Fade To White - Sequel to Fade To Black

Temptations and Tribulations

I sat on the porch, the early morning sun just creeping above the trees. The kids had gone over to play with Jackson like usual, their friendship growing deeper each day.I was happy to see my children happy, realizing I hadn't seen such wide smiles in so long. Clementine was right, I thought, I hadn't taken the time to know my children. I realized what perfect children they were- obedient, intelligent, respectful, and carefree. They didn't realize they were different than other people and they didn't care. They only lived for the playful adventures through the deep bayou, mapping their way like treasure hunters. It made me miss my childhood, regretting that my father had made me worry about the plantation. That's all he would ever talk about. I didn't have time to play, or run around, or get into trouble. Instead, my father always sat me in the rocking chair on the porch next to him and taught me the business of plantations. It was funny,  and I laughed a bit, that I was now sitting on that same porch, in his old rickety rocking chair, watching my own children run into the wild landscape that was our home- the only place I ever knew and the only place I needed to know.

But it made me sad that Clementine wasn't here to see it. I missed her badly and it had only been two days now. It was a wrenching feeling in my chest and then this strange feeling of emptiness- like something is always missing but you don't know what. I felt this every morning and every night knowing for sure that Clemy wasn't by my side.

I  was thinking about our arguments lately. Looking back, I could see that I had made a fool of myself. I was jealous, and stressed, and tired and hurt. I didn't understand why things weren't working with Clementine. That there was something wrong with us was pushed out of my mind daily, every time I talked to her...even looking in her eyes I could tell that our love was fading.

I laid back into the chair and lit my old father's pipe, sucking down the thick smoke. I usually didn't smoke but on a warm day like today, living off Clementine's iced tea while being sucked dry by the mosquitoes, it let me relax, sinking back into my seat, folding my arms behind my head and putting up my legs on the porch railing.

As usual I could hear the soft rustling of willows in the wind, and feel the heat beat down on me, burning my skin into a golden-brown.  I was minding my own business, trying to relax, when from the corner of my eye I saw a woman burst through the break of the trees and begin to sprint across the bare plantation field right in plain view. She was lucky it was the Sawyer plantation and nobody else's but I was still a bit surprised.

I stood up and peered over the railing, trying to get a better look as she ran closer and closer towards me. It was a slave girl, most likely the runaway the group of men were looking for a while ago. My vision was hazy, the heat rising off the ground turning the running girl into a blob of rising waves. I then ran off the porch, running towards the girl who noticed me and then stopped, unsure now if she had chosen the right house. She began to run away suddenly and I began to sprint after her. "Wait! Wait! Chere! Chere!" I yelled in Clemy's native Igbo language. She had taught me a bit of it and I took my chances, hoping that maybe this woman was Nigerian, or at least understood the language.

She stopped and looked back, her eyes fearful but I still sprinted straight ahead, feeling my legs begin to burn out when I reached her. I slid into the dry dirt, trying to stop my speed. I sat there, shaking off the pain and then picked myself up, dusting myself off. For a moment the girl and I exchanged cautious, tentative glances. She was shaking from head to toe in fear and I had to try to approach in a way that wouldn't scare her off.

"I... I can help you." I whispered, reaching a hand out to her.

"W-would you?" She stuttered. My hand rested on her small shoulder gently and she looked me up and down, her worry vanishing from her eyes. She then rushed into my arms, embracing me tightly and I thought I was suffocating. She was sobbing on my chest, extremely happy, or so think. I held her back at arms length to look at the girl. Then I recognized her. She was the woman I had passed the other day who had ran off into the forest.