Poetic Fast

The year is 1691. European settlers had already made their mark on history in "the new world" and continued to follow their destiny westward. However, there was still plenty to be had on the founding location.

"Adsila! Where is the cotton for Mr. Wilson? You know that if you are even one day late, he will punish us all! Why do you do this to us?" Adsila was a young girl who had not yet seen the age of a dozen, but yet, had just taken a step beyond a decade. She was the daughter of a Tsalagi (Cherokee) Native mother and an African father who died of natural causes not long after her youngest sibling's birth. She was very precocious for her age; led fellow villagers to water late in the night and possessed a physical build of 5'9'', often being able to pass as an adult. Adsila (whose name translates to "blossom") quickly hurried into her families log house with a large basket full of freshly-picked cotton.

"Yes, Galilahi. I am sorry for for this. You know it is not easy to function off of a few drops of wa.."

"I am not concerned about water, I am concerned about Mr. Wilson! Knowing how he is why would you tempt him?" she interrupted.

The screams of "hurry" came from Adsila's mother, Galilahi, whose name translated to the word "attractive", and attractive she was. Her hair was down to her knees and was full of thickness. She presented dark tan skin and midnight-black hair and a very pronounced facial structure. Her daughter was her twin, if even a bit darker in skin tone, wavier locks, and more pronounced lips. She met Adsila's father at a nearby lake at night and decided to secretly marry him, even though it went against the law of racial boundaries. With Adsila being the oldest, they had a fruitful bound of 10 children.

Thomas Wilson, the head slave owner of their area, found out after the 5th child was born and warned them to never see each other again. They didn't pay any heed to his caveat and stayed together. Mr. Wilson learned of their continued faithfulness and sentenced Adsila's father, Frank, to non-stop field hours or else a death sentence would ensue. Even through the sentence, they managed to stay together, but this took an incredible toll on Frank. 5 months after the youngest child was born, Frank passed. The family was devastated and in tandem with their grief, was forced to work extra hours out in the field. 5 months later, the family still had difficulty making ends meet.

"Now Adsila, be sure to leave the cotton outside of his estate in a place where he can see it. Don't get us punished for not placing it right like last time!" barked Galilahi....