The window was a one-way mirror; those outside could see in, but all Erika could see was darkness. At home, they kept the blinds drawn at this time of night.
Outside that window was the back yard of the little house, and Gloria’s garden, an echo of her grandparents’ farm. Erika’s mother managed fine with a back porch and balcony garden, the plants tethered to stakes, the soil carefully manured in trays. Once upon a time, Erika’s mother’s people had been serfs bound to the red and black soils of the South. Once upon a time, time out of mind, they had been potters and metal-workers and craftspeople in the Mother Continent.
Six Sentence Sunday excerpts from Erika and the Vampire continue in the month of July. Look for more discussion and reviews of the New Vampire Story (the vampire genre post-Twilight).
E. P. Beaumont 
Surprisingly, this made much more sense to me after reading your previous post–I had not until that time realized that Erika was African-American, in which case her mother’s repudiation of plants growing untidily in the ground equated to repudiation of the period of slavery. One comment: the time on the mother continent does not at first come through as farther back in time than the time in the South, in spite of the “time out of mind.” Some rewording is needed.
I like the way you use the phrase “once upon a time” in this. Normally that’s a very dreamy, positive phrase, and here it’s remembering harder times. Nicely done.
Mother continent would be Africa I would guess. Very visual scene.
You’re always so good at saying so much with so little words. It’s the same for this snippet. You get something new, or more in depth with each read.
love the echo of her grandparents’ farm! nice six!
This is nice. Remembering family stories of hard hard times told in a period of safety – I suppose they must seem like tales from Grimm. the brief description of the little garden makes Erica’s mother sound very caring.