Heart of a Hero (H.O.C. #3)

Chapter 1

Washington, D.C.

1963

 "I can't believe we're here. I wonder what Dr. King will say in his speech?" Sophie, starry eyed, asked her grandmother. 

"We'll find out, won't we?" She answered with a straight face. Belinda Williams was not so hopeful. She knew a thing or two about what they were going to go through, and had already survived. Only four generations removed from slaves, she saw the pain, experienced the heartache, and had been victim to the prejudice that plagued the nation. 

"Do you think we'll ever be able to walk down the street without them spitting on us and calling us names? I don't think I like the white folks. They're always putting us down when we're equals. Why do they think they're superior, anyway?"

Just as Belinda was about to answer Sophie, the program began and Dr. King took the stage. 

~~~~~

After the speech, Sophie was even more fired up than before. "I think white folks just wanna send us back to slave days. It seems everywhere we go, they hate us."

Belinda was deep in thought. The speech had changed her view a bit. She needed to teach her granddaughter. Her son, James, had been killed in action in Korea, and her daughter-in-law had left Sophie at her house shortly after, claiming she could not handle raising his daughter without her father. Only the Lord knew her whereabouts now. So, it was up to Belinda to show her from where she came, from whom she came, and why it was important to love even in the turmoil they now were facing. 

"Let me tell you a story. It's about my great-great-grandmother and her fight for what we have, and the love she had for her man."

"What was her name? Who'd she marry?" Sophie's eyes perked up as they walked back to the hotel they were staying in. They would travel back to Kansas by bus the next day.

"Lottie Freeman was born in 1863 to John and Harriet, who were slaves during the Civil War. Afterwards, they moved west to Colorado. She was about two then. Her parents died from typhoid, leaving her orphaned at a young age. She worked as a maid in a saloon, where she became very close friends with a "fallen woman." Because of that woman, she met a man named David. Their story is what I'm going to tell you. Listen close. When it's over, you won't believe how far we've come." Belinda smiled and hugged Sophie tight before standing up and retrieving an old wooden box. Taking out a very old letter, she smoothed the paper and began to read. 

*****

1882

Erie, Colorado

Dearest Lottie, 

I miss you so much:  Your smile, your pouty lips, and your beautiful brown eyes ... all of you. I miss our conversations and the way you make me laugh and forget for a little while that life out here on the prairie is rather tedious. I can't wait for you to come for a visit with Maw and Paw. 

I'm learning, to say the least, how to be a soldier. It's too hot to do anything most times, as there are not so many trees. In fact, you really only find them near water.  The grass is beautiful, some of it waist high in places. We work anyway.

I travel quite a bit now. They have me doing the delivery run to another post. It takes about four days to get there, but I take closer to a week to make sure the horses are well taken care of. 

We had an important visitor come through recently: A General from the Civil War. I escorted him to the next fort. I spent a whole week on the trail with a General. He's an incredible man, and I learned so much.