The revolution

Chapter 3

Dear Mary Cooper JR ,                        February, 27, 1765

    The Brickwoods? What kind of last name is that? Obviously a British last name. It goes perfectly with the nickname I am giving them. The Soon To Be Blood Back Family. The man seemed so angry at you. And the girls, so rude. Don't let them get to you. They are rude and disgusting. Don't worry either, We will figure a way to meet up again and save you. Hopefully.
    Mary, do you have a plan? How will we write letters to each other? This is an outrage. Our kids, grandkids, great-grandkids and maybe even bound that will have to experience such a trachic time. Who knows how long this war is to last. My greatest hope for this country is that one day all will be right with the world. And that all the colonists will be set free from Britain and, we will even... well, I know this is a dream but, have peace and harmony with the British.
    Anyhow, let me ask you about the Brickwoods. How are they? Have they gotten any better? Where do you stay? Have you been getting in trouble? I have.
    My parents say it has something to do with Jacob. Just as Jon, he was drafted to our army. He will be leaving from Pennsylvania on June 17th, 1765. Although he has always wanted to make a statement, or a difference, I am scared. I would love for him to do it any other way. Be honest, is it really that bad? We are going down  to Pennsilvaia to meet my grandparents, aunts, and uncles before Jacob has to set off to war. He is not going to fight anyone right now, but they are just getting soldiers ready for war.
    Mary, in your last letter you said and I quote "I am so annoyed that I will be spending christmas with my new family." I know that you said these exact words, or wrote them because I have the letter right here.
    Even though we have many things going on we still need to keep the house and shop in tack. So, Dad has allowed me to write a poem. Please tell me what you think.
The moon and stars on our flag shine bright. Brighter than the fireplace on a cold winter day. They look so perfect and in harmony. You do not see two stars fighting along the way. And just like those stars it is my hopes and dreams that one day America can be that way. Together, for each other, and to stand with one another. All I wish is that the war is over and we can be in perfect harmony. But I know that it isn't only a dream and the war is a scheme that is to tear us apart and have nothing and nobody to be with and love. Although this recede time has just begun, remember that we are together as one union. Fighting each battle till we win the war.

Love,
                    Skyler Green

    As my hands move swiftly up and down the tinted paper, with light aroma of the ink on my pen, or at least in my mind. Father words replayed in my head. "Write something with meaning. You can write about anything, even the war. Write a message to everyone or not. Make it yours. Just please write it in cursive so that people don't know it's written by a child. If they find out, our future in this shop and living on top of it may be in the past."
    Father scared me with these words. At that point I decided that I would write it in cursive. I knew that if someone found out that a child was writing, and they decided to evict us from our house I could never forgive myself. Our family depends on this store and all that comes with it. If we were forced to shut down, we would lose our home, our stores, and all the income that we make. I feel terrible breaking the law but, in hindsight we have broken many laws made by the British and our very own colany. Such as the law we despise the most and truly do not want to follow. Obey the British. How is it that generations before us moved away from Great Britain only to be owned somewhere else? My best friend and one of my only friends is a slave. I can hardly ever go to school. My family, my friends, and people I don't know are fighting for a better life. We should not be owned. My nose wrinkled as I thought all my thoughts I was fierus. Is it because I cannot stop it? Or just because it is happening?
    Jacob has always been the brother to do something. Whenever he sees a problem in the shop he fixes it. He is our handyman. But the thing is, the world is not the shop. And, a shop is not war! He cannot do everything. I know he loved to be a problem solver, help others, and do what is right, but I don't think that he is doing what is right. A few weeks ago someone moved into the house next to us. A day or two ago I went over to her house. It turns out that she is very much like me. She has an older brother and sister, two younger brothers, and a younger sister.    
"Just months before I moved here, I went to get the mail..." She paused, then started again. "I came home. I wondered if my brother was homesick. You know, because he was in the war. I got home, gave the mail to my mom, and went upstairs to my room. After a little while I came back downstairs only to see my mom crying at the kitchen table. She wiped her tears and gave me a letter."  The girl looked upset. "I read the letter and it thanked us for all the time my brother had spent in the military, then it said that he had passed away. We were all so disappointed and felt like we needed a fresh start. So we came up here."
I remember how crummy I felt for the girl, but now thinking back, what would have happened if that was my brother? How would that have felt? I don't know if I could handle that uneasy feeling, of not being in control, and not knowing what was happening or what my brother was doing. Just the thought of all this made me wrinkle my nose, my shoulders shutter, me curl up into a ball and cry my heart out for my brother.