Freedom At Last

August 21, 1831

I rise out of bed, hide my diary under the mattress, and pull the bed linens over the pillows. Just like every morning.

I walk down to Mistress's chamber and find her still sleeping. Master McAfee must be awake, since he's not in bed.

I then walk down the hall to Maggie's chamber, where she is also peacefully sleeping. I look at her untroubled face and wish to be as calm and innocent as that. Then, all of a sudden, I am interrupted from my thoughts by a faint sound, almost like a far away war cry.

When I look out the window, I see a big group of black men, presumably slaves, who sported many scars on their backs. They must have been whipped for disobeying their master. The men don't look familiar to me, and there are a great number of them, many more men than Master McAfee owns.

They come violently, brandishing knives and pitchforks, yelling and destroying anything they can get their hands on. I see that they are coming towards the house, and I run to Mistress's room and shake her, screaming at her to awaken.

I know that the other slaves do not know that Mistress is on our side, and they see her as the wife of a plantation owner who owns slaves. This won't stop them from hurting her - or me because I serve her.

She dazedly awakens, her eyes unfocused.

"What is it, Ruth?" she mumbles.

"Mistress, I apologize for awakening you so rudely, but there must be a rebellion going on outside! Armed slaves are heading towards the house, so we must get out of here!" I say as calmly as I can. Mistress immediately steps out of bed, wraps a shawl around her shoulders, and we run to Maggie's room.

Once we get there, I rush to her bedside, shake her awake, and pull her out of bed by the arm. As she separates from the bed, she grasps her doll, Amanda, then lets herself be dragged away.

"What's goin' on, Ruth?" she asks with wide eyes. "Why're we up so early in the morning?"

"No time to explain, Maggie," I say as we rush down the hall to my chamber. I frantically pull up the mattress, take out my diary and push into my dress pocket, and grab the little sack full of my prized possessions: the smooth, black stone Papa gave me before he left, the flower Mama gave me that I preserved in the pages of a book, and the soft, blue textile from my baby blanket. I place the sack carefully into the pocket of my dress.

Then, Mistress, Maggie and I rush down to the foyer. We turn down the corridor to the kitchen, and then arrive at the back door leading to the garden.

I am about to turn the handle when Mistress places a hand on my shoulder, restraining me. I turn around, bewildered. Doesn't she want us to get out alive?

"Ruth, listen to me very carefully. I am going to gather some rations and supplies and pack it into a knapsack. On my word, you and your sister will run far, far away from here." Mistress says, and with trembling fingers pulls a piece of parchment out of her dress pocket.

Mistress smooths it out on the countertop, reads it over quickly, then takes a quill and writes on it. When she is finished, Mistress hands it to me.

"Read this over. I will gather your rations." Mistress says, and with shaky hands I take the document and read it.

Silently, I fold the document and place it into the pocket of my dress. I feel shaky at the knees, and the kitchen is spinning around me. Stumbling, I take a seat at the table and put a hand over my mouth.

Free. Maggie and I are free. After our whole lives of being enslaved, we are free. I almost can't believe it as tearless sobs come from within me. Maggie, obviously bewildered, rushes over to my side and grasps my hand.

"What's the matter, Ruth? Did Mistress punish you?" she asks, concerned.

"No, Maggie, no." I say. "She freed us. Maggie, we're free."

At first, Maggie is baffled by the idea.

"Free? How could we be free? Do you mean, free for the day? Did we get a day pass?"

I laugh and cry at the same time.

"No, Maggie. We don't have to live here anymore. We don't have to work for the Mistress anymore. We don't have to be slaves anymore. We're free, Maggie, do you understand? We're free, we're free, we're free!" Those words result in another sob, a happy one, full of joy and realization.

Slowly, a grin creeps onto Maggie's face.

"No more Mistress?" she asks.

"No more Mistress." I reply.

"No Miss Elizabeth?"

"No Miss Elizabeth."

"No Master McAfee?"

"No Master McAfee, Maggie," I say, starting to laugh.

Maggie squeals in delight. Her innocent laughter almost makes me forget our situation.

Mistress comes back with a 2 knapsacks, one for me, one for Maggie. I look inside and see apples, bread, cheese, and other rations for us to eat on our journey. There is also a cloak, a plain dress, and shoes tucked on the bottom.

"Thank you, Mistress," I say. "You don't know how much this means to us."

"It's my pleasure," Mistress says. "Now, run far, far away from this house, and don't look back, you understand?"

"Wait, but what about you, Mistress? Won't you be coming with us?" Maggie asks.

"I'm afraid I have to stay here with Master McAfee, Maggie," Mistress says solemnly. At that point, I knew: she wasn't going to get out of here alive.

I swallow and take one last look at the woman who saved my sister and I. Probably the only person in this whole country that will help us.

"All right. We'll be leaving now. Where are we supposed to go?" I ask.

"The Underground Railroad." Mistress replies.

When she first said it I was confused. How could a railroad be underground? Mistress then explained to me that it was a collection of houses with people who were willing to hide slaves and help them.

"The first safe house that I know of is Mistress Allen's estate." Mistress says, handing me another piece of parchment with an address written on it. "Go there, and she will help you."

"Thank you so very much!" I say, and hug her. Maggie does the same.

"Goodbye, Ruth. Have a safe journey." Mistress says. Then, she blankly turns around and walks slowly toward her fate.

I keep my eye on her until she reaches the foyer. At this point, the rebels are banging against the door, trying barricade it open.

BANG!

The door breaks off its hinges and goes flying, Mistress McAfee rooted to the spot.

Another BANG! is the sound of a gun.

A bullet.

Aimed at Mistress.

Not a scream comes from her as she falls to the ground.

Motionless.

Never to get up again.

I scream as loud as I've ever screamed in my life, and so does Maggie. Crying, we run out the back door, jump the low fence in the backyard, and run for our lives.

Our new lives.