Niyonga's Journey

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As we were put into the lower decks of the boat, we are chained to the walls of the boat and cannot move. After I am chained to the wall I try to look for Mother and Akuo. It's very dark and cramped in here and I can't see very far. I look to my right and see a woman who looks just like Mother.

"Mama?" I ask the woman.

"I'm not yo' mama child." The woman responds.

"I'm sorry. You look like my mama and I thought you was her." I say sadly. After our little conversation, tears start to run down the woman's face. "Are you ok ma'am?" I ask.

"Yes child, I'm fine. I just miss my baby." I feel sorry for her. Losing your baby must be the worst thing that could happen to a mother.

"Where's yo' baby? If you don't mind me askin'..." I ask, expecting the woman to burst into tears again.

"I don't know. Those white skinned men took 'em away from me before I got on here." She responds with anger in her voice.

"I'm so sorry ma'am. They took my mama and my brother away from me when we were in our village." I say with my voice shaking as I cry more.

"I'm sorry 'bout that, child" She responds, still kind of crying. She looks young but her voice sounds old.

"I'm Niyonga. What's yo' name ma'am?" I ask, trying to lighten the heavy depression that's filling this ship.

"My names Amara." She says softly.

"I like your name Amara." I respond, hoping she will smile at that. But she didn't.

"Thank you, Niyonga... I like yo' name too." Amara responds, still with sadness written all over her face.

"Thanks Amara." I reply.

After Amara and I stop talking,

The hatch above our heads opens and the men force more and more people down here. They're shackled just like we are and most of them are trying to fight back and break loose, but when they do, the men beat them with whips.

When I see that I cringe and look at my arm where the welt from where I was whipped is. It's like I can feel it too when they're whipped. I look to Amara and she is looking the other way and crying. I try to reach and comfort her but I can't because I'm chained to the wall. So there I am, watching innocent people like me being whipped for nothing. It makes me both angry and sad but more angry then sad.

After the whippings are over, the men force the people on the wall and chain them to it. Just like they did to us. As they start to chain them to the wall, I hear a familiar voice. It's mother! I can't see her but I can hear her. I frantically search with my eyes for her and spot her. Although I can barley make her out, I know it's her because of the big bun of hair on her head that stands above the rest.

"Mama!" I shout over the chaos. As mama is being handled by a man chaining her to a wall, she hears me and looks up.

"Niyonga, My baby!" She shouts as she starts to really cry. After she says that, the man slaps her on the face. Seeing this makes me want to kill that man. Mother cringes and rubs the part of her face where the man hit her. Then, the man yells in her face in that language that none of us understand. I think to myself "Don't you yell at my mama that way!"

And apparently mama thinks the same. After the man says whatever he said to her, mama spits in his face.