The year is 1809, on a plantation in southern Mississippi is where the tale of Sty and Polly takes place. He's a house slave and the illegitimate child of a plantation owner. She's a field slave brought in by shackles and wishful thinking. Together...
Sty wrote and let me know that Lulu gave birth to a healthy baby boy that was named Arnold. But that his delivery was rough and as a result, she had passed away.
This left me in nothing but tears for the entire day.
How could something as innocent as childbirth kill someone? I cried while tending to the vegetables and serving the Creer family lunch.
"What's the matter, Polly?" Jane asked when I put her plate onto the side table as she sat on the sofa reading while an enslaved girl sat off in the corner of the room in a chair knitting a blanket for Jane's unborn kid.
I didn't want to scare her with the news of Lulu's passing since she was going to be going into labor herself soon.
"I's just miss my mother that's all." I sniffed.
"Oh!" She said, "you can have a biscuit if you want it."
"Thanks."
Stuffing 2 biscuits in the pocket of my dress I then headed out the front door. Ben was putting up a fence in the backyard. I went over offering him a glass of milk and a biscuit.
"Why you crying for?" He noticed as he munched on the buttery treat.
"My friend died in childbirth."
"Oh! Polly." He put his arms around me as I rested on his chest. "It'll be okay I's sure she wouldn't want you crying like this."
"I's can't stop!"
Lulu and her brother were nothing but nice to me since I went to their father's plantation. All I had now were the memories and they were all good ones—poor Arnold would never know how amazing his mother was.
Ben took my hand and led me to a shack in the grassy part of this area that was far away from the quarters and the big house.
"You can stay here and rest until you feel better."
"They'll notice I'm gone," I said, looking around at the mattress and other items inside of the shack.
"No, they won't." He responded, "I'll be back to check on you when I'm done building in town for the day."
I couldn't resist and kissed him "I love you, Ben."
"I love you too, Polly Anne."
My head rested on the mattress as I eventually fell asleep. The sound of branches knocking against the window had wakened me.
"Ben!" I called then sat up looking around for him. But I was alone. Slipping back into my shabby shoes I went out into the night searching for him because it wasn't like him to break his promises.
Mike stood in front of the slave quarters once I got there "Mike, have you seen Ben?"
"No..."
"T-teeny," If anybody knew where he was it should be his brother. I found Teeny flirting with some enslaved girls that were twice his size "Teeny, where's your brother?"
"Excuse me," He told the women then turned to me as they walked off "I's don't know! I's ain't his keeper."
"He told me he'd be there for me once I's woke up and he wasn't. And it's not like him to lie." I explained. "I's think something is wrong."
"I's think something is wrong too with you coming and bothering me." He grumbled while following me as I asked around for Ben.
"The big, light skint fellow with the gray eyes?" An older man recognized him. "He was sold today in town."
"Sold?!"
"W-where did they sell him?".
"I's don't know." The man grimaced.
"Please, I need to know where they have him at!" I begged before recognizing the biscuit in my pocket that I could use as bribery "I'll give you this..."
He took the biscuit. "It was Jack Creer's doing. He should know where he sold Ben."
"Thank you!"
Life without Ben wasn't life at all for me.
•
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
