Claire's alternative ending for Blonde Roots
By Claire Duff / Spinebreakers Crew
"Nah sister, me not lose you agen. You mi heart and soul, part frum me famly. You not teking yourself an mi sons away frum here; wat if you be cawt? You loos a foot n mi sons be sold! You not going!" Sharon argued against my idea of escaping.
"But what about freedom? Surely you want your sons to grow up having known Europa, as we did during our childhood?" I debated back
"Nah gyal," she replied. "Wat you got here good enuff. You go owt an get cawt, then see if you can be escapin with won foot!"
"Sharon I can't just stay here for the rest of my life! I have children out there, three of my babies I need to know!"
"Me kno, me kno. But you carnt be goin n leving me, speshully not without mi sons! I need you heer with me gyal, an you carnt be leving your olda sista now can you?"
I dared to raise my face to her then, and was shocked to see her crying as her voice had betrayed no tremor or quaver.
"I can't do this any more Sharon! If I get caught then I'll kill myself before they can bring me back here! I'm not asking your sons to come with me and do the same; all I want is to give them a chance of freedom they'll never have if they stay here!"
"Me kno that Doris," she retorted. "Me kno that mi childrun carnt hav no chance of freedum if they stay heer! But at leest heer they is sayf an protected frum bein sold an bein mayd to wurk in a feeld all day!" "I can't take this any more ," I replied, crying myself now. "If I stay here I'll end up dead, and if I escape I'll end up dead! Surely there's a point in me at least trying?!"
"Me darlin sista," she answered, wrapping me in her comforting embrace. "If you feel that way then you go, but you carnt be tekin mi sons away with you. They got theyr hole lives ahed of them, they only childrun! Mi sons are my hole life, speshully if your gone!"
"I know, but I can't stay here," I managed to snivel. "I'll go tonight, when everyone's at the party and drunk." "Al rite then child," Sharon soothed. "But now you be sleepin; you woent get much wen you on the run." I settled down to rest, my thoughts full of going home.
Sharon woke me.
"Qwikly child, get on your way! The marsters is up at the howse, drunk as can be! Get away, befor they cum lookin for gyals to hav fun with!"
I wearily dragged myself up, wanting to just lay back down and escape tomorrow. Instead, Sharon pulled me up and thrust a pack into my hands.
"That have food n wrappas in, for you tomoro," she explained. "You best go now, befor sumwon cums an sees you leving. Good luk Doris." She wrapped me in one of her huge hugs again, before hurriedly releasing me.
I crept out of the slave quarters, aware that if someone happened to wake up and look out I would be in plain sight. I ran quickly and quietly to the shadows, sure that they would disguise my form. I screamed as a hand clamped down on my shoulder. "An ware u be goin?" a gruff voice demanded of me. "Wat you got in that pak?"
I quickly bowed my head and allowed him to take my carefully wrapped pack from my hands. He quickly unwrapped it and spread my few belongings on the ground.
"Wat you be doin, runnin away?" he roughly grabbed me and started leading me towards the house. "You fink the masters is leving nowon on gard? You be rong. The marster will be veri happi with me tonite! They no lyke peepul escapin, speshully not wen they is enjoyin themselves! You be beet for this!"
I was thinking hurriedly as I was dragged along the path behind the guard. I still had my oleander flower in my pocket, and I quickly thought up a plan: if I was caught I would sip its poisonous sap, to end my suffering on this beautiful-yet-deadly island so far from my homeland.
"Yes, the marsters reward me for this! Mite even let me tek a woman for miself tonite," the guard was still prattling on, enamoured with thinking up what rewards the masters would give him. I fished out the flower, breaking its stem as I pulled it out. The guard felt my movement, but before he could stop me I drank its sap, and darkness closed in. . .