The Light In The Alley

" Orderly lines, people!" Says the burly man with the whip. " Keep in line!" I walk with stiff limbs to work, making wood toys. My long, dark brown hair is twisted into a skin-tight bun, held together with bobby pins. I try to rub the puffiness from my eyes without the burly man seeing. I let my skinny arm fall to my side limply.

In the distance, I see a bright light shining from the other side of an alleyway. My natural-- and forbidden -- curiosity wakes up with the rest of me and starts to drift toward it. My mind also drifts from reality and forgets about work, money, and starvation.

What brings me back to reality is being pulled to the side, the sound of the whip cracking, and a searing pain across my back. My curiosity has gotten me caught-- again. I turn around slowly, in fear and in pain. I look up at the man with the whip. I bow my head and start explaining before he says anything.

" I saw a light coming from an alleyway and thought it was a fire. I wandered toward it to see if I could hear screams. I was just wondering if I could help." I explain, covering up my curiosity like every other time this happens. I turn around to start walking and he pushes me with the butt of the whip.

" Last chance, Ms.Hayden." He warns with a growl.

" Yes, Mr Bullock," I whisper to myself.

I step back in line and keep my head down as I walk. I walk into the factory and sign my name in the register. I walk toward my station, trying to relax my back and take away some of the pain. I take a deep breath and stop at my station.

My job is to whittle down logs into exact blocks of wood. 3 sizes, 20 of each every day. One size is turned into a train, one size is turned into a horse, and the last one is turned into a doll. I pull out the first log and start sawing and chipping away.

When I have 2 of each size left, I take a 30-second break, just enough time to breathe before Mr. Bullock notices. I count slowly in my head, breathing in and out. When my 30 seconds is up, I stand up straight and start chipping at the remaining logs. I hear a crash and it turns my attention to another station. A girl dropped her partly finished block. It chips and slides across the floor. All eyes are on her.

" Everybody get back to work! You missy... will have to chip 7 extra full size logs. Got it?" She nods. He taps her with the butt of the whip.

When he turns away and is on the other side of the factory, I pick up one of my finished blocks and tip toe to her station. I set my block on her table and smile. I take one of her logs and throw it back on top of my stack. She smiles back.

" AVA HAYDEN!"  I wince. He saw me. I try to walk back to my station as fast as I can, but he is faster. He grabs the sleeve of my filthy shirt and throws me into his peripheral vision. I stare into his sharp green eyes.

" Did you help Ms. Stafford?!" He shouts in my face, his morning breath filling my sinuses.

" Yes. I did. She deserved it." I say proudly

" And what makes you think that she deserves it? Hmm?"

" She works harder than any of us. She is one of the only ones of us who goes over on her work to cut us some slack. She deserved it." I state.

" Well, there will be" The whip cracks on my back ." No" the whip cracks again ." More"  Again. " Helping each other out!" He uses the rest of his strength to smack the whip against my back as hard as he ever could. I groan and fall to my knees. " Got it?!" Everybody nods in assent. He looks back down at me. " Go home and don't come tomorrow. Come in two days. NOW!" His shrieks echo across the factory as I scurry off up the floor and run out of the factory toward my small home.

When I come across the threshold of the small cottage where me and my older brother, Henry, live together. I open the door to the delicious smell of meat. We haven't had meat in a long time. When I stand up straight to catch one more whiff, the exposed skin on my back tightens and forces me to grit my teeth and groan. Henry notices as I drop to my knees on the hardwood floor. He comes running over to me and wraps his arms around me. I wince and squeak in pain, telling him that today was not a good day. He pulls back and looks at me in worry. I’ve been whipped before, but never this many times. Today was, what, 5 times? My record is two in one day. That last one pretty much counted as three, though.

“ How many times today, Ava?” He looks at me with worry and question.

I gasp in pain and it comes out in a whistle “...5.” He doesn’t ask any more questions. He lifts me quickly but gently and hustles over to my bed. He sets me down on my stomach and starts to cut away my shirt. He must see the torn and scattered skin, because he sucks in a sharp breath and puts his hand over his mouth. He kneels down next to my face.

“ This is worse than ever. I’m going to get the doctor. Just stay here and try not to move.” He kisses my forehead and rushes out of the room. The doctor lives nearby and usually isn’t too busy at this time. Henry should be back in a few minutes. I shift to get my arm out from under my body. The exposed skin on my back breaks and I feel blood slide down my narrow back. So much pain explodes in my body that the edges of my vision go black. I’m about to go out, I think. I would try to stay conscious so Henry doesn’t worry, but I don’t have the strength to resist. The black covers my eyes and I pass out.

When I wake, I don’t know how long it’s been. It couldn’t have been long, because I see Henry with a concerned look in front of me, and I can barely hear the doctor coming in behind him. 

“ Ava? Are you awake?” He says quickly

“ How long were you gone?” I ask weakly 

Henry looks at the doctor “ 10 minutes. Did you fall asleep?” 

“ No. I moved my arm and my back started bleeding a bit. It hurt so much that I went out. It was right after you left.” I explain

Henry looks even more concerned now. “ I told you not to move. And your back isn’t just bleeding a little bit.” He lifts up the shirt he cut from my back and shows me the back. My coral pink shirt has been dyed crimson on the back. I turn away and close my eyes.

“ Please just make it stop hurting. Do what you have to.” I complain, desperate. 

I feel and smell the alcohol the doctor uses to disinfect my back from the dirt and sawdust. I grit my teeth as he covers my back in the stuff. After he is done with that, he salvages all the torn skin he can find. Then he has me roll over so he can wrap my torso in bandages and gauze. I groan and whimper everytime I roll over, making Henry grip my hand tighter. When he rolls me over one more time and ties up the bandages, Henry exhales and releases the pressure on my hand, which turned white because he squeezed it with fear. 

The doctor orders me to stay in bed for three days. I instantly worry about Mr. Bullock firing me.

“ But Mr. Bullock told me that I had to be back in two days. He’ll fire me if I’m not back by then!” I say innocently

“ I’ll talk to him. Give him a doctor's note of some sort. Now, tell us what happened.” The doctor assures. He and Henry pull up a chair and stare at me expectantly.

“ Well, I was walking to work and saw a bright light coming from an alley. I didn’t know what it was, so I drifted towards it. Mr. Bullock saw me and whipped me once. I told him I thought it was a fire, and I think he believed me. I kept walking to work and was pretty productive.” I explain, trying to be proud, but it comes out weak and small.

“ Then, an older girl dropped her large block, and it chipped. Mr. Bullock made her do 7 more large blocks, which are really hard to complete. I gave her one of my completed blocks and–”

Henry cuts me off “ Is this the girl who does extra for the younger girls so they can go home?” 

“ Yes. That’s why I gave her one of mine, she deserves better than that. I took one of her logs to work on myself. I was about to say something, but then Mr. Bullock called my name and I tried to get back to my station, but he snatched my shirt and asked me what I was doing.” I pause to take a sip of water beside my bed and catch my breath.

“ I told him, with pure honesty, what I did and why. He whipped me 4 times, the last time with all his strength, and told me to leave and not come back for 2 days. Then I came straight here.” I conclude.

The doctor pipes up “ You said he whipped you with all his strength. What do you mean by that?” 

“ I mean that he used the rest of his strength to whip me as hard as he possibly could. I didn’t even know he had that much power in his arm. It felt more like 4 lashes in one.” I explain

Henry thanks the doctor and bids him goodbye. He rummages around in the kitchen for a second and then re-enters the room with a piece of bread and pork. The smell of meat and herbs make me feel better. I sit up slowly and take a bite. The taste of pulled pork, homemade bread, and rosemary is calming. I savor every bite, knowing that it will be a long while before I can eat something this delicious again. Henry sits down next to me on the other side of the bed. I scoot close to him and snuggle up under his arm.

“ I wish we could leave. Go explore the world. I’ve read so many books about America and it sounds amazing.” Henry complains “ No slaves, good work with good pay, everything you could ever dream of.” He sits up “ You wouldn’t get whipped for being purely human. And even if you were hurt, they have the best doctors.” He gives me a light hug and gets up. “ Dream about it. Imagine you’re there.” He kisses my forehead “ Get some rest”

I pull the covers closer to my body, hoping for a little more warmth, and fall asleep.