“You have to want something. Your daddy being killed is not the worst thing that can happen to a Black girl.” In her words, I found fear instead of comfort. With my daddy gone, the world had opened wide enough to swallow me. Its darkness reminded me Mama was the only person left on earth who loved me. “Then what is? Losing my mama?” She wrapped her arm around my waist and accepted my head against her shoulder. She smelled earthy, like grass and dry wind. “Never being free. Find your way. Wherever they send you, get him to write your papers. Get on a train. Nobody owns you unless you believe
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