Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered

203/260it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding across nothingnesswith the whole round world in his hands.A big burst of thunder and lightning that trampled over the roof ofthe house. So Tea Cake and Motor stopped playing. Motor looked upin his angel-looking way and said, “Big Massa draw him chairupstairs.”“Ah’m glad y’all stop dat crap-shootin’ even if it wasn’t for money,”Janie said. “Ole Massa is doin’ His work now. Us oughta keep quiet.”They huddled closer and stared at the door. They just didn’t useanother part of their bodies, and they didn’t look at anything but thedoor. The time was past for asking the white folks what to look forthrough that door. Six eyes were questioning God.Through the screaming wind they heard things crashing and thingshurtling and dashing with unbelievable velocity. A baby rabbit, terrorridden, squirmed through a hole in the floor and squatted off there inthe shadows against the wall, seeming to know that nobody wanted itsflesh at such a time. And the lake got madder and madder with only itsdikes between them and him.In a little wind-lull, Tea Cake touched Janie and said, “Ah reckonyou wish now you had of stayed in yo’ big house ’way from such as dis,don’t yuh?”“Naw.”“Naw?”“Yeah, naw. People don’t die till dey time come nohow, don’t keerwhere you at. Ah’m wid mah husband in uh storm, dat’s all.”