The Black Girl

The Black Girl: Chapter One White Men

The Black Girl

Chapter One

 White Men

The late afternoon hours soon merged into night. The cricket's cerpted a repetitive and unstoppable tune as the birds quietened to a silence. With the raising of the moon the world came to a silenced stop, in a small unsheathed village to the far west of the white man's settlement.

The white men had not been seen in this part since Malarnie was young. The west of the country remained mostly untouched by the white man's influences only some of the many tribes in the area ever before seeing a white skinned man.

 It was only just after Malarnie's sixteenth birthday.In less then four weeks Malarnie would be married off. With this comes weeks of preparation.

 "Malarnie" her mother called.

"Coming" she replieed.

It was late, the sun had gone down more than a hour ago and Malarnie was preparing for bed. They slepted on small straw matts arranged around the central fire, that sat in the middle of the small shealter. Her mother, grandmother, aunt and other female relitives were scatted throughout the house. Malarnie made her way throughtout the sleeping figgers to where her mother knelt. In her mothers lap sat a small cord of beads stung together by a thine yelding of yarn. "Sit" she derected. Malarnie sat at the feet of her mother her lips quivering with tention. "My mother gave me a necklace much like this one when I came of age to marrie, but I was forced to give then up when I married your father". and with this the necklace was placed around her neck, the glass beads cold agenset her neck, the small hairs on the back of her arms rising."mother this is unneserary, but I appreciate the guesture". Melarnie felt the beads around her nack, running her fingers from bead to bead. 

Her mother kissed her lightly on the cheek before walking to the other side of the room, laying down upon her mat and attempting to sleep. Melarnie sat by the fire, warming her hands and thinking of the months ahead. She soon became sleepy and attempting to stay awake any longer was unbearable. She lay down on a mat she recently positioned by the fire that was now dwinderly to embers.

With a last struggled look at the dark world Melarnie fell to sleep, her head full of dreams and throughts. 

Melanie was awoken by the sreams of women and the battle cries of the worrier men. She sat up straight her heart beating with in her cheast. With silent foot steps she made her way to the door flape of the tent. She looked behind her all of her relitives gone. Melarnie slightly opened the door her right eye darting from side to side studying the sene unfolding infront of her. The many huts that had stood opposite to Malarnies family hut were burt to embers there suport beams still smoking with fire. Past her darted the worrior men their hands bloody and scrached, as for any women their screams had resently died out. she know where they would have fled to, a place in the mountains safe from the invaders.

Thoughts ran trough her head. were the invaders from an enimey tribe or were they a band of........ Melarnie was grabed from behind a ruff and wrinckled hand clasp around her mouth. She struggled but it was no use, the arms that held her were much to strong. They were the colour of ivery, wrinkeld and aged but the hands of a white man all the same. They smelt of tabaco and alchohal, the stench sinkening and almost unbearable.

SOME TIME LATTER

Malarnie awoke. She sat up without hesitation but soon realized it would have been better to stay laying down. Her head stun, her hips and shoulders brused painfully. She could only remember snipets of what had previously happened the night before. Invading white men, the fleeing villages , being throwen into a cart and then faiting from fright. Her surroundings were bleek, dark for the sun had not yet rissen. Her lips were painfuly dry, her throt burning with therst. The first bird sung out, signaling the begining of a new day. She brought her knees to her chest, cradeling them for warmth.

With the rising of the sun a new, mostly unwanted day began. Malanie sat, alone and abandoned, in the centure of a settlemant, her only possesion the necklace she wore around her neck. Only twenty-four hours ago her life had seemed so orderly, normal and, well boring. But with the recent events, her life had hanged from the path of normality to unbearablly complicated.

Soon after the sun had risen a man, the same man from the day before approched Malanie, his hair unbrushed and unorderly. From the clothes he had been wearing he was of high statious amungst the withe mens higharky, but his feet sat bear, old and winkelled on the compacted dirt ground. As he came  closer his hands began to quiver, his knees shaking with caution. His left hand reached out, as to say he would not harm her but Malarnie was still very much afraid and no matter how heard she tried she could not clarm herself. He began to speak, his mouth moving in odd ways creating undicisable sounds and noise's. Malarnie shook her head, the man understanding immediately. His head then sat in an odd position, his eye brows knotted in confusion.

The man moved closer, his hand lightly raping around Melarnies wrist, pulling her to her feet.  

She stumbled, preventing herself from fulling.She looked away from the mans White bleached skin and  his blue-bird colourd eyes. The man let go of Malarnies wrist, both standing there in silence as the world around then awoke to a new day. The man left Malarnie standing alone and confused in the middle of a dirt town square, her black hair blowing accross her face a the morning came to life in the white mens resurve.

Malarnie sat back down in the back of the wagon, her legs swinging and swaying as she attempted to entertain herself. The day began on the reserve with breakfast, the screams of hungry children aurdable from where Malarnie sat thinking. The entire town was built around this dirt town center, houses, stables and even the military base sat built up around Malanie. 

She sat there for a long while before the white man showed again. He was now bathed and shoed, his long hair combed neatly away behind his ears. 

He stood beside where Malarnie sat as if he was guairding her.

Caos began when the children of the reserve came out to play. They were all dressed in neat clothing, shoes with buckles and hats with ribbons. They were oblivious to Malarnies presant but that did not stay that way for long. When the chilren did notice her they stoped playing their hid-and-seek and the ball games they had going and just stood their staring. 

They then ran off to their houses and brought back with them their bewilded mothers. There they stood, gaping mouths and bulgding eyes. These were the White Men.