" Mashgad!" Diana calls out, banging on the door. Few minutes later, the door was opened. Tema was shocked to see Diana standing there.
" Milady! What a surprise! Why have you come here?" Tema asked surprised.
It was out of character for the master's children to visit the slave quarters. Seeing Diana standing in front of her door step, she was surprised.
" Hi Auntie, where is Mashgad? He promised to take me out today." She said in excitement, clapping her hands.
Wait a second, did she just call me Auntie? Tema questions herself. She was a mare slave, why will she call her Auntie.
" pardon my manners, auntie. Nandi!" She greeted with her head down. Tema couldn't answer her greetings, she was too shock at the moment. Was this a dream, or was she going blind? It is not done anywhere. A white will never greet a black. They treated them like invisible beings. The sight of them, irritates the whites. They were treated like a curse.
After staring for a while, Tema spoke.
" Milady, I...I hope there is no problem?" She stuttered.
" No Auntie! is he in?" She asked. Tema replied with a nod.
" He is sleeping..."
" I will go and call him myself." She said interupting Tema. Without hesitation, Diana ran inside the house. Tema tried to stop her but she was too slow.
" I don't want any trouble." Tema mutters under her breath.
" Mashgad! Wake up! why are you sleeping in the middle of the afternoon." Diana reprimanded. She nudged his shoulder repeatedly.
Mashgad peeled his eyes open, he squints trying to adjust to the sunlight.
" Diana!" He murmured, trying to get out of bed.
" You promised to take me out today, and here you are taking a nap." She nudged his shoulder again.
" I'm sorry... Diana" He said in-between a yawn.
" That's it! Get up now or I will drag you from the bed." She threatened. Diana was a no- nonsense kind of person. When she said she would drag him, she actually meant it.
Seeing the expression on her face, he stood up from the bed without hesitation.
" Good boy!" Diana praised tapping on his shoulder. " Where are we going to, Mashgad?" She asked, with her eyes filled expectation.
" I told you it's a secret. So I can't tell you until we get there. It will be fun I promise." He said with a smile on his face.
Seeing the grin on his face, Diana rolls her eyes. " Enough talking, let's go already. It better be worth my time, else you will wash my boots for a month." She said jokingly.
" I promise you'll like it." Mashgad reassured her.
Tema watched from a close distance. She couldn't believe her eyes, Her Master's daughter is friends with her son. Seeing Diana earlier, she thought she was here to make trouble, She was surprised that the duo were actually friends. She watched as Diana helped him pick a shirt. Both kids laughed and chat about everything.
" Let's go Mashgad." Diana said holding Mashgad's hand in her's.
Seeing them from where she was hiding behind a shelf, a warm smile appeared on her face.
" They looked like a couple." Tema whispered to herself. Although Diana was five years older than Mashgad, there were of the same height. Mashgad was way taller than children of his age. A thought crossed Tema's mind, immediately the smile on her face disappeared. This time, she had a sad expression on.
" How I wish that both colored and white could hold hands together like this in public one day. When will they accept us and treat us like equals. When will they allow us to eat from the same plate, when will a white be allowed to marry a colored person." She questioned herself.
Looking at those kids holding hands created a picture in her mind, when the colored and white live together as equals. But that can only happen in her dreams and not in reality. She shifts her eyes to Mashgad, tears rolled down her cheeks. She feared the child in front of her will face a lot of difficulty in the future. Their kind could only dream of a life more than a slave. But in reality, it was their fate.