I did not have a full plan yet, but I knew I had to leave. I thought about plans while I worked through out the day on Mr. Johnson's farm. Mr. Johnson had an indentured servant from Germany whose specialty was cooking. Since she did all the cooking, I had more time to focus on my plan. Though she was always late for work and left early, she was hard-working. Carlin did the dishes and helped serve dinner. Once we were done, I put her to sleep so I could think some more. I thought of plans that would fail, and then I rethought new ones that would also fail. But I eventually came up with a plan that I thought would work.
I snuck into the kitchen and got five spoons. I put a few tomato seeds in their place. I had borrowed the seeds from Master Father's garden. I labored for them and felt that I'd earned them. I exchanged these for the spoons since I knew it is wrong to steal. I went to the linen closet and took five thin sheets in exchange for more seeds. There were some bags in the closet, usually used for tomatoes. I rolled the sheets tightly and tucked them in the bottom of the bags. I hid them in my quarters and then went outside to gather some essentials. I collected some willow bark and other herbs, nature's medicine, along with a few turnips and put them in a small pail that I found by the barn. I brought them inside, being as quiet as possible. The next part of my plan was a bit risky, but I had to try. I snuck over to Master Father's house. It wasn't too far to walk, and I knew the path quite well, having walked it many times. I snuck around back where the cows slept. There was a small privy that was only for us slaves to use. Three Momma-sized feet away from the privy was as buried treasure. I dug a hole to get to the treasure: five small corn dolls Momma had made. It may not seem like a treasure to some, but to us, it was all we had left of Momma. We hid them so Master Father would not take them. My breath was heavy and my hands were shaking but I worked quickly. I ran back to Mr. Johnson's house and quickly put the corn dolls into each tomato bag and put Carlin's dress and her shabby quilt I'd made her into one of the bags. I left Carlin sleeping for now and left Mr. Johnson's house without a sound.
Mr. Tin's house where Daric and Jedediah were was very close. Daric and Jedediah usually slept in the barn. I just unlocked the barn and walked right in. Not the best security. Daric was already awake when I walked inside. I told him the rough plan I had and we woke Jedediah.
"Here," Daric said as he handed me two dollars.
"Mrs. Tin gave it to us."
Mrs. Tin didn't like that her husband used slaves so she would secretly pay them bits here and there. I took the money and put it into my bag. I handed the other bags to the boys and told them to follow me quietly. We ran behind the houses, through the trees to Mr. and Mrs. Reed's house. Eula was harder to get to because it was a little further away. When we arrived, panting, I told the others to wait in the bushes. I crawled through a small window that led to the kitchen. I walked as silent as a mouse through the house. I knew where they would keep Eula but I did not know where the permanent slaves slept. When I was almost to the small pantry that Eula slept in, I saw a young slave girl walking to a bedroom at the end of the hall. I ducked into a shadow so she would not see me. I felt sorry for her. Unlike Mr. Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Reed were very mean. Mr. Johnson let us bake biscuits for our dinner. They did not. Mr. Johnson gave us a blanket to sleep on. They did not. Mr. Johnson spoke to us. They did not. I had always felt sorry for the Reed slaves but we could not take this girl with us. She was old enough to understand that I was a runaway but young enough to not keep a secret. I wanted to help rescue other slaves too but I had to make a choice. I never wanted my siblings to be rented or sold to people like Mr. and Mrs. Reed ever again.
When I finally reached the small pantry where Eula was staying, I found her crying quietly. I saw the imprint of a hand with a ring on her cheek. I knelt down beside her and sang softly in her ear. Momma was always good about singing to us in the fields and at the stables. It was the only thing I could think of to comfort her. Then I looked into her eyes and said,
"We are going away. You and me and Daric and Jedediah and Carlin. You are never, ever going to get slapped by Mr. or Mrs. Reed again."
I didn't know if that last part would be true. But she seemed to think I was like an angel. Her face glowed. Eula was tidy and had carefully folded her extra dress neatly in the corner. I grabbed it. Then I noticed some clean linens and socks on the shelves. Socks were valuable. I grabbed a pair of socks for each of us and stuffed them in her bag too. I knew it was wrong to steal, but they were mean to Eula and I hated them for that.
We crept out of the little pantry and headed towards the kitchen window. Eula easily climbed out the window and then me. We all ran quickly through the woods back to Mr. Johnson's house. Daric had brought with him a small hatchet that he'd found in the barn and I put some wood chips on the blade so it wouldn't put a hole in my bag. All together we each had a thin sheet, a pair of socks, an extra set of clothes, a spoon, $2 dollars, a water pail, the herbs and turnips I'd gathered, and of course, Momma's corn dolls. I was not complaining. I was glad we had these supplies. I woke up Carlin at the last moment.
"Hey sweetie," I whispered, "we are going on a trip. We are going away from here."
She fully understood what I meant but said, "But Mr. Johnson is nice."
I thought for a moment. "But Master Father is mean. Mr. Johnson is helping us go. He have us food and supplies, and I gave him some seeds."
He was helping us, he just didn't know it. She got up and trusted me. I knew she would go, she would never leave me. Momma was sold when she was so young. I was her new momma. When she was scared or sleepy, she called for me. It was wrong that Master Father had sold Momma away from us. He was a cruel, cruel man. He does not even deserve to be called a man. He is a beast. A cruel, cruel beast. It was not right that Carlin's new "momma" was only... well... I don't know how old I am. I think I'm fifteen. It was not fair that Carlin's new "momma" was only twelve years older than her. I was going to find Momma for Carlin. For me. For Daric and Eula and Jedediah. I was going to find Momma.
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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.
I think I am going to revise this story and rewrite it with more details and imagery. What do y'all think?
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