Freedom Rings: The Breath of Life

By Desiree Lane

Desiree Lane is abused for a long time. The abuse is overlooked and covered up by her family. She grows to resent her mother and attempts to establish a relationship with her long distance father. The story goes deeply into the dynamic established between her paternal father and she. He is quite the elderly statesman and she the gullible precocious youth that is always easily placated. After her successes and effervescent failures result in legal troubles; she returns home to find the root of the perceptible and insurmountable pitfalls to adulthood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Desiree Lane
• Release date: Nov 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465724212

Desiree Lane

Desiree Lane Dixon grew up in the south and spent her summers in Selma, AL. She was the middle child in a large family. It was said that she suffered from the middle child syndrome and would certainly strive for individuality. Her creativity inspired her to begin sketching short stories, poems, and novella’s. She was inspired to write a semi-autobiographical series of novella’s entitled Freedom Rings. The content of the book is meant to establish an open dialogue about various geo-political, socio-economic, and psycho-social factors that impact the African American Diaspora and various cultures and ethnicities. As an undergraduate student she has excelled in literary talent. Desiree Lane is currently pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education . Stay tuned for the final chapter of Freedom Rings. She has written several short stories and amongst her published works are the Freedom Rings Anthology. Look forward to her upcoming installments to this series of novellas.

Book preview

Volume 1

A Young Woman’s Journey Into Adulthood

Chapter 1

Anastasia Returns Home

Anastasia Marie Scott, what in the devil is you doing here? I shook my head in bewilderment. Using the element of surprise has always been pleasurable to me. The tall gangly teenager gawked for several moments. I am here to see you and auntie Drea, I stated plaintively. Well, I will tell her that you are here, she replied before reaching to embrace me. It was a stiff and awkward moment that left me with the bitter taste of unwanted affection. My aunt Drea’s head was adorned in a cloud of silver.

She had long since relinquished her daily maintenance regimen of grooming it. The kinky hair was matted into long slender dreadlocks that cascaded to her waist. This woman had used her ancient wisdom to provide for three generations of the Scott family. She was an aunt, midwife, cook, and she helped us to farm. Our plantation was nearest to the Dixon’s, a family renowned for having fame and fortune. Aunt Drea helped to birth many of the children and farm animals over the last fifty decades. She was the eldest member of our family. My Uncle Derrick was a plastic surgeon and had a prestigious practice in Chicago. He was infamous for his late night romps with women of ill repute but Aunt Drea loved him dearly.

Her posture was stooped and she now needed the assistance of a cane. The murder of her niece had taken a toll on her. The stiff lines that formed a circle around her mouth softened as she attempted to smile. The cracked teeth were reminiscent of the chipped china glasses that were displayed in the corner hutch. Maple furnishings adorned the living space and the Spartan tattered carpet had seen better days. The wood floors were covered in soot from the decrepit fireplace that puffed plumes of smoke in the middle of the kitchen. Aunt Drea’s coughs racked her body as she attempted to speak. I motioned for her to come closer so that I would be able to interpret her garbled speech. Tears dampened her face and rolled haphazardly down her cheeks. She brushed them away carelessly. Are you hungry, Baby, she croaked. I nervously shook my head. Thoughts were circling through my head and I struggled to comprehend the travesty that had plagued her.

Chapter 2

The Battered Wife

Bethany was coming in after having finished her chores in the fields and had been eagerly anticipating my arrival. Her abrupt arrival was punctuated by squeals of glee. Meme, she squealed. When did you get here? She said, Did y’all here what happened to Sasha, she beseeched me imploringly with her eyes. I shook my head and asked her to wait while I prepared beverages for the both of them.

Tammy had disappeared; the gangly teen-ager was rapt with conversation with someone when I had arrived more than two hours earlier. She had made a quick departure shortly after presenting me to my elderly aunt. Her friends were an assortment of jobless high school graduates and undergraduates that desperately wanted to fit in with the older youths. The wayward teenagers were not typically any trouble but, lately I began to have suspicions that they were becoming sexually active.

Bethany’s excitement at seeing me was short lived however, as she too began to grasp the severity of the situation. She had been struggling to raise her toddlers after their father had abandoned them in the months prior to my arrival. She was optimistic about finishing school and beginning Community College. The recent events had left her with the stark realization that her futile struggles may be getting tougher. This life on the farm was burdensome and tedious. Nursing was a profession that now required licensure and she was no longer able to keep her apprenticeship at the hospital. The hospital’s new administration agreed to severance pay. They would require that she pass the state board’s examination before returning to work. Suddenly out of work and with little savings she was desperate for marriage. The seemingly loving and doting fiancé’ that had once adored her was now becoming a belligerent tyrant. His frustrations about money became the crux of many arguments and fights. He was short-tempered and was prone to violent acts of rage.

The children were often used as body shields from the terrible blows that he would certainly inflict upon the woman. Later, after he had become inebriated, he would desire her but; his affections were unwanted at that time. He would scoff at her feeble attempts to resist him and became forceful to fulfill his desire to have her. The date rape scenario would carry itself out repeatedly for almost a calendar year. It ended when she intercepted a late night phone call from a strange man about an equally strange woman that he had been co-mingling. After learning that she had contracted an STD and it meant that, the affair was beginning to get out of control. The realization that the relationship was over meant that she had relief from her tormenter. He had also left Bethanny’s children scarred by grief. She needed to be freed from this abusive affair while admonishing herself that fornication was sin.

Jimmy Crack Jones was a womanizing, two-timing, dope-pushing, hustler from Atlanta, GA. He was smooth talking just like his smooth car, and smooth clothes. His hair was smooth and he was slick like grease lightening. Jimmy was smooth. Who would think that a country girl like Bethany would not turn his head at all? Moreover, she did not. He showed up into town and people did not know what to think. The gaudy hair styled into roller sets and flamboyancy was a tad bit overwhelming. He graciously accepted an invitation to church that is where they met and courted. He insisted that the Lord was his redeemer but he refused to marry Bethany. He became adamant about them living together when she became pregnant but the public shame had humbled him to that point. To him infidelity was a viable alternative to the common law union.

Bethany was breathless when she breezed into the home. I gave her an opportunity to rest her haunches on the tattered sofa while I prepared the cold drinks

Chapter 3

Down In the Delta

The lifestyle of country Mississippi delta people was quite simplistic. We all ate and worked together and lived in shotgun style homes. The family would pile into these single room dwellings and nudity was not something to be observed. It was one of the minor nuances of living in an impoverished dwelling. Women were treated fairly when they showed the men how to respect them. It was not uncommon for women to have to fend off an unwanted assailant whether, it be a robber or rapist. We lived off the land so therefore, we would do anything necessary to preserve it. Legislation was instituted to make city people start the campaign to ‘Go Green’. In the country we are always ‘Going Green’ and instead of paying top dollar for organic items that we invented, we just omitted the term from our vocabulary.

Yet, I digress. The commonalities that bonded us all together were ultimately undermined by contingencies heralded by inadequate healthcare and a sluggardly economy. There had been what I quantify as essentially, a major underpinning in overhauling our cities infrastructure to become an equitable governing body. Which resulted in the ramifications of newly drafted legislation, which had been forthcoming and may not have the impact that many in our community expected? With a laggard economy also came the inevitable poor academic standings and low ranking academic institutions. Which would mean women like Bethany would subsist upon the meager allowances that had become the hallmark of single mothers, the dreaded Welfare system.

Hello, Bethany, my dear. All is well I hope, said I. Hopefully my voice reflected the appropriateness of the occasion and not the inner wrangling of a woman that was wrought with grief. As was I. Me Me, we are elated that you have come on such short notice, Bethany explained, Aunt Drea is not well and she has requested your presence. I thought that you would call, at least. Nevertheless, it is good that you have come. Tammy must have gone to town to tell everybody that you are here. I am sure that was she that I saw chatting with Jimmy on my way here. He must have been on his way to pick the children up from school because he is usually not on this side of town unless he is visiting with the children, Bethany said. I nodded my head in agreement, as she continued her bitter ramblings. Obviously, there were still some disagreements about the nature of her visitations with the school age children. Perhaps, Jimmy was becoming less of the father that she expected.

Shortly after the initial separation, he left the family with the other woman. They had briefly relocated to Birmingham only to discover that her lasciviousness was becoming habitual. Eventually, she met a radio broadcaster and began another illustrious affair. She left Jimmy, a heartbroken pup, to trail his way back home to his beleaguered ex-mate. She had trained the man to beg, borrow, and steal to finance her endeavors. She fancied lavish expenditures while he unwittingly was the lackey. She levied her career as a female ‘gigolo’, into the largest acquisition yet. A new corporate building housed several of Forbes’s lists’ clients. She no longer respected Jimmy Crack, anymore and left him penniless. I cannot say that anyone deserved a worse fate.

The quizzical expression on Bethany’s face was almost comical in lieu of the recent events that had taken place between the two. It left me with the distinct impression that she had not been completely candid about the nature of her relationship with the father of her children. I would be sure to follow up with her later in regards to that. There were more pressing matters at hand as it were.

What happened to my first cousin, Bethany, I stated, "Is going to tear this family apart. You are going to need to be strong for this family." I did not want to elaborate any further because I knew that she was sensitive about, Jimmy. It would not be appropriate for me to emphasize the foolishness nature of the heart for that matter. She would later hear it from the pastor whose wife was the newspaper editor. Nothing happened in the town that was kept a secret for very long.

Chapter 4

Sasha’s Last Show

Sasha Laura Anne was a beautiful fair-skinned woman. Her width was as dynamic as her height and you would hear the depth of her laughter anywhere you were in the room. She had a very boisterous nature and was always cheerful. People gravitated to her bubbly personality and became immediate friends when they met her. The life of a burlesque dancer was hard for Sasha and she was known to visit the local bars. It just so happened that this was the first place that anyone in town had known Jimmy ‘Crack’ to show his face. Jimmy was Sasha’s friend and then he became her road manager. The life of singing and dancing on the road became difficult and eventually she used became addicted to crack. Jimmy himself took no responsibility for this however, and became a devout Christian in lieu of her declining health.

Sasha had been diagnosed with cancer. She had not yet informed the family. It was said that she suffered greatly in her last days. The fact that no one was by her side when she expired was troublesome to me but these were my innermost thoughts that I would not share with anyone. Before Sasha