Possessed (23 page)

Even though the city around us was
buzzing we were silent and listless. All of us awaited our fate
whatever that may be. I looked at my toes and tried to avoid eye
contact with the buyers that were gawking at us. I was told that
the sign above us read: Cotton Slaves, Inc., and that horrified me
to no end.

I held my hands and my breath as I
tried not to show that I was nervous. I didn’t feel like answering
questions or pretending to be happy. That is what William Cotton
wanted us to do. He wanted us to pretend to be happy and compliant
because that’s what closed a sale. If we didn’t co-operate and
turned off a buyer then we would have to face the consequences of
our actions, which meant a beating.

I mentally rehearsed what I had been
taught to say. My name was Marie. I was nineteen and could cook and
sew as well as nurse. I had never run away from a previous master
but had simply been sold back into the market to pay off a gambling
debt. That was a half-truth. Buyers were more reluctant to purchase
slaves who had previously run away, because that meant that they
were willing to do it again. No one wanted to purchase a
disobedient slave- or in other words, damaged property.

I didn’t want a beating so I went over
what I was supposed to say at least a hundred times. I wanted a
nice big Christmas dinner with a huge table full of delicious food.
But I knew that was only a dream and the only hope of that
happening was if a kind buyer bought me. Back at Deep Oak
Plantation slaves had been given extra meat and alcohol during the
Christmas season; looking back it seemed like paradise compared to
where I was now.

A group of well-dressed men with top
hats and scowls approached us and surrounded Mr. Cotton. My heart
sank, knowing that they probably were going to buy one of us. They
didn’t look like the type to provide slaves with big Christmas
dinners.

I heard a whisper. “Marie.”

I glanced around but couldn’t see
anyone and it didn’t sound like a spirit.

“
Marie.” I heard the voice
again.

I turned to my right and saw a hooded
figure dressed in a black cape. “Run.”

I recognized that voice. My heart
fluttered and a rare euphoria washed over me. I glanced at Mr.
Cotton, who was still surrounded by the well-dressed men. I glanced
at the faces of the slaves around me and then I took a deep
breath.

“
Run,” said the
voice.

I was terrified to actually run. If I
ran and failed then it would mean death or worse. But if the voice
was who I thought it was then I had no choice but to run. It was
worth the risk. Taking that risk would be better than staying there
or being sold off to another cruel master.

I buried my fears and decided to make a
run towards the hooded figure.

“
After her!” I heard
Cotton’s voice behind me, but I didn’t stop until I reached the
hooded figure.

When I reached the figure he threw a
black cape over me and pushed me into a closed carriage that sped
full speed ahead. For a moment I was afraid to take off the hood
and was worried that I had been kidnapped by another slave
trader.

“
Marie.” The mystery figure
took off the cape from my head.

“
Jacques.” Uncontrollable
tears streamed down my face as my eyes rested on him. He was
healthy and simply perfect. I reached out and touched his cheeks
and mouth just to make sure he wasn’t a ghost. “You stole me,” I
said, as I realized he had committed a crime. I found it romantic
and any fear I had flew out of the carriage but I was still aware
of the off rash on my face. I hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“
No,” he whispered. “You
stole me.”

“
How did you find
me?”

“
I visited plantations,
searched the streets and the homes of my friends. I saw you
standing out here last week and then I wanted to grab you and run
but it was too dangerous. I waited, but I couldn’t wait
anymore.”

He held me tight and let me cry.
“Ouch,” I said, as he squeezed me a little too tight and pressed
against the raw scars on my back.

“
You’re safe,” he whispered,
as he kissed my tears away. “Je t’aime.”

“
I love you too,” I said. In
my heart I already knew that this wouldn’t last forever. Papa Loco
had warned that a price must be paid, but I didn’t care. I would
have paid any price to stay with him.

Chapter 33

Welcome to
Darkwood

New Orleans December, 1830-
Christmas Eve

The carriage stopped on a dusty road
and we got out. Jacques took my hand into his and lit the way with
an oil lantern. I blindly followed him into the maze of dense oak
trees that looked oddly familiar. The air was cool, fresh and the
stars were coming out to play. I let out a small giggle and mused
at how quickly life could change. We walked further and further
into the forest until the earth became wet and cypress trees and
Spanish moss joined us. I remembered this place. It was where I had
found him dying. This is where we had met.

“
Do you remember?” he
asked.

I nodded, simply because I didn’t have
words to express how happy I was.

“
I bought it all. I bought
the swamp and the land. I’ll plant a rose garden for you. The house
over there is almost complete. We’ll fill it with laughter, love
and children.” His eyes were bright, eager and his energy was
infectious.

“
You bought all of this, why
didn’t you buy me?”

“
I don’t have enough money
to buy you. I don’t want to buy you. I want to earn you and be
worthy of you.”

He smiled shyly and my heart melted. I
didn’t understand how anyone was so capable of being kind without
expecting anything in return. The idea was new and exotic to me.
The idea that there were kind people in the world.

“
But what if they find
me?”

“
They won’t. I’ll protect
you,” he said, as he took my hands into his.

I wanted to tell him what Papa Loco had
said but I decided that maybe even spirits could be wrong so I let
myself give into the happiness. “The only thing I ask is no slaves.
We can’t fill it with slaves. I can’t bear the ugliness and cruelty
it brings.”

He shook his head. “No. I promise
everyone will be paid for their services. The land won’t be used
for crops. I don’t need the money, I have plenty of money. I need
you,” he said, as he gave me a powerful kiss. “You’re never going
to be alone or scared again. I’m going to make sure every horror
you’ve seen and experienced is erased.”

We sat on the muddy earth and looked up
at the stars. I dreamt of a world where one day I could marry him.
A world in which the color of a person’s skin, how much money they
had in the bank, and who they fell in love wasn’t as important as
the fact that they fell in love. I wanted my children to live in
that kind of world. Surely Bon Dieu would never damn a person for
falling in love? But then why did mankind have the need to do
so?

I glanced at Jacques with his
ever-smiling lips and wondrous eyes as he stared at the stars. He
was my light and my hope. Even if we couldn’t ever be together in
this life I knew my soul would always find its way back to his. We
were a Christmas miracle and the world was a beautiful place
again.

Chapter 34

Fitting In

New Orleans, 1831

“
You look stunning,” said
Jacques, as he came up behind me and clasped a diamond necklace
around my neck.

I smiled as I turned around and looked
into his deep eyes. He looked so handsome in his black waistcoat
and red necktie. Even though we had been together for months now,
the mere sight of him still made my heart flutter. I’d never been
this happy before and kept waiting for the happiness to vanish and
get ripped away, but so far it hadn’t. Papa Loco had to be wrong.
This is where I was meant to be. I was meant to be by Jacques’
side.

“
Thank you,” I said shyly as
I turned my attention towards the ornately carved mirror and peered
at myself. I was wearing a gorgeous green ball gown detailed with
pearls; it blended beautifully with my caramel skin and inky eyes.
I felt like a proper lady. It was funny how a mere few months had
managed to wipe out my entire past. I didn’t even look like the old
Marie.

“
The guests are arriving,”
he said, as he took my hand and led me out of the room.

Downstairs the crystal chandeliers were
fully lit and the ballroom looked ethereal. Harp music quietly
serenaded the guests as they mingled amongst themselves, enjoying
the never ending supply of champagne.

This was our first time hosting a ball
together and I was nervous that someone from my past would
recognize me and know that I had been a slave who had run away. If
Jacques had actually ever gone back to William Cotton and paid for
me, he never told me.

The ballroom was filled with guests
from all walks of life but most of them were exceptionally wealthy
like Jacques.

My eyes immediately focused on a
beautiful Spanish woman with radiant olive skin and lively brown
eyes. I could tell she was extremely wealthy given how detailed and
extravagant her black ball gown was. Something about the way she
looked at Jacques made me uneasy and fearful, but I pushed aside my
doubts and gave her a small smile. She didn’t smile back. Her eyes
continued to linger on Jacques and I needed to get out of that
ballroom to shake off the queasy feeling I got from her.

“
I’m going to the kitchen to
see if they need any help,” I said to Jacques.

“
Don’t leave. You belong
here,” he said, as he pulled me close.

I smiled at him. “I’ll be right
back.”

“
Go if you must,” he said,
as he gave me a soft kiss on the cheek.

I should have stayed, but I
didn’t.

Chapter 35

Who Are You?

New Orleans, 1831

When I got back to the ballroom,
Jacques wasn’t there, and neither was the Spanish lady. At that
very second, I knew that Papa Loco had been right and I had lost
him forever.

I ran out of the ballroom and
desperately searched every room I could possibly think of. Tears
flowed freely down my face and I grew more and more anxious with
each passing moment. I found them in the main parlor in the middle
of a passionate kiss and my heart broke into a million
pieces.

“
Jacques?” I shook his
shoulder but his lips were still locked with hers.
“Jacques.”

When he finally turned to look at me I
knew that he was no longer my Jacques. "Who are you?” he
asked.

“
Marie. I’m
Marie.”

“
Are you the new help I
hired?”

I was mortified and ran out of the room
as fast as I could. I ran straight to the kitchen and grabbed some
grapes and then headed to the rose garden. The night air was warm
and humid and the roses were in full bloom, the roses that Jacques
had planted for me. I wrapped the grapes in a leaf and strung them
on an oak tree.

“
Papa Loco? Papa Loco,
please answer me.”

A gentle wind rustled through the rose
bushes and a delicate yellow and black butterfly landed my nose.
“You were warned, Marie. I let him live, but you cannot be with
him.”

“
But why?” I was hysterical.
“I love him, why doesn’t he even remember me?”

“
You may love him, but that
doesn’t mean the world is ready to accept that fact. She’s put
stones in his passway, and now he is hers to possess as she
likes.”

“
No. There must be something
that I can do.”

“
I told you to run. I told
you to set yourself free, but you insisted on staying and now you
must pay the price. There is nothing you can do, unless you want
him to die. Do you want him to die?”

“
No. He can’t die. Please.
No.” I was numb and confused. I suppose I should have run but I had
absolutely nowhere to go. If I ran it would mean capture,
isolation, hunger and further humiliation. If I stayed at Darkwood
at least I would be close to him. I believed in his goodness and
somehow knew that he would never be capable of truly harming
me.

The following week he married the
Spanish lady and the pain was worse than that of a hundred
lashes.

Chapter 36

Dreams Come True for a
While

New Orleans, March,
1836

The years flew by at a quick pace and
Jacques never looked at me the same way again. He didn’t remember
how I had saved him and how he had saved me. Our past and love
didn’t exist. For years I tried to reverse the trick that was
placed on him but every spirit told me the same thing. If the trick
was removed he would die; that was the price I had to pay. I could
watch him live but I could never actually be with him.

Instead of being a place of dreams and
hopes, the plantation was transformed into a place of profit and
extravagance because that is what his wife wanted. Slaves were
brought in, cotton was planted and watching it all broke my heart
yet I still stayed.