Autobiography of an abolitionist Part I

Murderer and Saviour

    We walked non-stop back over the town border and we were back "home" before we knew it. The place hadn't changed. It was still as miserable as the day we left it. The same  vines grew down the sides of the house, the same lights were on in the slave houses. The inside of the house was the same, and it had the same boring walls, and the same ceiling and tiles. Everything was the same. How I hated those walls, the ceiling, and the tiles. I hated everything about this place. Daniel could tell I hated the fact I was here, and for once he actually hated it too. He never really did like it here. There were too many bad memories.
    When we got to the dining room, Daniel's father was waiting for us. He ran to Daniel and embraced him, and he seemed so happy to see him.
    "Daniel, my boy, did this savage girl cause you any harm?"
    "No father, I chose to go with her."
    "Why would you choose such a path? Have I not taught you well enough? First you want to marry this freak, only to cancel because she got hurt, and now you're telling me you're dumb enough to follow her to escape to the north?"
    "You taught me well, but I chose a different path. I love Catherine, and I always will."
    "Daniel, my boy, I'm so sorry she tricked you."
    At that point he walked over to me and quickly slipped a knife out from under his shirt, and drove it into my side. The men who held me let go, and I dropped to the floor in a growing puddle of blood. As my focus started to drop, I heard voices.
    "Catherine! NOO!!! You monster, you killed my wife!"
    The men grabbed Daniel, and kept him from hurting his father. But then just as Daniel was about to say something else, a third man came from behind and hit him hard over the head. Daniel collapsed, and the men started kicking him, and after a while he forced himself to his knees, and begged his father to save me. I didn't remember much after that, except for thinking that I was going to die. However, I awoke the next morning to the chirping of the birds. It all seemed wrong, but when I tried to move, I found that my side was disagreeing with that decision greatly. I gasped for breath and made it worse. Daniel came in and didn't speak, but just looked at me. He then came over and lightly kissed me on the lips. I stared back at him. I was shocked and I tried to find the words to say, but all that came out was,"What was that for?"
            "You killed my father. Now we're truly free, and we can stay out of hiding. Thank you..."
            "What? How? What happened?"
            "My father was about to kill me, and you came out of nowhere with the knife that he stabbed you with. You drove it into his back and it came out through his chest. You said something to him, but I didn't hear what you said."
            Then I remembered everything that happened...
            "I'm gonna show you what true pain feels like boy! I'm gonna kill you, you sorry----", Mr. Abernathy stopped mid-sentence.
           At that point I stabbed him and whispered in his ear.
"You brought this down on yourself" I whispered.
            I remember the others staring at me in disbelief, after what I did. I remember the fear in everyone's eyes as they looked at the murderer in front of them. After that my vision faded and I fell into a somewhat conscious state. I couldn't see, but I could hear the voice of Daniel telling the men that he was in charge now. He ordered them to carry me to my room and he got a couple of the maids to bandage my wounds while the men held me down so I wouldn't move.
            I stared at Daniel after the memory faded, and I started to cry. He would've held me if I didn't have wounds that would cause me to scream if he touched them. Then Daniel did something unexpected again. He kissed me, less lightly than he had before. I didn't know what to do other than to kiss him back.
             After that happened, he left. A week later it was actually time for the wedding. I wasn't totally healed, but I was well enough to walk by myself.
             Neither my mother or my father was at the wedding, but my mother in law was. She was supportive of Daniel's decision to marry me, because she hated her husband. Daniel and I decided that once we were married, we would pay the slaves, and that would make them employees. Some of the slaves stayed over the first few months of our marriage, and left when they had the money. Others stayed and worked even though they knew they could leave.