2017 2018 complete

A crackle comes from a whip as it rushes violently through the silent air, ringing in my ears. It hits my bare legs. Shock stuns me into keeping still and my face clear. Then comes the pain. The horrible, searing, excruciating pain that runs through my body. I can’t help it. I turn to my side and get on my hand and knees, letting blood spill onto the vivid green grass. The pain causes me to tremble in the shadow of my dreaded master. Another crack,

photograph Megha Rameshkumar

I feel warm hands grasp me from behind. I don’t want to go. I don’t. I won’t. “NO! No! Stop! NO!” I bellow while trying to pull away from the arms. The hands stay strong and pull me back. “STOP! STOP! NO! DON’T LEAVE HIM! STOP!” I wail. I use all of my might to get out of the grasp of these hands. They switch positions and move around my waist. I can’t escape. But I must try. I scratch the arms and kick blindly behind me, all the while screeching. “Please, Glory, please. Moses is no more. We can’t save him,” whispers Abigail. And I give up. I let her drag me away from Papa. I do not move. I stay completely still like the body in front of me. “Let her go,” orders Master. “She’s no longer a child.” His sneers and turns so now his obsidian black eyes penetrate my soul, “Today is your baptism.” Abigail does. I fall flat to the ground. The sun blinds me.

this time slashing my back. It easily slices through my already buzzing skin. More of the awful pain. My arms give out and I fall to the ground. He hits me again. And again. I begin to feel hazy, and everything becomes a great big blur. I see the grass shining in the orange sky. Some pink shows and golden, too. I barely feel the next strikes. I only hear the crackling thunder of the lighting. Black spots cover my sight, and ringing blasts in my ears. I faintly hear Misses screaming to stop. But the whip still crackles. It is a sound that will never be vanquished. I wake up to the sound of the whip ringing in my ears. I lay on my stomach. I feel weak. I move slightly to get up, but I can’t. The places where the lightning struck burn. But what really burns is myself. I am alone. All alone. I have no one. I open my mind to hear the surrounding noises. Misses is muttering a Rosary prayer to herself. I open my eyes and

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