angel child. (the lost boys).

00. the devil within.

TO BE a young, black woman in the twentieth century is... complicated. Some might even say monstrous, even more so in the early 1900's. It was a dangerous world out there, especially for women like Adaliyah Lenoir. In this world, metaphorically, black and white people speak a different language. If a white person raises their voice, they show passion and dominance... when a black person does it, they are being violent and vicious. Which is why Adaliyah has vowed to never show weakness. Never have a hair out of place. Never let her bra strap show. When she dresses for the day, she does it like she's headed into battle. Her look has to exclude the perfect blend of power, confidence, and, of course, since she's a woman: sex appeal.

Maria W. Stewart, Mary Prince, Sarah Mapp Douglass... Probably not names you recognize, right? Maybe because their not models or actresses... Who are they then? What do they all have in common? They're all kick ass, black abolitionist women, trying to change the world for black people. Those were the women who made Adaliyah the way she is today, the women who there need to be more of, the women who Adaliyah looked up to. Even more so since her parents had tragically died six years ago, it was her older brother who had to take care of her.

They had died while walking, innocently, down the street on their way back home after a date. Their drunken laughter ended with screams of terror and pleads for their attackers to stop. This wasn't an accident, they were brutally killed just for being black. It was never safe out there.

But what does it feel like to be Adaliyah? Well, imagine walking on a tightrope while trying to balance your head and your heart. While the wolves below howl for you to fall.

But today is not that day. Today was different. Today, Adaliyah is making a big change in her life. Today would be the day she leaves her home in France, and for the first time, at the age of twenty-two she was going explore the rest of the world alone.

It was a hard decision, but her brother insisted and told her to, before it was too late. But he kept that last part to himself, not wanting to scare or upset his kind-hearted younger sister. After their parents had died, Adaliyah's brother had taught her how to protect herself almost every day, so he wasn't at all worried about letting her roam around the big, wide world.

IT WAS around six in the morning and Adaliyah was packing the last of her things, the more essential objects, into her worn out, blue backpack. She didn't have many things but it was enough for her.

"I'm going to be fine!" She insisted to Clarence, her brother, who had an unreadable expression on his tired face.

"I know you will, I'm just gonna miss you." Clarence sighed and sat on the edge of her bed.

"I'll miss you too." Adaliyah smiled softly back at him.

"You better write to me." He pointed to her, trying to act serious.

"Of course I will." She laughed quietly and zipped up her backpack.

Hearing the zip, Clarence knew it was time to say goodbye. Adaliyah was about to say that it was time for her to leave when Clarence held up his index finger to her and left the room. Adaliyah hummed softly to herself and sat on her bed, waiting for her brother to return. He came back with a small, black, rectangular object in his left hand and stood in front of his sister. That was when she was able to get a closer look, it was a pocket knife.

"Clarence—" Adaliyah began but never got to finish.

"Take it, please." Clarence almost begged as he placed it in his sister's small, delicate hands. "Just to be safe, you never know. But keep it hidden, don't let anyone know you have it. You could get into trouble."