"Place your bids! Make me an offer!"
I heard this line of speech far too often, especially since we were in a small town outside of Williamsburg. Today was the first Saturday of the month, slave day. My father, Master more like, only wanted money. Even if it meant renting out his children. My siblings and I were in the front yard. Master Father's yard was set up like a market for animals. There were four raised platforms with a fence and a gate around it. Each one had enough space for three people, other than the slave, to come and examine us. On the side of Master Father's house were stables, capable of holding ten horses, but they were not used as horse stables. I slept in one stable with Carlin, my three-year-old sister. Eula, my six-year-old sister, and Jedediah, my five-year-old brother slept in one too. Daric, my nine-year-old brother slept by himself in another. The other seven stables were for cows. We only slept in these for one week a month. There was only hay in the stalls, which made us itchy. But after a while, you get used to it. I had made Carlin a small quilt for her to sleep with so she would be more comfortable. I wish we were in those itchy "beds" instead of on these platforms. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Bennet were examining me, not looking at Carlin.
"What about the little one?" said Mr. Bennet's wife.
"I don't know," Mr. Bennet replied, looking like he had no idea what Mrs. Bennet had said.
Mr. Johnson kept circling me. Mr. Bennet had now taken an interest in my feet, for some reason. His wife was reading the sign that said our ages and a list of things we can do. She looked like she was about to make a decision.
"I want them," she said determinedly.
"Ok," Mr. Bennet answered without looking at her.
Momma always said that was a sign they were rude. Mrs. Bennet wrote her name and how much she bid on the paper Master Father had pinned to the platform. I was upset Mr. Bennet did not do it himself. He always gave me a weird feeling. Mr. Johnson got down and put his bid on the paper. Mrs. Bennet did not come back to the platform, she left to go chat with the other wives. When it was time to go to our renters for the month, Daric and Jedediah were rented to Mr. Tin, Eula to Mr. and Mrs. Reed, and me and Carlin to Mr. Johnson. Mrs. Bennet was upset when she heard this, but she didn't protest too much. I was glad to not have to spend three weeks with Mr. Bennet.
Mr. Johnson had a small carriage that he rode in. Carlin rode in the carriage with him and I walked behind it. I like walking. It was just me and nature. I usually had someone with me. Most times Carlin was clutching to my skirt. Every time we are together, Eula and Jedediah are always by my side and Daric was usually helping me with something or carrying something behind me. I liked having them with me, but being by myself was special. I noticed the sky was blue with perfectly white clouds. Mr. Johnson was talking to Carlin about his genealogy. I was sure she did not understand a thing, but it was nice that he was talking to her. When Mr. Johnson said something about his mother, I thought of Momma. I remembered what she had said to me before she was taken away from me. "Run. Run on the freedom journey." They sold Momma when Carlin was still just a baby. She wore a sign around her neck that just said her age and her skills. No name. The man who bought Momma did not want the baby, so Master Father kept Carlin and handed her to me. I never wanted to be separated. I never wanted to feel that pain again. So I decided I was gonna follow Momma's advice. I was gonna run. Tonight.
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The Freedom Journey is a book I wrote when I was 11yrs old. I have not been able to publish it yet, so we are going to publish it here, one chapter at a time. You can see the difference in my writing skills from then to now, but I am still proud of what I wrote back then and I wanted to share it with you.
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