THE SOUL OF BLACK LAND
Written by: Victor E. Moseley
Email: vemoseley@landcause.com
Blue Sky: vemoseley17.bsky.social
Instagram: vemo607
Season One:
Episode Five: ‘Acts Born of Direct Acts’
Prologue:
(Ahuudo feels different. He feels as if he has shed a layer of himself. Ahuudo has seen rattlesnakes do it. What is it called in the language of White men? He asks Dashurai who tells him it is called ‘molting’. There are mainly talks going on that Dashurai leads which cover many things. Dashurai only speaks of what is to come and tells the Colored men that what they just did they better be ready to keep doing it for as long as it takes. The looks on their faces says all Dashurai needs to hear without a word spoken back.
There will be no rest men he tells them. Dashurai tells them that they can do what they did before going back down South to save their women. They can ‘hold’ security for wagon trains. There will be many going West you can bet on that. More ‘portent’ things are bound to be the ‘case’ though. Trouble is likely to be the ‘way of life’ men for a long time to come. Still must do things to survive brothers. Now I have some ideas, but I have a plan we cooked up that is not hard to ‘know’. The Colored men are still listening and Dashurai fills then in.
Dashurai tells them that he has been a house nigger for the parents of Cleavur and Lissqui over the years. More out the Massa house than in it he says. All three of us figure we gone set ourselves up a home base in the middle of these lands and run a business. Now. I need everybody to listen cause this will feel wrong seeing how all of you just bought your freedom at the ‘altar’ of spilled blood. The boss has to be Lissqui and Cleavur. There is some bickering and rustling after that is said, so let’s lay it out and work it out.).
————————–Still No Free Man’s Land————————–
Ahuudo: Wait. Let’s hear Dashurai out now. He done put money in our pockets and women in our beds. Go on now Dashurai. Talk.
Dashurai: Okay man. Now this is how we have to work it. Seeing that it is still 1844 or close to it. Colored folks are still an endangered folk.
Ahuudo: Endangered?
Dashurai: Sorry fellas. We still can’t go freely around like White folks can. To go where these wagon trains are headed from we have to be smart. White folks, White business folks can go get the work for us.
Scatt: We then get money right?
Dashurai: The same thing will happen like the first wagon train and cattle run we made Scatt. The run when it’s over we get the rest of the money. Now. Here’s the risky part.
Ahuudo: Risky part?
Dashurai: We got to recruit men and women to help us. We don’t know them.
Ahuudo: We don’t know them like we know you. What you did for us.
Dashurai: So that means we won’t trust them. We can’t just trust them and the reason is because we do not know them like we know each other. Brothers. We got to be together on that ‘saying’.
Ahuudo: So you are saying that we are the only ones to trust.
Dashurai: That is what I’m saying. We won’t tolerate thieves brothers. So if anybody can’t be trusted. Then I say to you leave now and no hard feelings.
Ahuudo: You can’t ‘tolerate’ thieves?
Dashurai: Right. Trust brothers means that just like we went back with each of you to settle a score. We could’ve got killed too. Lissqui, Cleavur and I took a chance on you. If you want to work with us we get the same deal again. Every time.
Ahuudo: We got what you’re saying. We got to talk it out.
Dashurai: Okay. The Sun is going down in a few hours. Make up your mind or we go do this with someone else. Life is just starting in a lot of these places and the land is not plowed. This is your chance to keep going to sleep to having something and waking up the next day to having something.
Ahuudo: I know. Believe me. I know.
————————–To Work For A Life Is What Matters Now—————
(Ahuudo, Scatt, Brunde, Ted, Rackar, Methune, and Maar stick together and decide to join up with Lissqui, Cleavur and Dashurai. The Colored men decided to take up their cross and follow them. The only two that didn’t want to stick around were Jewan and Zunei. The younger two of course are feeling their way now and it looks better by themselves. Let’s see how quickly Jewan and Zunei bellies start to question their decisions.).
Dashurai: Don’t worry Ahuudo. The young are allowed to go off on their own with their bag of money. Let’s see how long before that bag they’re carrying starts to get lighter and their happy ‘spirits’ see less and less cheerful faces.
Ahuudo: Oh, you have seen this before?
Dashurai: Look at Lissqui. Ask yourself how many pretty faces like hers start to turn away the men when they suddenly can’t pay for service? Yeah. Even that kind of service.
Ahuudo: And here I thought there was always going to be a Massa bringing pig guts for us to clean and cook.
Dashurai: That’s funny. And right to the point. Know something right now brother. What you had to live through as a slave. Keep that shit burning in you. When your fire begins to go out. Light it again with all the slaves still slaves that don’t have what you got.
Ahuudo: Yeah. Doing things like running around with no fear of beatings is not something I could ever do. Now I watch out, but I don’t have it over me.
Dashurai: Let’s get started. We got six of your brothers. Let’s go tell Lissqui and Cleavur and get this business going.
Ahuudo: One ball of cotton at a time.
Dashurai: What?
Ahuudo: Just something I was told when it all was too much for me to bear. ‘Just pick one ball off the plant Ahuudo. Then pick another one. Keep doing that baby and you will be fine’.
Dashurai: ‘One act leads to another act leads to another act’. That’s what I was taught. See? We have something in common brother.
Epilogue:
(Lissqui and Cleavur has assured all three wagon trains they can secure their journey through the untamed lands to where they want to end up. Dashurai has 10 possible hired guns with 6 more waiting in the wind. This security business is getting off to a traveling start. The next part of the business will be pulling security for the wine and spirits that those shit kicker towns pot marked around the land seems to pop up everywhere overnight. Lissqui gives a ‘huff’ at Cleavur.
Cleavur tells his sister that she is not a nun and this country isn’t full of saints. It’s full of sinners and sinners pay better than saints.).