GirlChild – Matory, Morenike’

Gentry wasn’t too happy with me and he sure as hell isn’t pleased with you right now.” “What did you say to him?” “I said he would be spending a lot of time visiting New York with us keeping the baby and all. He thinks you’re trying to take her away from him. And he called me a buckra, what the hell is that?” “A buckra is a white man.”

“Why didn’t you tell your family I was white? Are you ashamed of me or something?” “Of course not! I just didn’t think it was a big deal.” “Well, from what I’m gathering, in your culture it’s a pretty big fucking deal. You should have been more forthcoming.” “I know. I’m sorry, David. I just don’t know how to face my family sometimes.” “Gentry almost choked me out last night. You need to speak with him. He needs to know your intentions.”

“What intentions? Everything is ruined now. There’s no way he’s going to let me move GirlChild to New York when she’s of age.” “Stop calling her that, call her something else. I cringe every time I hear it.” “GirlChild? It’s her name David. Get used to it.” “You should discuss changing it when you talk to Gentry.

How will she ever get a job with a name like that?” Sparrow was growing agitated although David was right. She needed to speak with Gentry to make her intentions known and clear the air. Gentry would have to see the bigger picture. GirlChild would have a better future in New York, and it wasn’t too late to change her name, she wasn’t even a month old yet. It wasn’t like she answered to the name.

“I’ll talk to him.” They spent the afternoon laying around watching tv. David was in and out of sleep, trying to get rid of his hangover. Sparrow called Duck and asked him to pick her up and drop her off at the restaurant. She needed to get out of the stuffy hotel room and talk to Isata.

She felt like the room was closing in on her. Duck arrived an hour later. David stayed behind to get some more rest.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise except as permit- ted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 International Copyright Act, without the prior written permis- sion except in brief quotations embodies in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to action persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Written by Morenike’ Cover & Interior Design by David Provolo For information, contact: [email protected] First Edition ISBN 13: 979-8-218-46249-9 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Control Number: 2024913057 Morenike’ OceanofPDF.com This book is dedicated to my dear uncle, Lee Matory; thank you for all of your wisdom.

OceanofPDF.com Chapter 1 Spring 1987 Huguenot Island, South Carolina As the sun set over Huguenot Island, the ancestors of the Singleton family be- gan to gather on the lowest sitting cloud over the Singleton house. Winter, the youngest ancestor, found a place to rest first. She was always anxious when din- ner time in the Singleton household commenced.

Winter died in 1968 in the Orangeburg Massacre. At the age of 21, she had not yet had the chance to en- joy a full life or raise a family of her own. When God summoned her and pre- sented the opportunity to stay in limbo and watch over and guide Isata and Isaac, Winter jumped at the chance to live out a new purpose. Little did Winter know; she would sit on a council with other ancestors. Either God left out so many details in her assignment or she was so thrilled to stay behind that she had not paid much attention.

There were so many rules to follow and un- fortunately, she learned all of them the hard way. “Moobe obuh gal-chile. Yuh uh is.” Winter rolled her eyes and made space for Stepney Singleton. He was head ancestor and the council followed his every command. Stepney was the first and oldest ancestor chosen by God to guide the Singleton family.

He died in 1739 during the Stono Slave Revolt and he never let a chance pass to remind Winter that he was in charge. Winter quickly learned that because Isaac was the head of household, the male ancestor always took lead. Stepney was head strong and had a direct line to God. Sibby was second in command to Stepney.

She died in 1822 during the Denmark Vesey Slave Rebellion. Sibby also had a direct line to God but she believed in order and she and Stepney worked in perfect harmony. They trusted one another and had successfully guided Isaac and Isata since their union. Even when the coun- cil grew with Thunder, Moon, and Arrow when Isaac and Isata started having children, Stepney and Sibby still led with no issues.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “GirlChild” by Matory, Morenike’, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: b352d8939a8f4325
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 3,964,350 bytes (3.781 MB)
• Title: GirlChild
• Author: Matory, Morenike’
• ISBN: 9798218462499
• Pages: 163
• Language: English (en)
• Digital Edition Created: 2026-03-09T12:21:58+00:00

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 264.31 minutes
• Total Words: 52,863
• Total Characters: 288,069
• Average Words per Page: 324.31
• Average Characters per Page: 1767.29

Most Frequent Words

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Table of Contents

• Page 5: Chapter 1
• Page 13: Chapter 2
• Page 17: Chapter 3
• Page 22: Chapter 4
• Page 25: Chapter 5
• Page 30: Chapter 6
• Page 37: Chapter 7
• Page 45: Chapter 8
• Page 51: Chapter 9
• Page 57: Chapter 10
• Page 64: Chapter 11
• Page 70: Chapter 12
• Page 77: Chapter 13
• Page 84: Chapter 14
• Page 93: Chapter 15
• Page 100: Chapter 16
• Page 107: Chapter 17
• Page 113: Chapter 18
• Page 120: Chapter 19
• Page 128: Chapter 20
• Page 135: Chapter 21
• Page 142: Chapter 22
• Page 149: Chapter 23
• Page 155: Chapter 24

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