"Misty, wake up, dear. I have some lunch for you." Mama's voice called.
Misty sat up in her bed and rubbed the little sleep she got from her eyes. On the small table in the center of the cabin sat a tray with bread, cheese, cucumber, and a jug of water. Misty climbed off her bed and took a small piece of the bread to eat. Mama did the same. She almost seemed happy.
"How can you be happy, Mama?" Misty asked with a rough tone.
"You think of me as happy? Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not. But I must to please these people." Mama replied through a mouthful.
"Okay," Misty agreed. "Mama,"
"Yes?"
"Have you noticed…that all the other workers here have a cross on their cheek. Their right one. It doesn't look like paint at all. It looks more like a giant scab." Misty reported. She had seen many of these people on her little tour.
"Yes…I have. All the servants in the manner have them as well. And I think we are to get them also." Mama said. "It must be a symbol of our 'race'…since we have no color difference from our Masters."
"How do they do such a thing, Mama?" Misty asked.
"You'll find out."
"You know, don't you?" questioned Misty.
"Yes, but I think of it as safe, not to tell you." Mama replied.
Misty just stared. "Master was an odd boy."
"Was he?" Mama says as she grabs for a slice of cucumber.
"Yes, he told me weird things. Things you wouldn't normally hear from a Master. Things you wouldn't except." Said Misty. "I thought he would be like his father, rough and jagged and sharp. Part of him was like that. But the other half was like his mother. Soft and sweet, but not too gullible."
"Well, it is only right to inherit both things from your mother and your father." Mama points out. "They both made you together. Not just one of them."
"Yes, I know that. But personalities aren't like that. Aren't I more like you then Papa?" Misty asked but then fell back. The mentioning of her Papa was a little heart-wrecking.
"It's okay dear." Mama pats Misty on the head.
A knock hits the door, and without asking if they may come in, it is barged open. Two men stand there with stern looks. They must have been overseers because of the whips they held in their huge hands. They approached Misty and Mama and grabbed hold of one of their arms, pulling them out of the door. So many things to happen all in one day. Misty didn't know whether to be scared or to think of it as a simple routine. Mama and Misty are taken across one of the fields to a small, open shack. It was were the blacksmiths worked.
"Don't worry," One of the overseers coughed. "This won't take long."
After Misty and Mama had entered the smithy, Master Ash did as well, hands on his hips and that typical smirk upon his face. "Looky, looky. I guess it's time to your tags on straight, ain't it?" His face smoothes down, almost into a smile. Then a door slamming could be heard in the distance and he automatically turned that smile into an evil grimace. "Get in the corner!"
Misty huddled over to the corner with Mama and they just stood there, waiting for something to happen.
"Now, who's going first?" Ash asks. Mama goes to step forward, but Misty beats her to it.
"Misty,"
"Mama, I'm not a little kid anymore." Misty says without turning to face her.
"Come over here." Ash demands. Misty starts to walk slowly towards him. "I don't have all day, missy!" Ash bellows and takes the whip from his belt-loop and smacks Misty over the shoulder with it. Her dress splits to reveal a small line of blood. Misty didn't know why he was being so mean, he was so nice to her a little while ago. Then she saw Ash's Father striding across the lawn. That's why.
Misty walks a little faster. "Sorry, Master."
"You better be!" Ash yells.
Then, when Misty had reached a certain spot, a few overseers tackle her and hold her to the ground. A skinny man, one who had that cross on his cheek, walks over to Misty's side and holds out a long iron rod that glowed orange at the tip. He turned it over and started to bring it down towards Misty's right cheek. The tip of the rod was shaped like a cross. It wasn't a giant scab, all the Christians were being branded. Misty could feel the heat as the scorching metal came closer and closer to her pale and sensitive skin. It finally touched and the pain began. Oh, did it hurt. Oh, did it burn! Misty screamed and closed her eyes, but then forced them to squint. She saw Ash among the overseers holding her down, clenching his whip with white knuckles, as if to hold back some kind of rage. Mama still stood in the corner, half of her face covered with her hands. Maybe she was just sad for Misty, or maybe she was just scared…knowing that she was next.
The iron comes off of Misty's cheek and the overseers let her go. She dares not touch it, but sits up and looks at Ash. "Sorry," he mouths to her and then points her to the door and to leave.
"That hurt." Misty tells her Mama about an hour later as she sits on her bed in their shack. "It burns when my tears fall across it."
"Mine too, sweetheart." Mama agrees. "Mine too."
"Master Ash said Sorry to me." Misty remembered.
Mama looks surprised. "He did?"
"Yes, Mama." Misty looked out the window to the setting sun. "He did."