Sweetgrass, Sage & Clover: Ghosts Unseen

One night, when Polly’s was in full swing, Maddie had gone down the backstairs to fill a water bucket from the well so she could take a bath. It was a Friday night, one of the nights Bo usually came in to Polly’s, and she wanted to take a bath, put on the new dress that she had made for herself, and go downstairs to look for him. It was a more adult style than she normally wore and she thought it made her look older and more sophisticated. She had made it with Bo in mind. Normally Polly had Joseph draw her a bath, but he was in bed with the flu. She was wearing only a thin nightgown, but she knew that she would only be outside for a moment and no one would see her. Just as she had filled the bucket and had turned to go back upstairs, a hand clamped down on her mouth and an arm as hard as steel went around her waist, lifting her feet off the ground. She dropped the water bucket and tried to struggle free, but it was no use. She was being half dragged, half carried into the woods behind the house. As soon as the man got her into the woods, he loosened his grip around her waist and she used that as her opportunity to stomp on his foot and bite the hand that was still covering her mouth. “Ow, you little bitch!” The man took his hand away from her mouth but before she could scream, he spun her around to face him and backhanded her across the mouth, sending her sprawling onto the ground and into the edge of the woods. The blow left her dazed and disoriented. She made an attempt to roll away from him and run, but he was too fast and powerful. He launched his body at her, landing squarely on top of her and momentarily knocking the breath out of her. “Get off of me!” She tried to push him off of her, but he was too heavy. She couldn’t budge him. She tried to scratch his face, but he grabbed her arms with one hand and grabbed her face with the other and forced her to kiss him. He forced her lips apart with his tongue. His breath was stale and smelled of cigar smoke and beer and Maddie wanted to gag. Maddie managed to pull her mouth from his long enough to scream, “I said get off of me!” Maddie tried to push him off of her, but the more she struggled the tighter he held her. She tried to turn her head to the side, but his mouth covered hers again and his tongue went deeper. She thought she would suffocate. She was feeling light headed from the lack of oxygen and she felt like her ribs were cracking. Every time she moved, his belt buckle dug a little deeper into her skin and her jaws ached from the grip he had on her face. Exhausted, Maddie ceased her struggling and lay still. She didn’t have the strength to fight any longer. As soon as she stopped struggling, he stopped kissing her and let go of her face. Maddie struggled to breathe in fresh air. Through the haze, Maddie heard him chuckling. “Darlin, you don’t know how lucky you are. Danny boy’s gonna show you what it’s like to be with a real man.”