Riley
1
Crack. That was all that twelve-year-old Riley Reckew woke up to each morning. She never heard the nice calm voice of her mother telling her that she would be late for school if she didn’t get up soon. Instead, she always heard the hard, cold sound of a whip, which sounded like a crack. I guess one of the reasons of this is that she didn’t have any parents, or if she did, she had no clue of where they might be. She had assumed that they had been auctioned off somewhere other than where she was. It was hard to remember, mainly because she was only 2 years old, when she was actually auctioned off. Riley only remembers her mother because there was this other girl, Emily, who was about 5 when Riley was born, so she told Riley all about how pretty her mother was and how Riley use to cry like mad when she was first born.
Riley wasn’t sure she believed her when Emily first told her these things, but once Emily showed her a picture of her mother, she knew that Emily was right. Her mother was beautiful, and that she cried a lot because her mother looked tired. Very tired. At once, she and Emily became instant friends. That was why she was surprised when she woke from her thoughts and realized that Emily was hitting her. Hard. “Ouch! Why are you hitting me?!” “You woke up late. I figured that you didn’t want to get whipped, and I know that you are a very heavy sleeper.” Emily replied, putting a little too much emphasis on the word very. Riley had to admit it. She was a heavy sleeper. Once, when she was only 3 ½ years old, she slept almost till noon.
She was already on a plantation by then, so she got whipped very hard. She still has the scars. I guess that’s why she always wakes up to the sound of a whip, because that was what she woke up to on that day, and she never wants that to happen ever again. So I guess that she could forgive Emily, but only for today, at least, until she overslept again. There was suddenly someone at the door.
Riley wasn’t sure she believed her when Emily first told her these things, but once Emily showed her a picture of her mother, she knew that Emily was right. Her mother was beautiful, and that she cried a lot because her mother looked tired. Very tired. At once, she and Emily became instant friends. That was why she was surprised when she woke from her thoughts and realized that Emily was hitting her. Hard. “Ouch! Why are you hitting me?!” “You woke up late. I figured that you didn’t want to get whipped, and I know that you are a very heavy sleeper.” Emily replied, putting a little too much emphasis on the word very. Riley had to admit it. She was a heavy sleeper. Once, when she was only 3 ½ years old, she slept almost till noon.
She was already on a plantation by then, so she got whipped very hard. She still has the scars. I guess that’s why she always wakes up to the sound of a whip, because that was what she woke up to on that day, and she never wants that to happen ever again. So I guess that she could forgive Emily, but only for today, at least, until she overslept again. There was suddenly someone at the door.