I hope this letter finds you well; if it finds you at all. I do not know where I am, I do not know where to go, and I do not know when I will be back. I am in chains, lying on the hard ground of a large boat, stuffed next to other slaves. The atmosphere is so thick and stuffy, it is nearly impossible to breathe, much less without extraneous effort and wheezing. The stench is unbearable. Rotting bodies, molding foods and human waste fill my nostrils and enters my lungs in the worst possible way. How I got here, I do not fully understand. It is the year of seventeen hundred and eighty-nine. Previously, I was thought esteemed in Africa, with wealth and political power surrounding me. One day, large groups of strange white men invaded my humble
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And this was when we began to walk. Never before had I detested a walk as much as this. The men themselves were on horseback and had no trouble completing the journey. Us recently kidnapped “slaves” as we are now called, were forced to march over jagged rocks and devouring mud. At the sun’s highest and lowest points, we continued our trek. My feet have bled constantly and continuously, stopping only to scab and then bleed again. The excruciating pain causes every nerve in my body to jump in surprise, over and over. My breathing had become short and irregular, I fear for my lungs and heart. The other captives and I are not allowed to communicate, for fear a rebellion may occur. Our captors speak a strange language that I, nor anyone else can understand. However, they make themselves perfectly clear through lashings of the cat-o-nine tails whip, a whip made 9 pieces of leather, each one knotted at the end. The beating of the whip against one’s skin was biting and insufferable. Days had passed, weeks maybe… I have lost count of the sunrises and sunsets. My feet have become hard and calloused, as have my blisters and cuts. After walking and walking, one day we stopped. In front of my face was a huge body of water - I do not know what it is called, but I think it is what they call an “ocean”. It is so large and vast, there is no end. What were the strange white men going to do to us? Sitting close to the edge of the water was an enormous boat. To my horror, I began to see my companions Before being rudely shoved inside, I was able to read that the ship’s name was
And this was when we began to walk. Never before had I detested a walk as much as this. The men themselves were on horseback and had no trouble completing the journey. Us recently kidnapped “slaves” as we are now called, were forced to march over jagged rocks and devouring mud. At the sun’s highest and lowest points, we continued our trek. My feet have bled constantly and continuously, stopping only to scab and then bleed again. The excruciating pain causes every nerve in my body to jump in surprise, over and over. My breathing had become short and irregular, I fear for my lungs and heart. The other captives and I are not allowed to communicate, for fear a rebellion may occur. Our captors speak a strange language that I, nor anyone else can understand. However, they make themselves perfectly clear through lashings of the cat-o-nine tails whip, a whip made 9 pieces of leather, each one knotted at the end. The beating of the whip against one’s skin was biting and insufferable. Days had passed, weeks maybe… I have lost count of the sunrises and sunsets. My feet have become hard and calloused, as have my blisters and cuts. After walking and walking, one day we stopped. In front of my face was a huge body of water - I do not know what it is called, but I think it is what they call an “ocean”. It is so large and vast, there is no end. What were the strange white men going to do to us? Sitting close to the edge of the water was an enormous boat. To my horror, I began to see my companions Before being rudely shoved inside, I was able to read that the ship’s name was