I am one step closer to freedom. It has been a long time since I have been a slave in Mr. Arnold's house for 5 years. He is the most cruel human being in the world.I am sick and tired of him. Who would like getting beaten up every single minute for no reason at all? But you may want to know how I will be free. I realize today is TODAY!!
I was thin, short and skinny ,you almost you can see my rib cage . And the constant torture left burns and bruises all over my skin.No food at all to eat, they only gave me their left over food that the masters ate and that still wasnt enough for me. One day, when I was working near the well. Someone carrying a rifle on his back and a baton on his waist came towards me. The way he was moving, It was obvious that he wasn't expected here. I tought to myself is it the end for me, was he hired to kill me? I tried to call him master, but he made a hand gesture to stop. He raised his hand and glared at me.Well when a big guy with a rifle on his waist and a very long stick tells you to stop, you don't have any other choices.
"Do not fear me. I come as a messenger from Ms. Tubman. You seem to be under torture from your master. We will help you escape to Canada. We will give you a new life. You will live happily. Nothing will disturb you. You will have your own land. You will be free."
"But who are you? Why are you here? Why are you telling me all this? A thousand questions swarmed in my head. Freedom? I haven't heard that word for an awful long time. How can this bloke give me freedom? Who's Ms. Tubman?
"I know how you feel. I am Jack. I was also a slave when I was 15. But Ms. Tubman saved me. But I didn't flee from USA. It was my birthplace after all. So, I tended to work with her. I was the first member of The Underground Railroad project after Ms. Tubman. Now, almost a hundred people work with us. For your knowledge, The Underground Railroad is a secret path for the slaves to flee from their masters to a different country."
"OK.........................That's.........Dangerous!"
"Yes, but you must take the risk if you tend to be free, I know this was instantly for you but you have to trust me on this"
I thought for a while.
. He was right. Why should I stay with Arnold. He never gave me anything. He will always beat me.The only thing he gave me was pain and suffering. Nor will he care if I'm dead. I made my decision instantly. Without hesitation I decided to go.I gave Jack a nodd.
So today's the day fixed for my escape. Jack will come to fetch me at midnight. I packed up all my stuff, which wasn't a lot of things and took a little glance at the quilt(secret codes to get out of there) just to make sure If Im not doing anything wrong, like taking a different passage.. I wore my brown coat and torn pants and went out. But I definitely wasn't lucky that day. As I was walking away from the jail, my luck changed from bad to worse, because my master's grey hound decided to go for a walk and saw me. I thought to myself, why today,why cant it be another day. It barked so loud that I winced. Alarms blared throughout the house. I knew I was caught. Suddenly, A very strong hand gripped me by the collar and pulled me up on what looked like a rusty bike. I knew it was Jack. He was wearing a grey hoodie and a cloak. He had his rifle on his waist as usual with the stick. After we seemed to go a long way, Jack tied up my eyes with a black band kind of like a blindfold, because he didn't want anyone to know the secret passages of The Underground Railroad. After a very long ride, we stopped near a house. Jack opened the band from my eyes. Jack knocked at the door 5 times which seemed to be some sort of sign. A young lady opened the door. She let me stay there for 2 days. Then I was put in a carriage and sent to another house. I thanked Jack and especially Ms.Tubman in my heart.
In this way, after 3 long journeys we ended up inside the borders of Canada. Thus, Ms. Tubman gave me a new life. It's true that I never saw her. But she is a Woman to be respected and honored.I say to myself without her there would be no word to exist as 'Freedom'
By- Jarraf Amin and Daniel Afzal
No comments:
Post a Comment