Read Online Black Angels by Linda Beatrice Brown - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Linda Beatrice Brown
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much hate.
âUnc Steph say to me, âBoy, donât you never let hate take you over that way. It ainât no right way to live, and youâll die in the worship of hate. That Munda was a fool.ââ
Luke looked at Daylily. âIâs just a little boy when it happened. I heard all the yelling and hollering and shooting, but I couldnât see nothin. Gustavus say after that, Black Nigger act like he ainât really living, just a ghost dog, and he lookin for his leg. Say he be digging up places all over the farm, lookin for his leg, and donât nobody know where he might be at any time. That Black Nigger dog sure hated niggers, I tell you what.â
âWhat happened to Arkansas?â Daylily asked, turning over to go to sleep under her coat.
âOh, he never was no good no more. He got whupped for trying to run. And he just sit and stare like a dead man most times. He have a little garden and he just sit. He dead now, bout a year ago at Christmastime. Aunt Eugenia put up a marker for him in the quarters.â
CHAPTER 10
GRAN SUSIEâS MICHAEL
The next day Caswell woke up before the others. He was scared to run off now. He was scared all the time. When he was talking to Luke and Daylily, he was scared. When he was staring into the fire, he was scared. Scared of Luke, and scared heâd never see anybody he belonged to again, and scared this girl called Daylily wasnât really nice like she seemed to be. But sometimes, he liked Luke too, except when Luke shouted at him, and then he was scared all over again.
His Mamadear was somewhere else. She wasnât in the fire like that girl said. He didnât believe it. Every day, he felt sick to his stomach. Every night, he cried when nobody was looking, when they thought he was asleep. Sometimes he didnât go to sleep at all. Sometimes he was remembering things, good things that made him get sad and cry. Or bad things that scared him when he thought about it too much, like Michael. Sometimes they told stories, but he couldnât tell this story to Luke and Daylily. He was scared to. They might get mad.
Michael was a slave. Somebody White who was a slave. Mamadear said he was Papaâs flesh and blood. He heard her say this behind the library door one day, but he wasnât sure what that meant.
There were things White people could do and things Negras were supposed to do. And there were things Negras were not supposed to do, and things White people were not supposed to do, and sometimes he got them mixed up. His papa told him these were the rules. But Luke acted like he didnât know any of the rules. Luke would have been in trouble back home, and Caswell would have been punished for liking Luke and Daylily the way he did.
He felt bad about going against Papa, so he tried not to like them so much, but he couldnât help it. He was afraid, and they were the only friends he had.
Maybe sometime, heâd ask Luke about Michael. Michael looked like a White boy. Michael couldnât be White though, cause Papa sold him, even though he looked White. He was Gran Susieâs boy, he knew that. And Gran Susie was Black. She was a slave. He knew Michael didnât have a daddy.
He remembered standing in the hallway. The hallway had just been waxed by one of the girls. The floors were brown and shiny, and it smelled like wax. If he closed his eyes, he could still smell it. There was a tin bucket sitting there with some wax still in it.
He remembered hearing Papa talking to Gran Susie. Words like investment he didnât understand, and Gran Susie said, âYessuh, yessuh, but he my only chile.â And Papa said, âinvestmentâ and âbusinessâ again, and then Gran Susie came out crying fit to bust and ran to the kitchen.
Before he could move, Mamadear came down the steps and into the library and shut the door, and then it was quiet.
Then he heard Papa say, âLoddy, this is how business
âUnc Steph say to me, âBoy, donât you never let hate take you over that way. It ainât no right way to live, and youâll die in the worship of hate. That Munda was a fool.ââ
Luke looked at Daylily. âIâs just a little boy when it happened. I heard all the yelling and hollering and shooting, but I couldnât see nothin. Gustavus say after that, Black Nigger act like he ainât really living, just a ghost dog, and he lookin for his leg. Say he be digging up places all over the farm, lookin for his leg, and donât nobody know where he might be at any time. That Black Nigger dog sure hated niggers, I tell you what.â
âWhat happened to Arkansas?â Daylily asked, turning over to go to sleep under her coat.
âOh, he never was no good no more. He got whupped for trying to run. And he just sit and stare like a dead man most times. He have a little garden and he just sit. He dead now, bout a year ago at Christmastime. Aunt Eugenia put up a marker for him in the quarters.â
CHAPTER 10
GRAN SUSIEâS MICHAEL
The next day Caswell woke up before the others. He was scared to run off now. He was scared all the time. When he was talking to Luke and Daylily, he was scared. When he was staring into the fire, he was scared. Scared of Luke, and scared heâd never see anybody he belonged to again, and scared this girl called Daylily wasnât really nice like she seemed to be. But sometimes, he liked Luke too, except when Luke shouted at him, and then he was scared all over again.
His Mamadear was somewhere else. She wasnât in the fire like that girl said. He didnât believe it. Every day, he felt sick to his stomach. Every night, he cried when nobody was looking, when they thought he was asleep. Sometimes he didnât go to sleep at all. Sometimes he was remembering things, good things that made him get sad and cry. Or bad things that scared him when he thought about it too much, like Michael. Sometimes they told stories, but he couldnât tell this story to Luke and Daylily. He was scared to. They might get mad.
Michael was a slave. Somebody White who was a slave. Mamadear said he was Papaâs flesh and blood. He heard her say this behind the library door one day, but he wasnât sure what that meant.
There were things White people could do and things Negras were supposed to do. And there were things Negras were not supposed to do, and things White people were not supposed to do, and sometimes he got them mixed up. His papa told him these were the rules. But Luke acted like he didnât know any of the rules. Luke would have been in trouble back home, and Caswell would have been punished for liking Luke and Daylily the way he did.
He felt bad about going against Papa, so he tried not to like them so much, but he couldnât help it. He was afraid, and they were the only friends he had.
Maybe sometime, heâd ask Luke about Michael. Michael looked like a White boy. Michael couldnât be White though, cause Papa sold him, even though he looked White. He was Gran Susieâs boy, he knew that. And Gran Susie was Black. She was a slave. He knew Michael didnât have a daddy.
He remembered standing in the hallway. The hallway had just been waxed by one of the girls. The floors were brown and shiny, and it smelled like wax. If he closed his eyes, he could still smell it. There was a tin bucket sitting there with some wax still in it.
He remembered hearing Papa talking to Gran Susie. Words like investment he didnât understand, and Gran Susie said, âYessuh, yessuh, but he my only chile.â And Papa said, âinvestmentâ and âbusinessâ again, and then Gran Susie came out crying fit to bust and ran to the kitchen.
Before he could move, Mamadear came down the steps and into the library and shut the door, and then it was quiet.
Then he heard Papa say, âLoddy, this is how business
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