Phoebe crept down the path toward the big house. The dirt road parted the grassy field. The white wood of the house was darkened by the night. The windows showed no signs of illumination. A set of columns stood proudly on both sides of the staircase. A sturdy balcony watched over the land.

Homer was hunched on a knee about twenty feet from the stairs. He rubbed his hands across a mound of dirt.

“Homer? What are you doing out so late?” asked Phoebe in a hushed voice.

Homer quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands. “Huh?”

Phoebe glanced at the patch of dirt.

“What are you doing out your quarters?” asked Homer. “Massa could wake up at any moment. He already gave you fair warning last week.”

“He ain’t go wake up.” Phoebe looked up. The North Star shone high, just left of the big house. A sliver of the crescent moon gleamed nearby. “I’ve been thinking—”

“Hey, now, look at me. Don’t go believing that ‘Big Dipper’ mess.”

“What else am I gonna do? Wait for Allah?”

“Massa ain’t been sleeping well the last few nights. He could wake up any moment and see you lookin’ at that sky like that. Then what?”

An orange light grew to life from an upper window of the house.

“Look at you, calling the Devil,” Phoebe said in her native tongue. She hurried down the dirt path and followed a trail to her designated quarters.

#

A tall, thick tree stood in the middle of the path, twenty feet in front of the big house. The branches were long, strong, jagged, and exposed. They reached out in many directions. One grew very close to the perfectly pristine balcony. The top of the tree reached higher than the big house, easy. The tree mocked over the house. The house sat sheepishly silent.

Master Davis stood next to the tree with his whip in hand.

Homer walked up the path with a group of nine slaves following behind him. Phoebe was amongst the solemn group. She walked next to Ben, an older slave of thirty-four years. As the group approached the tree, Ben slowed his pace.

“You’re losing one back there,” Master Davis said as he pointed at the trailing Ben.

Phoebe glanced back at Ben as she moved forward with the group. Homer waved for Ben to come up. As he timidly followed orders, Ben’s eyes never wavered from the tree.

When the group reached Master Davis, Ben walked over to the master’s side. They both faced the group.

“I don’t know how in God’s name y’all pulled this one off,” said Master Davis as he looked up and down the tree. “I bet your little brains think this real funny, huh?” The master used his whip to point at the tree. “I know you chimps love your trees, but my house will not become your jungle.”

“How did it get to this land?” Ben spoke to himself.

“What do you mean?” Phoebe asked Ben.

“What’s with all the ooh ooh ahh ahhs back there?” asked Master Davis. “Do we got a confession?”

“No, Massa. We don’t know how that got there,” said Phoebe.

“One of y’all negros must know something.”

The other slaves stood in silence and shook their heads.

“Whoever’s responsible better fess up by the end of the day because tomorrow, I’m not gonna be asking. In the meantime, which one of y’all baboons wanna start cutting this ol’ thing down.”

“Excuse me, Massa sir, but what if we keep it up for the day?” asked Homer.

“And why would I do that?”

Homer leaned into Master Davis’ ear and whispered. A smile grew across the face of Master Davis.

“Boy, you must be the smartest colored I’d ever met. God bless that quarter White ya got in ya,” said Master Davis with a hardy laugh. He straightened his smile and turned back to the group. “Y’all are dismissed now. You know where to go. And don’t forget,” Master Davis struck his whip in the air. “You got ‘till the end of the day.”

The slaves walked down the dirt path. Away from the master. Away from the big house. Away from the tree.

#

No clouds were present to impede the beaming rays of sunlight. Phoebe and Ben hunched over the tobacco plants with moist necks, backs, fronts, and foreheads. They each had a basket by their side half-filled with leaves. They were examined each leaf before plucking them off the plant, one by one.

“So… what were you saying about the tree earlier?” asked Phoebe.

“You stay away from that, ya hear?” Ben kept his focus on the crop.

“Why?”

Ben ripped out a leaf with considerable force. “The moon’s not coming tonight.”

Phoebe stepped back with a puzzled expression.

Homer walked up to Phoebe and grabbed her shoulder. I need to talk to you.”

Ben stood tall and stared at Homer. Homer returned the look with equal force.

Homer and Phoebe walked down the path of crops away from Ben’s earshot.

“You’re not gonna tell Massa, right?” asked Homer.

“It was you? How’d you get it to grow so fast? There wasn’t even a sapling last night.”

“I planted a duhu girma. It’s the first part of my plan to—”

“Duhu girma’s are real?Why the hell would you plant one here?”

“You believe in that North Star myth but not in your own heritage?”

“You’re insane.”

“This is our passage to freedom. This is what we all dream of.”

“We need to tear it down. Now.” Phoebe attempted to walk past Homer in the direction of the big house, but Homer grabbed her by the wrist and pulled back.

“Look, I don’t care if you want to be free or stay here, but you’re not chopping down that tree. Now go finish picking Massa’s crops.” Homer pushed Phoebe away.

#

Master Davis held his whip as he stood by the tree with Homer at his side.

Phoebe stood with the rest of the slaves, facing the two men.

Half of the sun sat under the horizon.

A noose hung still from one of the tree’s limbs.

“Now’s your last chance,” said Master Davis. “Don’t think I won’t be more than happy to give each and every one of y’all some good licks. You’re just hurting each other at this point.”

Ben’s mouth was agape as he looked back and forth between the tree and the setting sun.

Phoebe turned to Ben, then faced Master Davis. She stepped forward. “We need to cut down that tree.”

“Excuse me?” asked Master Davis.

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

Master Davis snapped his whip. The sound reverberated through the eardrums of each individual in attendance. “Get your Black ass over here!”

Phoebe walked with her shoulders back and her head high. She stopped half a foot in front of Master Davis’ face. “You need to listen to me. This tree—”

Master Davis swung his fist across Phoebe’s face. She collapsed to a knee. “You will address me as Master.” He swung his whip across her spine. It cut through her thin cloth of shirt and implanted in her back. She yelled out in pain.

“To have the nerve to come up to me like that.” Master Davis lifted the whip and struck her back again. A row of bees stung her all at once. Blood seeped from her body in a lined pattern.

“You lucky that body of yours got some purpose to it ‘cause I swear I’d hang you right now.” He pulled back the whip, then struck the same spot once more. Phoebe screeched louder. The welts rose off her skin. Red colored her back.

“Stop! You’re feeding it! You’re feeding it! The night is coming! Stop! The darkness grows!” yelled Ben.

The sun shone only a quarter above the horizon.

“Ben? Is that you volunteering I hear?” said Master Davis.

#

Ben’s body hung limp from the noose.

The last ray of sunlight fell under the Earth. There was no moon.

Homer breathed heavily as he looked at the night sky as a backdrop to Ben’s corpse.

Master Davis looked at the body with glee.

The other slaves had gone back to their quarters.

Phoebe laid on her knees at the feet of Master Davis. Her back was lacerated. She tugged on his pant leg. “Please, Massa, we need to cut it down. Please. You don’t understand.”

“Not this again; my arm’s getting tired,” said Master Davis. He kicked at her collar bone. “Go back to your quarters. I’m done with you for now. C’mon, Homer, let’s head in.”

“Wait, Massa, ain’t the sky pretty tonight? Let’s just stay out and admire it for a little while,” said Homer.

“Looks the same as it does every night. Don’t tell me you’re trying to see that North Polaris, boy. I already told you it don’t exist.”

“No, of course not.”

“Then let’s go. The days been long enough havin’ to deal with this whole mess.” Master Davis stepped over Phoebe and walked toward the staircase.

“Wait,” Phoebe cried out.

The branch of the tree that Ben hung from extended rapidly before spiking deep into the ground. Ben’s body thumped off the Earth. Master Davis stopped and turned around. Homer stood frozen. Phoebe willed herself up to a kneeling position.

Another arm of the tree accelerated toward the master. As he turned around to run, the jagged branch ran through his calf and pinned him to the ground. He pounded his fist against the Earth as he shrieked out in pain.

Phoebe moved as fast as she could and staggered into the big house. She hobbled through the foyer, then went into the kitchen. She swung open every cabinet and checked every pantry. The house shook around her. Master Davis’ screams came through the open door. She left the kitchen and entered the living room. An ax was mounted above the fireplace. She grabbed it and made her way back to the front door.

As Phoebe came out of the house, roots came from under the ground and dug up into the staircase. The roots pulled down on the stairs. Phoebe tumbled to the ground, dropping the ax. Phoebe crawled toward her weapon.

 Homer walked over and picked up the ax. Phoebe laid at his feet.

“Thank you,” said Homer. He walked over to the still screaming body of Master Davis.

More tree branches spiked the ground. Others struck the sides of the house. Many wrapped around the balcony. A few went higher, attempting to reach the stars.

“Homer, cut this thing off me,” requested Master Davis.

Homer lifted up the ax and aligned it with the master’s head. He gave a few practice swings, bringing the blade mere inches from the flesh. “Sorry, Massa. Don’t think I can do that.” As Homer pulled his ax back for the big swing, the tree’s arm bolted clean through his stomach. The ax fell to the ground. Homer’s body was held up by the strong wooden arm.

Phoebe crawled over to the ax. She used it to stand herself up and looked at Master Davis. He had grown tired of screaming. Tears ran down his face. Blood ran down his leg.

“Phoebe, please,” said Master Davis.

Phoebe struggled to lift up the ax. She used what strength she had left to hold it steady as she looked down at Master Davis. Her eyes were trained on his neck.

“Phoebe, please! I’m sorry! Please, don’t do this!” Master Davis screamed.

A branch extended out and moved like a train toward Phoebe’s heart. Phoebe looked up, took a step to the side, then chopped the living branch. See dropped the ax and walked away from Master Davis.

“Phoebe, I’m stuck. Please, let me go. You can’t just keep me here like this. Please. Please,” Master Davis begged. As Phoebe walked farther from the master, his screams of pain arose once more. The bellowing grew louder until silence abruptly took over.

Phoebe looked up. The North Star shone high, just left of the big house.

– DayVaughn McKnight