Yellow Crocus by Ibrahim Laila

Author:Ibrahim, Laila [Ibrahim, Laila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction, ebook
ISBN: 9780984502202
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: 2010-12-17T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Several weeks after the dance, Lisbeth ventured down to the fields to visit with Jordan, but she was not with Grandma Washington. “She ain’t been here all day,” the old woman informed Lisbeth. “Don’t know why. Go looky in their cabin. Maybe she sick.”

Lisbeth trotted up the dirt path to Mattie’s cabin, but it was empty. Lisbeth resisted rushing down to the fields to check for them. Instead she waited on the benches behind the cabin. Lisbeth stared up at the back of her home. She tried to see inside, but the windows reflected all light. Patiently she waited for Mattie and Jordan.

Soon folks started returning from the fields. Lisbeth did not see Mattie, but she recognized Rebecca’s distinctive limp far down the path. She rushed to Rebecca’s cabin, where she was waiting when Rebecca came near. Rebecca stopped walking the instant she saw Lisbeth. Staring at the young mistress, she shook her head.

“Didn’ expect you so soon,” she said. “Come on in. I got somethin’ for you.” Rebecca’s eyes were moist. Tension filled her shoulders as they entered her cabin. Rebecca closed the door tight.

In a hoarse voice Rebecca whispered into the girl’s ear, “Lisbeth, Mattie left this for you.” Pulling a single shell on a string from her pocket, she uncurled Lisbeth’s fingers and placed it in her hand.

Lisbeth felt the shell and knew it at once. A chill traveled down her spine. “Where is Mattie?” Lisbeth screeched. “Where is Jordan?”

“Shh!” Rebecca rebuked. “Honey, they gone. Mattie gone to be with Emmanuel and Samuel.”

“But…? Where…? Why…?” Lisbeth formed incomplete questions. Blinking, she tried to comprehend Rebecca’s words. A sharp arrow stabbed through her heart. Rebecca’s deep brown eyes mirrored the panic and confusion Lisbeth felt.

“Mattie trusts you. No one know she gone,” Rebecca whispered fiercely. “Don’ go tellin’ no one, promise?”

“Where did they go? Will they be all right? Will we ever see them again?”

Rebecca shrugged. “They in God’s hands now. Mattie strong and smart. If anyone gonna make it, she gonna. I pray we ain’t gonna see them again. She gonna be in big trouble if she caught.”

“But…but…how could…? Where did…?”

Rebecca shook her head. “There nothing else for me to tell you. You gotta keep this quiet. Promise?”

Lisbeth agreed before she flew out of Rebecca’s cabin. She ran and ran, fast and far, running past the fields along the bank of the river until she collapsed in a heap on the ground. Her body heaved with sobs, and tears streamed down her face. They were gone. Just gone. They did not say goodbye. How could Mattie leave her? She did not even say goodbye!

She clutched the shell tight in her hand. In a fury she flung it into the tall grass in front of her. Her eyes followed the arc of the shell. The moment it left her hand regret flooded through her. She crawled after it, into the grass. She desperately pushed aside the green stems. Tears poured from her eyes. Sharp blades cut her hands until they bled.

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