The next day, Julius did not go out to the fields. Obviously he was frightened that something would happen in his absence. Sarith behaved normally, even nicely. Not even a comment when she caught Mini-mini spelling a word. Although Sarith had understood well enough that Mini-mini was learning to read, she had said nothing. Julius could not understand this pleasantness, and really didn’t trust this whole Sarith thing, but saw that even the next day she was being friendly, and spoke kindly to Mini-mini.
Sarith asked for help with Eva now and then, because Mini-mini had so much more patience than Nicolette, and Eva was crying so much due to her cutting her teeth. Julius decided that Sarith had chosen to make the best of a bad job, and wasn’t so worried any more. He went out to the fields again the next day. The moment he was gone, Sarith went into the office, closed the door, and began to look for the papers.
When, seven years earlier, she had come to live at Klein Paradijs, her stepfather had given Kwasiba’s deeds of ownership to Julius. That was it! There was written that the slavegirl Kwasiba had been bought by Jacob A’haron, owner of the Bethel Plantation. At the foot of the sheet there was a note of the children born to this Kwasiba: Caro, born in 1747; Kwassi, born 1749, died 1749; Mini-mini, born 1750.
She hid the paper in her room. For the rest, in the days that followed she was extra kind to Jethro and nice to Mini-mini, and went out of her way to talk to Julius. Then, one afternoon, she said that she would like to go to town in a few days’ time, but this time Jethro would have to go along, because she had promised Esther and Rebecca to bring him. They wanted to hold a party for all the family’s children, and Esther, especially, was of the opinion that Jethro should see more of his cousins now that he was older. Julius had no objections.
“Of course, Mini-mini must come along in that case,” said Sarith. “Jethro can’t manage without her.”
Me too, thought Julius, but he couldn’t say that, and said only, “Don’t make it too long, no more than a week. Jethro needs to carry on with his lessons.”
Before lunch of the third day after that, Sarith had installed herself, with children and slave-girls, in the De Ledesmas’ home on the Saramaccastraat, and after the afternoon rest period she got ready to go out. She told no-one where she was going and took none of her own slave-girls with her, but one of her sister’s errand boys walked along behind her. At the stock exchange, where almost all the gentlemen gathered after the afternoon break and where the necessary negotiations, buying and selling took place, she sent the errand boy inside with the message that she wished to speak with Mr Beunekom. Ladies never entered the stock exchange.
When Mr Beunekom came outside and found this lady waiting for him, the thought crossed his mind that it must be something serious to have brought her all this way just to speak to him. She told him that she had a slave-girl for sale: an expensive one, a mulatto. Beunekom would have to collect her himself that same evening, from the Saramaccastraat. The price was not relevant: Beunekom could fix that himself.
That evening Sarith waited for him and led him to the grounds behind the house where the slave quarters were. The door opened and Mini-mini saw the misi standing there in the light of a lamp that was held up high by an errand boy. Next to her stood an obnoxious, fat man with protruding belly. She saw the raunchy expression on his face, and the misi said, “You must go along with this masra!”247
Mini-mini’s knees knocked as she stood up. No further words were necessary. She knew what was going to happen to her.
When he awoke the next morning, Jethro found Nicolette, not Mini-mini, next to his bed. “Where’s Mini-mini?” he asked.
“Mini-mini isn’t here,”248 answered Nicolette.
“Go away,”249 cried Jethro. “I want Mini-mini,” and then louder, “Mini-mini,” but there was no answer. Again he yelled, “Mini-mini.”
“She isn’t here,”250 Nicolette repeated.
Jethro jumped out of bed and ran barefoot downstairs and out to the slave quarters in the grounds. He thrust open the door of the hut where Mini-mini always slept, and called out again and again, “Mini-mini!”
One of the other slave-girls said gently, “She’s not here, little masra, she’s not here; she’s gone away.”251
Jethro simply did not understand. Mini-mini was always around, wasn’t she? He went back into the house, up the stairs and into his mother’s room, and shouted to Sarith, who was still in bed, “Mama, where is Mini-mini? Akuba says that she has gone away.”
“Yes, she’s left, and she won’t be coming back. Have Nicolette help you.”