The Mindset of Emile Lockery

January 7th, 1856

                    I'm sorry I haven't written in months. Lord it feels like I haven't written in centuries. It's been hectic with the holidays and to be honest I've been scared since the ordeal with Tommy. I've decided that the danger has passed and I can't not writing; it's my lifeline. Moments like last night are rare here and rare for Master TomFord, but boy do I despise him and the laws when it does happen. We've kept fairly quiet lately and have gone back to our daily lives. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I honestly miss Tommy and his teasing. It feels like a part of me is missing.

                   Anyways, now that festivities have died down dramatically why don't I tell ya 'bout the scenery and weather here. It's either scorching or desert-dry in the summer. Sometimes it reaches up to 109 degrees! It's fairly chilly in the winter; in the 50s. Jacket weather ya know? You can usually smell smoke (the good kind) in the winter. In fall you smell bonfires and the crisp, juicy, fresh air. The smell of the breeze and cotton seeds as if you're on a tropical island in the summer. And finally the fresh scent of flowers and the rare, wet, and joyful rain of spring. I can always smell the sweet as honey scent of bakin and the tantalizing smell of dinner. There are many trees sparkling with red gems on the old and gnarly limbs. Clean and pure as snow, yet prickly, the cotton sway in perfect rows in the fields. Our cabins are little shacks made of wood and hard-packed dirt floors. Master TomFord's house is the color of clean, sparkling snow with a water-colored roof, trim, and shutters. I love the mildew scent of the barn and to hear the neighs of the horses. It's very tranquil here, that is when someone isn't trying to escape. It's hard to imagine living anywhere else sometimes. That's all for now as the lamp is burning low.

Emile Lockery