After last night, I decided the next morning to just get up,
shower, and head to school before anybody else got up. I got up at 4:15,
showered, read for about an hour until 5 and left at 5:45. My parents get up at
6:30 and Parker gets up at 7. I decided to walk to school to try and clear my
head and organize my thoughts. Parker and I watched movies and played video
games for the majority of the night. For Parker only being 8, he sure knows how
to cheer me up; even though we may argue, Parker and I are close and would
protect each other;
Half-way to
school, I heard thunder booming and sighed; Wonderful
was my only thought as I whipped out my umbrella just in time as the rain
began to shower down upon me. Don’t get me wrong, I love thunderstorms, but I guess I’m just not in the mood to fully
enjoy one today. I made it to school a half hour before it started. The school
I go to houses the 5th-8th graders. When I’m here early,
I’ll go into one of the 8th grade science classrooms and one of the
teachers—Mrs. Schulz, is a good teacher. She and Mrs. Feely are in-laws and she
teaches me stuff that I don’t know. I go there to retreat until my own science
class starts. She was busy this morning, so I went into the “secret” abandoned
spot in the library. The librarian said that it used to be a part of the actual
library, until they did renovations and they didn’t really use that part of it
anymore, so they just closed it off. It was pretty well hidden, but I still
managed to find it. To be quite honest, I thought that it would be locked or
something, but it wasn’t. Nobody knows that it’s there, but me and the
librarians. Actually, they keep all the old “historical” documents and out of
print books in here. At least it’s quiet and has a small light that I can read
from.
“Why are
you here?” A voice asked, causing me to jump and drop my book.
“A quiet
place to read” was my reply as I picked up my book.
“Go away.”
The voice replied as I rolled my eyes
“No. I
found this place first” Wow. That’s childish of me
“I found it
first”
And then… She reveled herself. A little African American
ghost child; she looks to be from the 1800’s. Maybe 1816 or something; she had
on a white dress with an apron and she had a sad look on her face.
“I’m Jana.
Who are you?” I introduced
“Milly. My
mama hid me here so that the evil white men no ever find me an’ take me ‘way.
She says I be safe up here in the North. She sai’ runnin’ ‘way was dang’rous”
I frowned. Evil white
men? Safe up in the North? Then it finally dawned on me. God, I felt
stupid. She’s a runaway slave! Her mom
brought her up here so she wouldn’t have to go through all that torture. Her
mom must have went back and poor Milly…
“Milly…
What year did your ma bring you up here?” I asked gently, and softly, so that
she wouldn’t be frightened by me.
“1813,
Miss.” She replied softly.
“Your ma never
came back, did she?” I asked as she shook her head
‘I’ve been
tryin’ t’find ‘er… People come here, I scare them all off. Always hoped and
prayed t’God that my ma would come back f’r me.” She explained as I felt my
heart breaking a little more.
“I’ll help
you find her, Milly. My gran, she can find any spirit.” I explained as she
shook her head.
“Please…Don’
tell no one! The men will come!” She begged.
“Milly…It’s
not the 1800’s anymore…Slavery doesn’t exist. The year is 2054.” I explained,
watching her eyes widen.
“So much
time has passed… Why am I still here?”
“Because
you’re unable to find eternal, peaceful rest without your ma, Milly; I’m sure
your ma is the same way.” I explained
“Please…
Help me find her”
I nodded and glanced at my watch. Shoot. I’ve gotta go.
“Milly, I’ve
got to go. I promise you that I’ll be back.” I swore as she nodded. “What’s
your ma’s name?” I asked
“Maya Lou
Wilks. M’little brothers name is Bailey”
I thanked her and nodded, heading to class. Don’t worry, Milly. I’ll find your mom and
brother and all of you will finally, finally be at peace.
***
I snuck off
at lunch time to go back to Milly. I had checked out some books on Slavery and
brought them with me.
“Milly?” I
called and then the candles lit up and she appeared, smiling at me. She was
happy to see me—almost relieved.
“Miss Jana!”
She greeted. I sat down and opened some books. Even after all these years,
Milly hadn’t changed. Gran had said that if the spirit is at unrest, then they’ll
stay in their former selves and when they find peace, well, nobody knows what
happens. I told Milly what I had found in the library and we (well, me) began
to flip through the books that I found.
“Wait!
There!” She pointed. I looked at the page and read it. Helped free other slaves and was eventually caught, but she once again escaped
and helped with the Underground Railroad. Wow… Now, all I need is a burial
sight. I read, flipping through more pages of the other book to find Maya. There. I found it… Well…part of it. I
read the page before I looked at Milly.
“She died
trying to come get you back, Milly… She got shot by one of the other slave
owners and…” I paused, debating if I should continue.
“And what?”
She asked
“…Was
thrown into the river, her body was never to be found again. But later on, one
of the other slaves had found a golden locket that had your picture in it.” I
finished as she sniffled, quickly wiping her tears.
“Please,
Miss Jana… Find my ma… Please!” She begged as I nodded.
I always knew that I had a thing for talking to spirits. I
mean, I’ve done it my entire life—only without my parents knowing. I couldn’t
help any of the others because I was still getting a handle on the whole, “I
can talk to spirits” thing, but with Milly and Maya, I will help them. I’ll help Milly. She’s around my age—11.
“What
happened to Bailey, Milly?” I asked
“Bailey wen’
off an’ ‘scaped to the North; he older than me. He was 16 when he ‘scaped with
the others.”
“Where in
the North, Milly?”
She frowned for a second. Even though child slaves were
uneducated, Milly has been around for a while. She told me she taught herself
how to read and write, but she liked to read and practice her scriptures and
hymns.
“Chicago…
It wasn’t Chicago in those times” I nodded.
Well, I need to find Bailey first. If he wasn’t already dead
yet, he’d be an old man; I guess I’m taking a trip to Chicago!
***
I guess you
could say that I get my spirit talking abilities from my grandmother. Besides
her, I’m the only one of the grandchildren that can do that. Gran says that I’m
special like that; another thing I got from her is being able to teleport
wherever I want. So, I teleported to a secluded spot in Chicago and went on my
way to search for Bailey Wilks. By the time I found Bailey, it was dark, the only
light is from the street lamps and the moon.
Bailey
Wilks had died in 1905 and I found him kneeling in front of a grave—I’m
assuming it’s his wife as I stood by him. He’s nothing more than a ghost, and
only I can see him.
“Bailey
Wilks?” I asked as he continued to stroke the stone
“Who be
askin’?” He said.
“I’m Jana
Banner. Your sister asked me to look for you”
He stood up, leaning on his cane as he looked at me.
“Milly’s
alive?” He said, hope in his voice. “She made it to the North?”
I raised my hand to cut him off from asking any questions.
“She isn’t
alive, I’m sorry, Bailey… She’s in New York… She said your ma dropped her off
and said she would come back for her… But your ma’s dead too… I’m very sorry.”
The look on his face was devastating.
“Milly was
my world, Miss. Jana” He informed me, his southern accent still there after all
these decades.
“She’s a
spirit at my school, Bailey… She’s still an 11 year old girl and she’s scared.
She wants peace.” I explained to him as he smiled sadly.
“That was
Milly for ya. Girl always wanted peace and didn’t understand why those white
men did what they did.”
“You’ll
find peace once your entire family is together, Bailey. I promise” He nodded as
I turned to leave.
“Tell
Milly, ‘The sun will always shine and the Lord is always watchin’. Miss Jana… I’ll
be here. Just come by my grave and call my name.” He smiled and then he was
gone, leaving me standing there in the darkness of the Chicago cemetery.
***
I made it
my personal mission to get the Wilks family back together. I found out more
about what Bailey did when he was alive and then I headed home. My father was
not happy at all.
“You didn’t
go to your classes, Jana. Where have you been?!” He asked as I remained quiet.
I couldn’t tell him about the Wilks or Milly. I gave Milly my word. I needed to
head to Louisiana to find Maya. I have too.
“I’m sorry,
dad. I can’t tell you.” I stated, watching his eyes narrow. “Can’t you just
ground me instead?” I offered, watching him sigh and clean his glasses.
“This isn’t
like you, baby. You know you can tell me” He said, placing his glasses on his
face.
“I know, dad…”
It hurt not being able to tell him about Milly, but I made a promise—and I keep
good on my promises.
Once I knew
that everybody was asleep a few hours later, I transported to the Louisiana River,
but once I got there, I was surrounded in darkness.
***
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