The auctioneer stared at him.
“She belongs to you now.”
Joaquim looked at Benedita again.
“No,” he said quietly.
“She comes with me.”
It was a small difference in words.
But Benedita noticed.
And so did one other person standing at the edge of the crowd.
An elderly Black woman named Rosa.
She had been watching Benedita since the auction began.
As Joaquim and Benedita walked away, Rosa whispered something that nobody else heard.
“Girl…”
Benedita stopped.
Rosa’s eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t forget who you are.”
Benedita looked at her for several seconds.
Then she continued walking.
