When Everything Changed

By: Maxine Telling

Trudging along the red, hard packed dirt, I lace my fingers together, eyeing the
landscape for nearby Papaya trees. I came back here almost twice a week, looking for
herbs and fruits we hadnt already picked clean.
The religion of our people, Vodoun, called for a village healer - someone who
was able to use the resources around us to cure the diseases that plagued us. This
honor was passed down to me. After my mother, sister, and grandmother, it was now
my turn.
Striding towards a nearby Papaya tree, I carefully trace my fingers along the
mangled bark and branches.
I grab onto the closest branch and pull myself up. Holding my arms out for
balance, I climb higher and higher towards the fresh Papayas growing on top.
Finally reaching my destination, I reach for as many Papaya fruit and leaves
possible. This will make an incredible antibiotic, I think as I set them carefully in a
burlap bag hanging from my shoulders.
My ears perk at the sound of an African Pied Hornbill cawing in the distance.
Knitting my brows together, I scramble down the tree, seeing that the sun has begun
to set.
As I briskly stride towards the village, I hear a distance susurrus of a bush from
behind me. Whipping my head around, I eye the area to find where the sound had
come from.
Feeling a knot of fear grow in my stomach, I run my fingers along my shaved
head. Whos there? I ask, just loud enough for it to be in earshot.
A familiar face appears from behind a dried bush. Folio.
My frown becomes a smirk as I walk towards him. Looking my husband up and down, I
see a look of fear painted across his face. He nimbly makes his way over to be and rests
his hands on my shoulders.
What is the matter? I ask in fear. I have never seen Folio acts this way before.
It worried me immensely.
Theres danger in the village. You must take yourself and our child away from
here. He says, eyeing my flat stomach with sorrow eyes.

What about you? I ask, suddenly scared for me life. I feel my stomach, soon to
be much larger.
I have to stay and protect our village, but I will find you. he says, reassuring
me in a whisper of a voice. But for now, take this.
Folio takes my small hands in his, and rests a string of red beads in my palm.
Looking down at the necklace, I feel warm tears fill my eyes and roll down my
cheeks. I love you. I whisper, avoiding eye contact.
Be brave, Enyo. Fate will bring us back together. he says, before running back
the way he came, his figure becoming more and more distant.
I stand motionless, grasping the beads in my hand. The sun begins to set as you
wait for the incessant screams of the village to fade.
Trekking across the trail, back towards the village, it mustve been an hour
since Folio had left. It had to be safe by now.
Entering the village, I felt my throat close up, and my stomach turn. Blood
stained the ground, and dead bodies laid scattered across the village, waiting for
maggots to consume their flesh. Everything was silent. The screaming had come to a
cease. The explosions were no more. Not even the hums and chirps of the jungle could
be heard.
I walk along the trail made from blood, eyeing the bodies in despair. As I walk, I
look for any sign of Folio escaping. Nothing. I could not tell whether or not he was
dead, and it killed me.
I stepped past the body of a child, her hand reaching for her mothers. I gingerly
kneel next to the small body, and take her small hand in mine. I could recognize the
face of the girl. Full lips, dark eyes, curly hair. She would have grown up to be a
beautiful, strong, smart woman. But, this was no longer.
Before leaving the body, I close her lifeless eyes, in an effort to respect her short
life.
Arriving at the edge of the village, I look into the vast jungle for any sign of life.
A faint light flickered between the intertwining trees could be seen. I gasp, running
towards the source, hoping to find Folio still alive.
Bounding towards the sounds, I became closer and slowed my strides, for I
realized the lights were carried by someone else.

Stepping closer still, I behold a horrifying sight. Men the colour of goat's milk,
and eyes like the sky look at me. They look alien, unkind, almost evil. A sly smile crept
across their face as they stepped closer to me. I looked behind them, and eyed people
of my own, shackled together in a single filed line, bruised, beat, and whipped. People
from young to old were captured.
My body froze as the cold, bony hands of the aliens grabbed ahold of me and
threw me against a tree trunk and tie my hands together. They set a heavy, splinter
ridden contraption upon my shoulders. A small child stood in front of me, almost 12
years of age wept. I wanted so badly to hold her and reassure her. To tell her
everything was going to be all right. But how could I when I didnt even know it was
true?
We had been walking for almost two weeks now. Stopping now and then for
sleep and a mere morsel of rotted, bitter food. This pained me, as my child was
growing, and I craved .
My feet were sore, and had grown blisters and wounds on the soles. The day had
grown old, and the sun tired. Though the sky was dark, we persisted. I could tell that
even the white men had grown weary by the uneasy sway of their stride. We were to
rest soon.
It had been what seemed like a lifetime since the sun made its farewell. But
finally, it was time to conclude the day's strenuous trek throughout the forest, and it
was time to rest. We were released from the heavy yokes that weighed us down, and
the shackles that bound us. The white men sat around us, staring, waiting. But none of
us could care. We just wanted the release of sleep to take us away from this world.
Feeling the warm arms of sleep pull me away, I felt my body sink into the
ground and feel finally a peace.
***
Waking up from my slumber in a sweat, a sharp pain resonates from my lower
stomach. With a blurry vision, I sit erect on the ground, and inspect my stomach.
Looking down, I scream in horror. I sit in a pool of my own crimson blood, covering my
legs and stomach, and even the sleeping captives around me. With no open wound on
my body, I soon realize what had happened. I had lost my child. It could not go any
longer, and so it left.

I felt a sob resonate from the back of my throat as I cradled myself in pain. I had
no one left for comfort but myself, and this angered me.