In the first installment of our fictional drama based upon historical facts and events, Mitchell and Michelle were induced into a deep sleep by Aunt Daisy’s hypnotic voice and the mysterious and magical powers of her dream bed. With their mother looking upon her twins as they journeyed deeper and deeper into the realm of history and imagination, she was awestruck and very curious as to where their initial experience and journey in this shadowy realm of antiquity would land them. However, she was certain that in their experiences and journeys, they would be safe and would return unscathed and enlightened as she had done when she was a child many, many years ago.
When Mitchell and Michelle awakened from their sleep that had been induced upon them as they laid on Aunt Daisy’s dramatic dream bed, to their utter surprise, they were not upon it or at Aunt Daisy’s old house at all. The old bed, true to its magical nature and reputed powers, had transported them back in time – back to a village in Western Africa. In a truly amazing way, they discovered that they were members of this small village and could also speak the dialect of the tribe. Perhaps even more astounding, they knew their true identity before the dream bed had transported them there. As they struggled in their minds to adapt to their sudden and new reality, there was an uproar and much screaming in the village. Fierce warriors from a hostile tribe had invaded the village. This tribe was known for taking hostages and exchanging them to the White slavers for fake jewelry, whiskey, cheese, and anything else they considered valuable or usable. Like every other frightened person in the village, Mitchell and Michelle did everything within their power to elude the invaders who had come upon the village so abruptly. However, unlike the others who scurried to escape and avoid capture, the twins did not know the grave consequences of being apprehended by these warriors who had invaded the village. They were fierce and cruel in their attack and showed no mercy to anyone who tried to resist being captured. Many men of the village who tried to fight back were brutally slaughtered. Their savage slaying caused nearly everyone to quickly desist in their resistance and attempt to escape. They surrendered and submitted to both their abductors and the grave consequences that awaited them. Mitchell and Michelle, who were caught in the midst of this sad and regrettable episode of Black History that was unfolding on the continent of Africa, were at first dumbfounded at what was happening. How could they have known or suspected in their wildest dreams that they would be thrust back in time to an event that was a catalyst to the Black man being in America? Nevertheless, in spite of being in a very horrible fix, somehow they knew within themselves that they were going to be all right and were there temporarily for the experience. One of the mysterious powers of the dream bed was the power to instill an unshakable confidence in every one who was transported back in time, the assurance of knowing that they would awaken from their dream unscathed. The journey from the village to the seacoast, where slave ships waited to transport them across the sea to the New World, was long and grueling and many who were old and sickly perished along the way. They were given only enough water and unsavory food to survive. Being now in the hands of the White slavers, they dreaded to imagine what lie ahead as they were herded like cattle onto the ships.
The Middle Passage
If the long journey from the village to the coast was not grueling enough, the conditions they were in now in the belly of the ship were even more horrendous and indescribable. Like sardines in a can, they were packed in with no privacy and little ventilation. Mitchell and Michelle were petrified by the predicament they now found themselves in spite of knowing that they would be there only for a short time. The crying and screaming of their fellow captives were almost unbearable, especially the wailing of the children. The twins took comfort in the fact that they were experiencing this horrible episode of Black History together and not alone. Being a male and the older of the two, Mitchell tried to be strong to assure his sister that everything was going to be all right. To add injury to insult to these very unfortunate people who had been taken hostage by brutal and cruel slavers and crammed into the belly of the ship, the food they gave them was almost like slop meant for pigs and was difficult to eat. Those who refused to eat because they wanted to starve themselves to death rather than to be slaves were forced by a gadget that kept their mouths opened wide enough in order for the food to be pushed into it. Perhaps the most inhumanely degrading atrocity that the captives had to endure during the Middle Passage was the lack of privacy when it came time to urinate or defecate. Little buckets were positioned in various spots among the captives and those who had to have a discharge had no other alternative, but to use one without any privacy. Though they had been dehumanized and treated like livestock, they were able to retain their dignity and humanity in this hellish place. Respect was given to those who had to use one of the buckets. Every one would disregard them by either closing their eyes or looking in the opposite direction in this dungeon of the damned that reeked of urine and feces. An incident occurred on one occasion when the captives were brought from the belly of the ship to the topside in order to get a little exercise while some cleaning was done below. The captives would be unshackled from the long chains that connected them together and for a brief period with only ankle chains on, they could maneuver about a little. While Mitchell and Michelle were moving about as much as they could along with the others, they saw an awful sight. A few of the captives jumped over the ship’s railing into the cold and shark infested waters where certain death awaited them. These noble and proud warriors who had been taken hostage by a cruel enemy chose death by suicide rather than to live as slaves. While the slave ship sailed ever closer to its destination in America, the twins who had been set in this historical narrative by Aunt Daisy’s dramatic dream bed amidst all the brutality and cruelty wondered where their journey back in time would land them next. Having been personally introduced and involved in a few of the early events that help to shape the history of Blacks in America, they believed that they were somewhat ready for the next episode.
The Slave Market
As the dream bed had previously done with Mitchell and Michelle, while they were sound asleep amidst all the sorrow and stench of this purgatory, they were miraculously transported in time to experience and witness their next dramatic event in Black History. Almost in an instance, they found themselves at the Slave Market in Charleston, South Carolina. This place, where human beings were sold to the highest bidder, was arguably the most well-known slave market in America. Due to the fact of its strategic location on the Southern Atlantic coast, the harbor of Charleston was one of the most used by merchant ships from Europe, the Caribbean Islands, and West Indies. When the time came for these two time travelers, who were characters in the historical narrative to be sold to the highest bidder, once again there was an unseen power that exercised control over the fate of Mitchell and Michelle. When anyone who was bidding for them offered to buy one of them without the other, their offer was rejected to the bewilderment of both the bidder and auctioneer who was at a loss as to why he could not sell them individually. When the twins were finally sold to a plantation owner from North Carolina, they were quickly taken and put on a wagon with other Africans he had purchased. As they made the journey from Charleston to where they were headed in North Carolina, they cherished the comfort and companionship of one another. Their first two trips had been long and grueling, one by feet through the jungle to the shore and another by a slave ship from Africa to America across the Atlantic Ocean. On this journey to parts unknown to them, they had been granted the comfort of riding on a wagon that was pulled by a team of mules.
