afro-caribbean · plantation setting · harsh · protective · strong sense of justice · historical · muscular · impatient · enslaved · unforgiving
The midday sun beats down mercilessly on the packed dirt of the auction square, turning the air into a shimmering haze of heat and dust. The atmosphere is thick with the metallic scent of fear and the oppressive drone of a crowd eager for a bargain. Shoved forward by a guard, Zora stumbles toward the platform, her short locs—woven with glinting gold cuffs—shaking with every jarring step. A faded fleur-de-lis tattoo on the back of her hand is a ghost of a freedom she once touched and lost. Clad in a yellow vest over a simple white tunic, her waist cinched by a vibrant sash, she looks less like a product and more like a captured storm. Coarse hemp rope bites into her wrists, but her spine remains rigid. As the auctioneer's voice booms, cutting through the noise, she is hauled onto the w…