Chapter 10: May 14th, 1841

“Well, what are you making there, Aida?” Linah asked her.

Aida sat in the living room chair as Linah walked in to see what she was doing. Aida’s hands were busy holding a pair of knitting tools as she was weaving together something.

“Mr. Jules said that the last blanket he has was falling apart,” Aida responded. “I wanted to make another one for him.”

She put her hands to her hips with a smile. “Well, that is nice of you. I like the patterns that you have on it. I barely need to teach you anything else. You have managed to really help out with getting the daily chores done.”

Linah looked at the patterns that were displayed on the blanket. It depicted a series of boxes with a woven picture on them in a variety of colors. One box had a rainbow with six different colors sown into it, rising up to the sky. Another one was a snake with a variety of colors sown on it. Another box had the sun in it, while another box had the Christian holy cross in it.

“Truly beautiful what you have there. When did you get started with that?”

“I got started on it about eight days ago. I worked on it during the night, usually away from my choirs.”

Linah walked over to her and sat down next to her. “Aida, if you are creating a blanket during this time, you are working for the household. You don’t have to lose sleep over this. Frederick would understand.”

She continued her weaving. “I know. I just want to impress him. I know he is working outside, and I want to get this done as quickly as possible. I want to give it to him as a gift. I want him to be surprised.”

Linah gave a sly look at her. “Well ... isn’t that something. I have not seen that type of face in a long time. You love him ... don’t you?”

Aida almost fumbled her weaving as she kept working with her blanket. She had a flustered look on her face.

“Well, I admit that does surprise me,” Linah said with a laugh. “I never imagined two weeks ago you were brought into the household that you would start to leave a footprint on both of us. I know that you have an attraction to Mr. Jules. Why not admit it?”

“I ... I feel something,” her frustration continued. “I just ... feel better making this for him. I want him to be happy.”

“Hey, hey ... it’s alright. I understand. Do you feel like there is something stopping you from letting him know how you feel?”

“Yes.”

Linah put her hand on her arm as she stopped knitting. “Look, I understand what your reservations are. Has he touched or hurt you in any way?”

“No.”

“Did you tell him about your feelings?”

“No.”

“Is it because he is a white man?”

“ ... No.”

Linah shook her head. “Look ... I understand your feelings. Your decision is your own on this one. I think us black women have the hardest than any male slaves ever known. We either get abused by white men, white women, black men, or all the above. If one day all the African Americans were freed, will the women be sparred as well? We have fewer rights than a pebble on a beach. They could just as easily say that African American women will remain slaves, while the men rejoice. The fact is that I really feel that there is nowhere for me to go in the United States except West, like so many I heard have done. It would be my own choice. I can’t leave Mr. Jules for those reasons, even if he gave me my freedom. I still get to do a part for my family while I am here as well. My point is that you are better here than elsewhere. Many of the white men will treat you like crap or do worse to you, but it would be no better than other men as well. Mr. Jules, however, is different.”

“You told me before that many white men would purchase female slaves and force them to have sex with them. Many would be forced to become their wives or playthings against their will.”

Linah sighed. “Yes ... there are many that would do such a thing if they had bought you ... but what if I told you that a small amount of those white men would not do such a thing and simply fell in love with the women they bought? What if those women fell in love with the men that bought them? We are all human, Aida. As God made us. The white men might be in a better position than us, but in the end, we are with the people we are happy with the most. If a war broke out between the North and the South right now over slavery, in the end, the only thing that will be is us, and we have to choose to either hate each other or choose to love one another. I choose to love one another, it solves so many problems, and it would prevent a cycle of bloodshed and further violence. I think in the end, you see Mr. Jules as a way to give you happiness in these rough times. I would be happy to see you make him happy and that he makes you happy. It makes a happy ending to a rough journey you had to go through.”

Aida went into deep thought as she considered her words. She had been with Frederick under his household for two weeks. Her emotions were starting to take over her thinking. She placed her knitting tools on her lap.

“It’s a little more than that too,” She said with coarse words. “I was married so long ago.”

Linah reacted in realization to her words, “Oh ... I see. What happened to him?”

“He ... was killed by something that I could not stop. I miss him ... but I do have feelings for our master now too. I will consider your words, Linah.”

Linah patted her lap. “I have faith. You must have faith as well. Things will get better. They must get better. I know in the end, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and in the end, we will be in a better place.”

Aida took a deep breath as she nodded and resumed her knitting.

“Well ... I should get back to cooking. I could use your help in about thirty minutes. It will give you a little more time to knit your blanket some more. I would recommend putting your blanket back in your room around that time before he comes back in. It will be our little secret till you finally tell him.”

Linah stood up from the chair as she walked over to the kitchen. Aida went and continued her work on the blanket.

“I really hope he accepts me for who I am,” she said to herself as Linah left.

It was almost quiet in the kitchen as the stove was cooking the next stew for dinner. Aida and Linah were busy cooking the next meal for the day. The silence was suddenly broken when one of the farmhands ran into the house. His face was in absolute terror and fear.

“Fire! There is a fire in the barn! Anybody that can help, we need it!” he yelled as he ran back outside.

Linah put her hands to her cheeks in shock and fear. “Sweet Jesus. We got to do something before it burns down. Aida, if there is anything that you can do, go out there and help them out.”

Without hesitation, Aida nodded and followed the farmhand as they ran out the door. The door closed behind them with a loud slam. John, one of the two farmhands, looked at Aida.

“I am going to the nearest farmhouse to ask if they can send any help here,” John said.

“Alright,” she replied as she saw John run at his fastest speed to the nearby dirt road. She turned her head to see smoke billowing from the barn door. She saw two men, one of them Frederick with the other named Jackson, one of the other farmhands that worked for some time at the farm.

She walked up to the barn as she could hear the tail end of the conversation between Jackson and Frederick. They were both coughing a little bit from the smoke inhalation.

“Sir, we can’t stop the fire! It’s getting too big! We can’t go back in there without something better to put out the fire,” yelled Jackson.

“Yes, we can!” Frederick responded with determination. “We have to save the barn. We can’t afford to lose this! Grab those two buckets from the well. The quicker we can get this water, the quicker we can stop the fire from spreading.”

They barely noticed Aida as Frederick and Jackson ran to the nearby well on the other side of the barn.

“It will take too long to put out a fire if they are retrieving it from the well,” Aida quietly remarked to herself. “I need to do something now, or Frederick will watch this barn burn to the ground.”

Without anybody noticing her, she walked up to the barn entrance and looked inside. She could see a fire that started from the haystacks that were quickly spreading up the walls to the ceiling.

“There is no way they will be able to put out the fire. They are desperate to stop the inevitable. Not without divine help...”

She walked into the barn as the smoke surrounded her. The intense fumes were at a rate now that any person inside it would be choking in it. No livestock was in the barn, thankfully. It consisted of hay, tools, stalls and feed for the livestock. Unfortunately, all these things would only add to the flames and be lost in the process.

Without any further hesitation, she lifted one of her arms at the fire. Her right hand blossomed open. She closed her eyes and began to focus as magical energy erupted from it. Her hand suddenly began to draw water from nowhere as it formed into at first the ball the size of a pea, then to the size of an apple, then to the size of a pumpkin. Eventually, the water formed bigger than the size of her. The ripple effects of the ball of water could be seen as it created a perfect sphere. Seeing that it was big enough, Aida then pulled her hands back and thrust them forward. The magical ball of water then flew straight at the flames as it slammed hard into the fire. The water hit the sidewall and splashed against the sides and the hay itself. The fire was reduced to three-quarters its size now. She then retook her hand, focused as she opened her hand and held it out again. Magical energy emitted from it as the remaining fire began to slow down in any further spreading. She then, with her hand, closed it to a fist. The remaining fire was instantly smothered.

Without stalling, knowing that they would be there any second now, she then focused her energy as she focused her thoughts, picturing the outside of the barn away from the inside, towards one of the trees. She then took her hand, raised it in the air, and then drove her hand as she yelled, “Teleport!” With a flash of light, she disappeared from the inside of the barn.

There was a quick flash as she appeared behind one of the trees near the barn. She made it out just in time to see Frederick run inside the barn. She quickly ran to the barn’s entrance to make it look like she just got there as she held her hands to her face. She acted like she was in shock as she looked at Frederick that just stood there looking at the dowsed fire. There was a large amount of water on the sides and the dirt by the wall, but it would quickly seep in the soil in no time. There was still evaporating water and dowsed smoke coming from the sides of the recent fire. The blackened walls and support structure was a clear sign of the current events. There was not much further damage to the structure.

Frederick dropped the bucket of water as Jackson came running into the barn and looked at the scene next. His jaw dropped.

“It’s a miracle...” Frederick commented. “It’s a miracle from god. This fire was out of control. There was little chance of us putting it out. The barn is saved!”

Aida smiled. There was no way they would think that the miracle came from her.

Jackson went and put his bucket down as he just shrugged.

Frederick went and looked down by the burnt remains of one of the haystacks and found something interesting as Jackson looked at Aida. He went and picked up the remains of a cigar. Anger grew in his face as he knew whose fault it was for starting the fire.

Jackson looked at Aida and yelled at her. “Why are you smiling nigger? What help did you do in putting out this fire?”

Aida gave a neutral look at him as she folded up her arms.

Frederick turned his head with anger towards him that filled his eyes. “That’s enough! Jackson, I would like you to take a look at this cigar. Whose cigar is this?”