybe happily ever after can exist.”

 And so they danced the night away. She kicked her shoes off and as he placed his hand on her waist, they turned and twirled as if they were professionals. To dance over the grass barefoot was a pleasure she hadn’t known, but a sensation she wished to experience once more. And as she looked at James at that moment, she realized she had fallen in love. 

They lay on each other and watched the stars above them until they fell asleep on each other. That was the night her heart finally felt complete.

When Althea opened her eyes, James was already awake. He looked at her, his hair a mess, and in the morning sun he looked more handsome than ever before.

“You know, I’ve never seen you in broad daylight…” She said softly. She never realized he had blue eyes.

He sat up and propped himself up against the trunk of the wisteria tree. “If you want, we could meet up in town. We’ve been together for six months already, I want people to know about us!”

“James,” she said softly, “you know it’s wishful thinking. We can’t… If they catch us…”

“What could they do, throw me in jail?”

“Yes actually, you know there's laws banning this kind of relationship. I want people to know too, trust me. Cecile still thinks that I’m dating some colored boy from down South.”

“Then let’s tell her! Thea… I love you and I want everyone to know about it.” It was the first time he had told her he loved her. 

She rested her forehead on his and let his smell suffocate her. “I love you too.”

He kissed her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

“I want-” he stopped and looked deep into her eyes, just like he did that first time they met. “Never mind what I want. What do you want?”

She climbed onto his lap and faced him. As she held his face in her hands she could see it all, her whole future. Their future. “You, always you. I want to be with you in all the ways possible. I want to marry you, have a child with you, and grow old with you. I want a life with you… a happily ever after.”

Then her world fell apart.

Althea's vision was still blurry from just waking up but she could swear she saw shapes running at them. It wasn’t till she heard dogs barking and men yelling that she realized she wasn’t just hallucinating.

The group of men was running towards them now, their canines on leashes, and guns waving in their hands. “GET ON THE GROUND NOW!”

Before she realized what was happening, one of the men had pushed her against the trunk of the wisteria tree and another was wrestling James to the ground.

“You’re being arrested on account of sexual intercourse with a Negro. I suspect you know your Fifth Amendment rights?” As the man pulled him up to his feet, James broke away from his grasp and ran towards her.

“I don’t get it!” Tears streaked her face. “Why does the world want to keep us apart?”

He knelt down next to her and held her in his arms. It was the last time she felt his warmth. 

“My love, sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

“But what is the answer?”

Before he could reply he was yanked back up to his feet. His hands were tied behind his back and the men dragged him away. He didn’t fight back. Seeing that he had given up, one of the men punched him in the stomach. Althea remembered him. He was the one who spit on her.

“Nigger-lover!”

“James!” She cried after him but there was no answer. He was already gone.

The next day the whole town knew. She was fired from her position at the diner and chased out of every store. Even Cecile couldn’t stand to look at her.

A week later James was sentenced to eight years in prison. That was the night her heart broke. In just a few minutes, she had gone from having everything to having nothing.

Two weeks after that she was found dead, hanged from the wisteria tree where they first met, where they had their first kiss, where they said I love you… That was the night her heart stopped. 

Till the end of her days she didn’t know the answer.