She Was a Slave

African Girl

My name is Abeni.
I am the the daughter of Jaheem and Zaire of the Maasai tribe.
We were  simply hunters for are village nothing special or fancy and I'm ok with that.
But all that has changed I'm a now mother to children i use to despise and married to a man I planned to kill.
I never imagined I would actually willingly get in bed with this man after all the terrible thing he did to me.
I use to image killing him and finally being free, know I can't even think of my life without him.
I should probably tell you how this all started before you think I have battered wife syndrome syndrome...

It was 1728 I'm 15 very small for my age but I was a fantastic hunter so it's fine.
As one would expect my skin is dark like chocolate it comes in handy when I'm hunting at night.
My hair is curly that goes past my back side, it's usually traditional to cut a child's hair when the turn 5, but my mother would not have it.
    "It is a Gift and we must let it grow free" she would tell me.
My eyes are unusual to say the least  one eye green like fresh spring grass and the other blue like the ocean.
The village people said I was cursed, but my ouma would say that my eyes were only for special child like me, who were meant to be great things.

  Those were happier times until my parents had been taken from me when  We had traveled far from the village to go find food.
My mother had her ear close to the ground and she heard the thunderous hooves of the kings horses. "We must hide her" she whispered to my father in a panic. He nodded as scooped me up and rushed me towards a nearby tree. He stuffed me in hollow of the tree, for I was too weak to defend myself against the Kings men. "Please my child stay put and do not come out no matter what happens." I vigorously nod my head. My father kisses my head and rushed to my mother side.

  I could see my mother and father surround by men on horses. The men point they're gun at my parents screaming at them to drop their weapons. My parents did as the were told. The slave traders looked and my parents with discontent. "Kill the man and take the woman" one of them slurred "The white men will not pay money for the man he is to old and weak for work"  My mother scream as one the men slide off their horse grabbed her , bond her hands with ropes and put a sack over her face.
"Get down on ur knees and die or we will kill the woman to" one of the yelled. My father knew they wouldn't kill her but he slowly got on his knees and prayed silently for it would be his last.
I could see a tear slide down his face. He looked at me and smiled then I heard the sound of gun fire.
My mom cried and yelled out his name but she knew he would not answer.
I could only watch as I saw the bullet go through my fathers head.
The blood splattered everywhere,
On Grass were he lay, on some of the tree near by and even on my mother body, but she was to distraught to notice. I wanted to scream and crawl out of the hollow of the tree a cradle my father, but i stayed in my place.
The men laugh and smile as my mother tried to crawl towards my dad the best she could with her hands tied up and the sack over her face.
"Pick her up and put her on the horse." One of the them said, he must be the leader. The man was tall and skinny and his eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his skull, the only menacing thing about him was the long guns attached to his hip.
I looked to were the other man was , as he walked over to my mother and sneer in disgust as  she lay over my fathers blood body, weeping loudly into his back.
"Get up woman he is dead and you will be to if you do not come quietly" the other  man yelled as he pulled on the rope dragging my screaming mother to his horse.
This man was fat and short, and didn't move to fast. But he was strong as an ox he lifted my mother with little to no effort on to his horse and strapped her to the horse.
The men looked around to see if there were any more people hiding In the brush I pray they didn't find me.
They lazy scanned the area shrugged their shoulders and started to Gallup away.

I know my mother would not cry and call out to me in Fear of alerting the men that someone else was still here , I could her cries get softer and softer, until there was only silence.
I wait a little longer before I slid out from the hollow under the tree and I hurriedly maid my way Over to the bloody corpse of my father.

I screamed out and pound the ground with great force. My fist would hit blood where it had pooled up and it Splattered everywhere one to m, but I did care I wanted my father back, I wanted this to be a dream and I would wake up and mama would be cooking banga- soup and my father would be at the table with my oumatalking how he had fell off a horse the first time he rode one. They had always told that story it was annoying at first but now I would never hear it again from him and the left a hole in the pit of my stomach.
I was alone now, here in the jungle I know I had to leave soon it was getting dark and the smell of a fresh corpse would attached predatory animals. I reached in to my father's pocket and pulled out the compass oupa had give him before he died. I happy father thought me how to us it I fought with him tooth and nail about, arguing I would never need it because he and mama would always be there for me.... How wrong I was about that. I kissed the top of his head and grabbed his spar that he had laid on the ground and used the compass to try to make it back home. Lucky we didn't go out to far I could see my village up on the horizon.
I just wanted to run to my house and run to my ouma and tell her the horrible news.

I raced through the opening in the village happy to finally be home but my happiness turn to shock it.
It was burning my whole whole village was burning to the ground. "Ouma! Ouma! Where are you? " I yelled.
I coughed as I inhaled smoke from the burning hut next to me.
I run to my home lucky it wasn't on fire yet.
"Ouma are you here !? It's me a Abeni ..... Oum-" 
Blood spilling from the wound in her stomach I can see the the bullet lounged in he intestines.
Rush over to her
"Ouma no! Get up please!! Papa and mama are gone! "
She was barely clinging to life- I could see terror in her eyes.
Her mouth open and blood came gushing out.
"Run... Please ru-" before she could finish a hand grabbed me by hair dragging me out while I kicked a screamed. I could hear my ouma cry out "Don't take her please !!!"
But I was no use I was pulled to the center of the village tied up and throw into a wagon with some other kids I assumed they were kidnapped to.
Suddenly the cart jolts forward and we are moving out of my burning village... I could see my hut being engulfed in flames. I feel back kicking and screaming "OUMA !! OUMA!!"
I could only hope she was already dead so she would have to feel the pain of being burned alive.
I sit up and watch my home burn And fade away in the distant, I'm so tired of crying and screaming my body can't take it anymore my eyes are going dark and I feel like I'm falling into nothingness.

I feel some kick my in the head i tried to move my hand but they were stuck together.
Jolting upwards I remember all that happened....
Ma, Pa and Ouma they were all gone.
I could feel the tears threaten to spill over but someone kicked me again-
"Hey Abeni!" I look to the side quickly and my heart feels like it going to leap out of my cheat, "Amare they got you to But your village is all the way past the mountain!"
He looked at me in shock
" You haven't heard the white men have people all over the northern parts of Africa ! They take young men, women and children who are not sick , or disabled !"
It was shocking to hear I knew the white men were here,but I didn't think they would get are so quickly.
Amare spoke again shaking me out of my thoughts
"Once they have what they want they burn everything!! "
My whole body is shaking i feel like I'm gonna black out again.
" Why is the king allowing this to happen?? "
Amare looked off in the distance with a disgusting look on his face.
The white men promised to give him money and power over all of Africa and he sold his people without a second thought"
I'm disgusted, we have been sold like cattle!

Amare is about to speck again but the cart stopped.
We were on the beach, and there are ships lined up at the shore line.
I get a sinking feeling (pun intended)
As I see a young white man with long red hair come towards the cart.
I starred at him intensely , he looked back at me with great distain.
Before I can think the man raises his hand and swings hard at my face.
"Don't not stare at me you filth!!"
He hits me again but even harder.
I fall over and hit my head on the cart knocking me out cold.
That was only a taste of what to come soon.