New Moon (Stephenie Meyer) Book Report

Plot- Summary

            In the small town of Forks, Washington, Bella Swan is turning eighteen years old.  Most people would be excited to reach this age, but not Bella.   Once she turns eighteen she will, from that point on, always be older than Edward Cullen, the love of her life.  Edward is seventeen years old and is one of the most beautiful beings human eyes have ever seen.  He will remain at this age for eternity because he is a vampire, along with the rest of the Cullen family.  Although Bella does not mind that he is a vampire, Edward worries that he is constantly putting her in danger, even though the Cullen family only hunts animals, not humans.  Edward begins to grow distant with Bella, and finally tells her that he and his family are moving and that he doesn’t want her anymore.  Bella is devastated and drowns in her grief for months.  This period of her life without Edward is like the stage of a new moon (the darkest time in her life), when the sky is the darkest kind of night, and the moon cannot be seen from Earth.  She becomes almost catatonic.  Although thinking about Edward hurts her, she is desperate not to let him go.  Eventually, Bella renews her friendship with a reckless boy named Jacob Black.  Jacob lives on the Quileute Indian reservation, and for a while things seem to be improving.  But as Bella’s friendship with Jacob grows deeper, she soon discovers that, like Edward, Jacob has a dark secret.  It becomes increasingly apparent why the residents of the reservation hate the Cullens.  Finally, one of the many thrilling adventures she has with Jacob leads her back to Edward, and also to a deadly danger no one could have imagined.  So what do you do when your sole purpose for being has left you?  Do you still risk everything to save them?

Plot- Conflicts

            One of the conflicts in New Moon is Bella vs. letting go.  This conflict is internal and man vs. self.  After Edward leaves her, Bella must find a way to move on with her life.  But she seems to be stuck in a rut.  She feels that Edward is her life, so without him she thinks it is impossible to carry on.  She cannot stop thinking about him and obsessing over him.  She will do anything to get close to something that reminds her of Edward, even if this causes her more pain.   Not only can Bella seem to not let him go, she does not want to.  During the story, she finds that if she does something thrilling and dangerous, she hears Edward’s voice as clear as a bell in her head pleading her to stop.  So, every chance she gets, she does the most reckless and precarious things she can think of to be able to hear his voice again.

            Another conflict in New Moon is Bella vs. Edward.  This conflict is external and man vs. man.  Edward is leaving Bella because he wants to keep her safe, even though he is still madly in love with her (although Bella does not know this).  He feels that all he does is bring danger into her life.  Edward thinks that the closer he gets to Bella the more hazardous her life becomes because he is a vampire.  But Bella feels differently.  She doesn’t care that Edward is a vampire and she does not think that he brings danger to her life.  She desperately wants Edward to see this, but he does not; he sticks to his ideas.  Nevertheless, although Edward has left her, he wants her to be as safe as possible and he would not want to continue on if she died.  So when he receives word that Bella committed suicide, he aims to do the same.  However, Bella had not actually killed herself.  She had simply jumped off a cliff into the sea to hear the thrill of Edward’s voice again.  But the person who saw her do so misinterpreted it, thinking she had died.  So when Edward is on the verge of taking his own life, Bella must risk everything in order to save him before time runs out.  Another problem Bella and Edward have is that of immortality.  Bella wants Edward to change her into a vampire, so that she may stay young and be his love for eternity.  But Edward feels that he is a monster, a terrible being with no soul, and he says that he will not bring this upon her.  He does not want to take her life and soul away.

Conflict- Climax

            The climax of the story is when Edward is about to step into the sun at noon in Volterra, Italy.  If he does this, he will expose the secret that the Volturri have kept for so long and the Volturri will kill him as punishment.  Bella and Alice Cullen (his sister) are in a race against time to reach Edward and keep him from ending his life.  If they do not make it in time and Edward dies, Bella will not be able to live any longer.  Edward is her sole reason for being and if he dies, she will follow suit.  Bella is willing to risk everything in order to save him, even if it means sacrificing her life for his.  This is the moment that Alice, Bella, and Edward’s lives all depend on.

Plot- Conclusion and Resolution

            Although Bella never fully lets go of Edward, the resolution that eases her pain and helps her to carry on comes in the form of Jacob Black.  After Bella has been extremely apathetic for months, she rekindles her friendship with Jacob.  Jacob makes her happy and when Bella is with him she able to smile again and let go of the pain for a while.  And, although Bella does not realize it yet, she is falling in love with Jacob.  Their relationship has grown more deep and strong than she could have ever anticipated.  Bella compares her heartbreak over Edward to a wound- a pulsing, open, deep, throbbing wound.  When Bella is around Jacob, while this wound does not heal completely, the pain lessens and Bella feels that the wound recedes somewhat.

            In the matter of the conflict of Bella vs. Edward, this problem is not fully resolved either (at least not in this installment of the series).  When Bella jumped off the cliff into the sea, Edward planned to kill himself.  He knew he could not do this on his own for almost nothing can kill a vampire, so he planned to go to Volterra, Italy.  Here the Volturri, the royal and most powerful family of vampires, resides.  They will do anything to keep vampires a secret in the world from humans.  When a vampire steps into the sunlight, their skin sparkles like diamonds and everyone will know that the vampire most definitely is not human.  So Edward plans to step into the sun at 12 noon in the middle of the city.  By doing so, he knows the Volturri will kill him for exposing the secret.  Once Bella saves him, just in the nick of time, by throwing herself at him to keep him in the dark alley, two members of the Volturri see the incident and take them back to the Volurri’s tower.  Eventually they are free to go, but Edward and Bella’s lives had been at stake.  Edward realizes that being apart from Bella does nothing but bring more danger to her and he knows that he cannot leave her now for he must protect her.  However, Bella still does not convince Edward to turn her into a vampire.

Plot- Setting

New Moon takes place in the present day and in a little town by the name of Forks, Washington.   Forks is always under constant cover of clouds and rain.  “I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure I was dreaming.  The reasons I was so certain were that, first, I was standing in a bright shaft of sunlight – the kind of blinding clear sun that never shone on my drizzly new home in Forks, Washington--…” (Pg. 3).   The population of Forks is very low, being a little over 3,000 people.  Here, Bella attends Forks High School.  Most of her classmates have known each other since they were infants, and their families have lived in Forks for generations.  Newcomers are generally gossiped about for nothing else much more exciting happens there.  Many lush green forests and meadows, with foliage being ever present, surround Forks.  In addition, Forks is the wettest place in the continental U.S.  “…and the rainiest summer in the history of the Olympic Peninsula…” (Pg. 6)  But by now, Bella has gotten used to the weather, however much she dislikes it.  “Dull gray light, the familiar light of an overcast morning…” (Pg. 6)

Night by Elie Wiesel Dialectical Journals

Page Number	Quote	Analysis
7	“I wanted to return to Sighet to describe to you my death so that you might ready yourselves while there is still time.  Life?  I no longer care to live. I am alone.  But I wanted to come back to warn you.  Only no one is listening to me…”	This is when the harshness of what was taking place during the Holocaust first hit me in this book.  This man has experienced and seen so much terror take place that he has lost his will to live.  It makes me wonder how the Nazis could have lived with themselves after inflicting this kind of trauma into people’s lives (and taking lives, as well).  This man feels his only purpose now is to save others from his terrible fate.  It shocks me that someone could have been put through that much pain and suffering to the point of not caring about whether they live or not.
24	“’There are eighty of you in the car,’ the German officer added.  ‘If anyone goes missing, you will all be shot, like dogs.’”	This is just disgusting to me.  Humans are being treated like a herd of animals.  I do not understand how you can have such disregard for life.  The German officer would not even think twice about killing the entire lot of them.  He would not care that he just ended eighty lives, some of which would have been children’s.  I am appalled that he would have the nerve to cruelly murder so many people because one person would have tried to escape from the hell they were in.  I wonder how the officer would have felt if suddenly, the gun had been turned on him.
32	“Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch.  Something was being burned there.  A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children.  Babies!  Yes, I did see this with my own eyes… children thrown into the flames.”	When I read this, I had to stop, go back, and reread it.  I was in total disbelief.  You would expect to hear of atrocities such as this in fictional tales of horror, not in actual history.  And yet, it is true.  Little infants were thrown into fire!  How could anyone do that and not want to kill themselves because of their guilt?  How could the people doing this have no emotion toward these babies at all!  These children all had a place in the world, a life to live, dreams to fulfill, and so much more.  Now, those budding lives and dreams have been turned into ash to be swept away by the wind.  They could not even form words to cry out because they were so young.  These babies were completely innocent and pure.  They have never done anything to harm anyone.  And they are being murdered.
65	“Behind me, I heard the same man asking: ‘For God’s sake, where is God?’  And from within me, I heard a voice answer: ‘Where He is?  This is where- hanging here from these gallows…’”	This shows all of the pure evil and hatred that the Nazis and Hitler poured out to the world.  They were strangling God.  Anything remotely good and wholesome was squashed immediately.  God could no longer do anything to save Hitler and the monsters that followed him.  They had bound him.  For those monsters to have hung a child shows that their hearts are forever gone past the point of return.  The poor child that they hung represents God.  God’s love was suffocating throughout the world.  So many cruel men (if you can consider them men, being the soulless, heartless beings that they were) were trying to destroy God.
100	“Our ship’s passengers amused themselves by throwing coins to the ‘natives,’ who dove to retrieve them.  An elegant Parisian lady took great pleasure in this game.”	This made me shake my head in shame, for this is a perfect example of getting pleasure out of another person’s pain.  This woman feels that she is inferior to these poor children, so she decides that she might as well mock their suffering while having some “fun” with it.  This woman only cares about herself, and (whether the children see it or not), is rubbing it in the natives’ faces that she has a pleasant life while they are struggling.  The fact that she would use the children’s poverty and misery to amuse herself revolts me.  How could this woman be so uncaring about these people?  And then how could she dare to take it a step further by scoffing at their destitution.

Summary of Night (book by Elie Wiesel)

Pain.  Suffering.  Agony.  Death.  The Holocaust.  It is 1941 when Elie receives his first taste of what the Holocaust is in his town of Sighet.  It started off with stories of unimaginable horrors beginning to occur.   Stories of infants being tossed in the air and used as gun targets; stories of men, women, and children being forced to dig their own graves and then shot down into them.  These are horrendous tales that extend beyond your wildest nightmares, how could they be true?  But then, he begins to live these horrors.  He goes into the cramped ghettos and then into the unspeakably brutal concentration camps.  He is separated from his mother and little sister, Tzipora, forever as the Nazis push them into one line, and him and his father are put in another.  From there on out, his survival hangs by a thread.  If he does not work hard enough or falls ill for too long, then his life would be terminated in the blink of an eye.  The terrors of the camps increase day-to-day, and more and more people are murdered.  Elie becomes just another body in the swarming masses of tortured Jews, crying out in anguish and despair.  He has lost himself, and his only goal now is to survive.  To survive the night…   

Love Letter From God

Dear Teenager,

            You’ve come a long way since you were a child.   Granted, the journey that you have taken has not been easy, and there will be many more obstacles to come.  But remember that if you keep your faith with you, these obstacles will not seem as large and they will be more bearable to undergo.  I love you, and no matter what happens I will always be with you.  You are my child still, and always will be.  Even through times of great hardship, when you may have lost all hope, remember that I am here.  When you think that nobody in this world cares for you and that you are alone, remember that I love you.  As you grow older, the challenges to your faith and life will not become any easier; but you can surmount them.  I will always walk with you on your journey of life, my child, even when you think I have deserted you. Sometimes, you may think that no one could possibly know the pain and suffering you are going through, but remember that I do.  I have not forsaken you, nor will I ever do so.  There is nothing that shines greater than my love for you.  I will lead you and guide you until the end of your life, lead you and guide you back home to me, your Father.  I will always be here for you.  Talk to me.  I shall be forever listening, waiting for you.  You think that your heart is searching and weary, never finding a home.  Your home is in me.  My love will shine like a beacon through the darkness, and it is bright enough for those even at the ends of the earth to see it.  This beacon will light the way for you.  My love is your guide along your journey of life.  It will never grow dim or fade.  As a lighthouse guides the ship to shore in the darkness, my love beckons you to the shores of everlasting life and eternal happiness.  And remember, child, I always walk beside you. But when you see only one set of footprints in the sand, those were the times that I carried you.                       

Love,

                                                    God

Prayer

Lord,

Please help me to grow in my relationship with you

And to become closer to you

And to know you as a child knows its father

Help my love for you to grow deeper

And for our relationship to be a bond that is unbreakable

Help this love to grow through the incorporation of the seven virtues in my life

Humility, chastity, generosity, meekness, temperance, love of others, and diligence

And with the growth of these virtues

Will come the closest bond possible between us

And the following of your will

Always and as completely as I can

Amen

 

Fablehaven (Brandon Mull): A Book Summary

1)   Give a brief summary (about a paragraph) of the book.

Hundreds of years ago, when all the mythical creatures of the world were being pushed out of view and driven to the corners of the earth, Fablehaven was born.  It is now a hidden sanctuary located in Connecticut and a safe haven for all of these creatures, some of which are enchanting, though many of which are extremely dangerous. Fablehaven ensures that they do not become extinct.  It is one of the last refuges of magic still standing today.  But, when siblings Kendra and Seth are shipped off to their grandparents’ house, which is surrounded by immensely gated woods, they have no idea that their grandfather is the present caretaker of Fablehaven.  Inside the dense forests and mystical lands, there are very old laws in effect to ensure a level of peace and order amongst malicious witches, vain fairies, mischievous naiads, roguish satyrs, horrid imps, hungry ogresses, avaricious trolls, lethal demons, and deadly goblins.  When these covenants are violated, a hidden evil is let loose, and Kendra must meet it head-on.  In order to save Fablehaven, humanity, and all that she holds dear, Kendra must find the strength to brave the ominous tasks ahead.

2)   Describe the setting (time and place) of the book. 

Fablehaven takes place in current day Connecticut on a magical preserve for mystical creatures to keep them from extinction.  Surrounding this sanctuary are dense forests and foliage.  There are a few warning signs outside of the big wrought-iron gate that stands in front of the property.  “The farther they progressed, the less conventional the signs became.  Private Property and No Trespassing gave way to Beware of .12 Gauge and Trespassers Will Be Persecuted.”  Right before you enter through the gate, one last sign awaits you.  “Near the fence stood a final sign: Certain Death Awaits.”  On the edge of this preserve stands Kendra and Seth’s grandparents’ house.  “The house was big, but not enormous, with lots of gables and even a turret.  After the wrought-iron gate, Kendra had expected a castle or a mansion.  Constructed of dark wood and stone, the house looked old but in good repair.”  This house is on the edge of the vast reserve, a good distance from the heart of the woods, helping to keep the inhabitants safe from the darkest of the creatures that roam there.

3)   What did you find most interesting about the book?  Why?

The aspect of Fablehaven that I found most interesting was Midsummer Eve.  Midsummer Eve is a night on the preserve where all the creatures are able to run amuck.  “On the festival nights, nightmares take shape and prowl the yard.  Ancient entities of supreme evil patrol the darkness in search of prey.”  Normally, there are laws that prevent the more vicious creatures from leaving the forests and entering into the yard.  Only the fairies are allowed to be in the yard.  But on Midsummer Eve, all the creatures on the preserve are beyond restriction.  As soon as the sun sets, the night belongs to the ferocious horrors that occupy the deepest areas of Fablehaven.  “A long, mournful howl underscored his statement.  The disturbing call was answered by a stronger howl, closer, that ended with a cackle… An eruption of high-pitched laughter blared up from the yard.”  The only boundary they are not allowed to disregard within Fablehaven is entering the house.  They can only enter if someone on the inside lets them in.  Therefore, on the night of Midsummer Eve, everyone must be inside the house before sundown and in his or her bed to ensure ultimate protection.  I found Midsummer Eve interesting because it is one of the main parts in the novel that gives you real insight to how dangerous the preserve actually is.  Before this point in the novel, there are warnings about many creatures of darkness, small references, but not until this night does the horror actually sink in.  Midsummer Eve finally puts a face to all the fears, to the most terrifying nightmares.

4)   Who was the most interesting character in the book?  Why?

The most interesting character in Fablehaven is Muriel Taggert.  Muriel Taggert is a witch that lives in a shack in the forest.  She used to be the beautiful wife of one of the past caretakers, but she meddled around in evils that were too sinister and deep.  “The shack is her prison.  She personifies the reason why exploring the woods is unwise.  Her husband was a caretaker here more than 160 years ago.  She was an intelligent, lovely woman.  But she became a frequent visitor to some of the darker portions of the forest, where she consorted with unsavory beings.  They tortured her.  Before long, she became enamored with the power of witchcraft, and they acquired considerable influence over her.  She became unstable.  Her husband tried to help her, but she was already too demented… Her husband called in assistance and had her imprisoned.”  She is held captive by a thick rope with knots in it that surrounds a tree stump in the middle of the shack.  The only way she can be freed is if all the knots are loosed.  Originally, there were thirteen knots. But over the years, caretakers have come to her for help, and in order for her help they must blow on one of the knots to loose it.  Now, there are only two knots left in the rope.  Muriel is an interesting character because she is the prime example of what happens when you start to become familiar to evil.  She epitomizes the consequences and effects that evil can have on a person.  There is even a connection to Scripture.  It is almost the same situation as the Devil.  Lucifer had been an angel of God, but when he rebelled he became an ugly demon cast into Hell.  She had been beautiful and good, but when she started familiarizing herself with darkness, she became a witch.  “Beside the stump, dressed in crude rags, sat a wiry old woman gnawing at a knot in a bristly rope.  Shriveled with age, she clutched the rope in bony hands with knobby knuckles.  Her long, white hair was matted and had a sickly yellowish tint.  One of her filmy eyes was terribly bloodshot.  She was missing teeth, and there was blood on the knot she was chewing, apparently from her gums.  Her pale arms, bare almost to the shoulder, were thin and wrinkled, with faint blue veins and a few purple scabs.”

5)   What was the main conflict in the story?  Identify the type and give some details.

The main conflict in the story is man vs. nature (Kendra vs. Fablehaven).  This is an external conflict as well.  When all hell breaks loose once the covenants are violated, Kendra is up against some of the deadliest creatures on the preserve.  She is also dealing with a deadly demon named Bahumat that will cast the world into darkness if he is released.  He is bound the same way as Muriel, except with hundreds upon hundreds of more knots.  (Ironically, he is imprisoned in an alcove within an abandoned church on the preserve.)  Muriel has been freed, for Grandpa Sorenson and Grandma Sorenson had to loose her last two knots for her help, and they had no choice.  Muriel is now working on freeing Bahumat by blowing on the knots and using each knot for an evil purpose, such as building an army of imps. She has to face the dark forests and evil beasts in order to save the sanctuary, her family, and the rest of the world.

 6)   What was the resolution of the conflict?  How did the solution develop?

The problem was escalating out of control.  Lena (a helper on the preserve) and Grandpa Sorenson had been captured on Midsummer Eve, for Seth had opened a window out of curiosity and let the creatures inside.  When Kendra, Grandma Sorenson, and Seth try to go free them, they are captured as well.  All are helpless now except for Kendra.  She then runs through the forest to the naiad pond.  In the middle of the pond, there is an island that is a shrine to the all-powerful Fairy Queen.  The last person that set foot on that island to request her help was turned into dandelion seeds.  Kendra, though, believes her request is desperate enough for the Fairy Queen’s help that she will be listened to.  The way to the island will be treacherous, for the naiads will try to pull her out of her boat and under the water to drown her.  However, she managed to make it.  And her assumptions about her request were correct.  When she reached the island, the Fairy Queen gave her instructions to make an elixir, and told her the ingredients she would need.  Once she had made it, she gave it to the fairies, making them human sized.  She took this army of fairies to the church, where Muriel had succeeded in freeing Bahumat.  The fairies then proceeded to weave a golden rope around Muriel and Bahumat.  They threw them back into the alcove where the demon was previously imprisoned.  The fairies then freed Kendra’s family and furiously knotted a new rope in front of the alcove opening. Kendra has succeeded in saving her family and Fablehaven.

7)   What did you learn from this book?

I learned about the aspects of courage and strength from this book.  The main character is not ready for what is happening, and yet she still manages to work her way through it.  She gives every ounce of muscle and fight in her body to save Fablehaven and the people that she loves; she never gave up.  She also risked her own life just to save all of the others.  That is something that takes real valor.  I learned that even if the circumstance is intimidating, we need to meet it head on and try our best to make our way through it. 

8)   Would you read another book by this author?  Why?  Would you recommend this book to others?  Who and Why?

I would definitely read another book by this author.  I really enjoyed how he was able to describe the scenes and characters in perfect detail.  He made me feel as if I was right there alongside the characters.  I could not put the book down and I was enthralled from beginning to end with his writing style.  He always kept the story suspenseful and enticing, making you want to find out what would happen next.  I would recommend this book to other teens because the main character is a teenager herself.  I think it would be easy for people of this age group to relate and connect to the story.  Teenagers would grow more attached to this main character and the story would hold their interest.

Fading Night, Rising Dawn: A Slave Narrative

Prologue

            Atlanta, Georgia.  This is where I have lived my entire life, as a slave.  Day in and day out since I was four years old, I have lived to serve those above me.  I was born into slavery on May 22, 1831, and this is all I have known.  My name is Munira, which means radiant.,  but I have never felt so.  All my life I have been constantly reminded that I am the absolute opposite, nothing—no more important than the dirt beneath my feet.  Even now, twenty years later, this has not changed.  Although, my mother Awena always told me this was not true. 

“Munira, you are as radiant as the sun.  You shine like no one else and don’t you ever let anyone tell you otherwise,” she would say to me.  But I am positive my parents were the only people who saw me this way.

            The work I do is not as terrible as that of the other slaves.  I see them outside in the Georgia heat, toiling in the fields as my father Kiume did when I was little.  I see them working plantations in the dust with hardly any food or drink, and if they falter they are whipped, sometimes to within an inch of death.  So in this aspect at least, I suppose I have some reason to be thankful.  I work around my master’s house, cleaning and fetching whatever the members of the household ask for.  I suppose I only do this type of work because my body build is on the small side, so there is not much I could do out on the plantations.  But I am ordered around as if I am not even human, treated horribly, and my living conditions are terrible.  I am now lonely as well, for I was sold away to a different master and separated from my parents when I was twelve years old.

            So, although it is true that I might be luckier than other slaves, I cannot continue on this way anymore.   I want to have a life of freedom, one where I am not someone’s property and where I see others enslaved and sold like animals.  There is nothing left for me here after all; I do not even know if my parents are alive or dead.  So tonight, I plan to make my escape.  I know that it is a risk, but I am going to take it.  For years I have been shy and living in fear, never questioning what I am told to do and remaining in my place.  No more.  For a while now I have been filled with a burning passion, a passion for freedom.  I am determined to leave this awful life behind and taste freedom, no matter the cost.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

            The first night of my escape, I was filled with dread.  What if I was caught? What if I never even made it out of the state?  These questions plagued my mind the entire night, along with many others.  Every whisper through the trees, every creaking branch, every rustle of the leaves made me jump.  And there were plenty of these disturbances, considering I had fled into the woods. 

At least I had some companionship, though. A man who was also a slave under my master had decided to escape with me.  His name was Levi Johnson, and he was twenty-three years old.  He, too, had been separated from his parents at an early age and had nothing left to stay for.  We had both deemed the journey to freedom too treacherous to make alone.  So we figured that since we both wanted to escape, why not escape together?  Levi and I also knew what we were up against, for we had done some digging around before we left.  We could not escape to a state such as Philadelphia or Delaware, because there were slave hunters in the northern states that looked for runaways, and we could easily be recaptured and sold back into slavery.  Obviously, we could not risk this.  We had to escape all the way up to Canada.  Levi and I had decided on St. Catharine’s, Canada as our final destination.  Fortunately, there would be assistance on this dangerous trek.  There was word going around about the Underground Railroad—a series of houses that were resting places, safe havens if you will, for fugitive slaves to help them reach freedom.  The people in these houses sheltered slaves for a night or two, and they were completely against slavery.  Many of them were Quakers and white abolitionists.

“Are you alright?” Levi questioned, shaking me from my thoughts.  Apparently the fear had shown across my face more plainly than I had thought.

“Oh, never better,” I replied sarcastically as we walked cautiously in the night.

Levi grinned.  For the first time, I examined him closely.  His ebony skin was a stark comparison to his startlingly white teeth.  It was unusual for slaves to have teeth like his, due to the lack of available hygiene.  His dark eyes were vastly different from my own light brown, hazel eyes.  While my hair hung around my shoulders, his was extremely short.  Levi’s voice pitch was low and smooth, matching his body build.  He was very muscular and tall; he had worked on the plantation. 

We walked the rest of the night in silence, finally coming to a stop when we saw dawn approaching.  We had to travel at night and rest during the day because the risk of being seen was too great.  We stopped underneath a tree and concealed ourselves among the lush shrubs and foliage.  As I lay there beside Levi, I looked up at the fading stars and watched the sky change slowly into pinks, purples, and oranges.  Then, I drifted to sleep, retreating into the realms of my mind, where I was already free.

The next few nights were repeated in this monotonous pattern, although we were tense and anxious the whole time.  Bit by bit, we were becoming extremely worn.  It became harder to go on, and all of our muscles ached with fatigue.  I could not shake the fear that we seemed to be being followed, and conditions were growing worse.  I cannot remember a time in my life when I was more afraid.  We made small attempts at conversation, but these ended quickly.  Levi and I were both too wrapped up in our own thoughts and worries to contribute much.

Then, finally, we spotted a small house with a lantern on the porch in the distance.  Neither of us knew why, but we had a hunch that this house was part of the Underground Railroad and was a safe place to stop.  Timidly, we walked up to the door and knocked.  We knew that everything was riding on this decision, but we were weary, thirsty, and starving.  If we didn’t find food and water soon we would collapse. 

A fatherly looking, somewhat pudgy man opened the door, and a kindly smile slowly spread across his face.

“Hello, there!  My name is Dennis Richard,” he announced.  A small, brown-haired woman with deep blue eyes walked up behind him.  “And this is my wife, Martha Richard,” he said, motioning towards her.

“Hello,” she waved cheerily.

“Please, do come in.  We’ve got some warm food and clean water inside.  In the back of the house, we have a room with a few beds for you.  You can wash up as well.” Dennis added.

Levi and I walked through the doorway, relieved.  There was a blazing fire in the den, to which Martha added another log as she passed by.  Dennis and Martha led us to a table in their homely kitchen and pulled up some chairs for us.  It was very cozy inside, and the change in temperature felt extremely nice.  They gave us hot rolls to eat and refreshing water.

“So, where are you two from?” Dennis inquired. 

“Atlanta, Georgia,” Levi answered between mouthfuls of bread.

“They must be completely exhausted from traveling, the poor things!” Martha exclaimed in a high voice.

“We are indeed very tired from the journey.  I don’t even know how we can possibly repay you for—” I began.

“Nonsense!” Dennis interrupted.  “There will be no repaying me for doing what everybody should for his fellow man.  Now, I’m sure you two will want to get some rest and some fresh clothes after you wash.  So we won’t keep you any longer.  Down the hall you will find the bedroom I mentioned, and there is a closet next to it containing clothes.  Take whatever you need.  On the door to the right of the closet, there is a washroom.  So go on!  Rest up!  We will send word to the houses up ahead that you are coming.”

“Th-th-thank you so much,” Levi and I stuttered in gratitude.

Martha smiled and ushered us to the back of the house.  After I washed and dressed myself, I sank onto one of the soft beds, in total ecstasy.  I could not recall the last time that I had felt this comfortable.  After a while Levi walked in, clean and dressed in a different set of clothes.  He flopped onto the bed next to mine.

“Feels pretty great, huh?” he sighed in contentment.

“Extremely,” I agreed.

“Aren’t you glad that we decided to stop here?”  Levi said, with his eyes closed.

“You have no idea,” I answered.

“You know what?” he propped himself on one elbow and turned to face me.  He sucked in his breath, and then continued in a rush, “I’ve been thinking, and when we get to St. Catharine’s, I think that we should find a place together.  Things are going to be hard enough trying to start a new life, and it might make things easier.”  He looked at me expectantly.

I thought for a minute before I responded.  If all truth be told, I had been thinking the same thing, but of course I hadn’t told Levi this.  It felt good to know that he had been thinking along the same lines as I had.

“I think that’s a great idea,” I said to him.

A smile of relief spread across his chiseled face.  “We should get some rest,” he said softly, lying back down on his pillow.  “We’ve still got quite a ways ahead of us, and we don’t know when we might sleep this well again.”

“Definitely,” I concurred.  My eyes closed and I fell into a peaceful slumber.

The next night we set out right after twilight, thanking the Richards yet again for their hospitality.  We felt relaxed and rejuvenated, and started off at a brisk pace.  For a while, things seemed to be going all right.  Then, I heard a long howl in the distance.  I stopped abruptly and shot a glance at Levi.  He was looking around wildly.

“Did you hear that?” I asked him in a barely audible whisper.

“That definitely cannot be good,” he murmured.  The howl sounded again, closer this time.  Suddenly, understanding shot across Levi’s face,  and panic set in his eyes.

“They’ve caught our scent!” he cried.

“What?” I responded, confused.

“The slave hunters have got dogs!  And they’ve captured our scent!  Run!” he yelled.

He didn’t have to tell me twice.  I was off, my hair whipping behind me in the cool night air with Levi beside me.  We were sprinting at full speed, but the dogs’ cries were relentless behind us.  Up ahead, I saw something glittering in the moonlight.  As we drew closer, I saw that it was a river.  Automatically, I began to lose my nerve, for I was certain this would slow us down and it would be the end.  But Levi had quite a different take on the situation.

“Quick, swim across.  As fast as you can!”  Levi called to me.

“This is going to slow us down!” I yelled back at him.

“No!” he answered.  “This is good!  Once we swim across, the dogs will lose our scent in the water.”

I realized that he was right, and I jumped into the gushing river.  It was colder than I expected, and there was a fast current, another thing I had not anticipated.  I began to sputter and cough, trying to pull air into my lungs.  Although I knew how to swim, the current was too strong for my small body.  I felt myself begin to go under.  Then, I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and haul me up.  Levi tightened his grip on me, and began to swim as hard as he could toward the opposite shore.  It was at this point that I thanked my lucky stars for escaping with him.  I knew that he had saved my life.  I also began to feel something—shivers running up and down my spine.  And I was pretty sure that they had nothing to do with the cold.

We reached the shore and Levi stepped out of the water, keeping a firm grip on me until we reached the cover of the trees after a few minutes of running.  The dogs’ wails slowly grew distant and finally became muted.  He then set me down on the forest floor.

“That…was…really…close,” Levi panted, doubled over and holding a stitch in his side. 

I stared up at him in amazement, still in my sitting position.  “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be done for right now.”

“D-d-don’t worry…about it,” he responded.  He sat down near me to regain his breath. 

I didn’t know what else I could say, so I simply kept staring at him for a while.  I’m sure that he felt my gaze on him, but he never said a word.  After he was breathing normally again, we got up and kept jogging away from the river, only slowing to a stop when we saw the first signs of morning approaching.

The next couple of weeks passed uneventfully, and we made a few more stops at houses like the Richards’ where we could rest.  Things were going extremely well.  By now, most slaves would have either been captured or encountered a lot more trouble than we had.  We were even lucky enough to get passage in a wagon from a Quaker for a week, and this allowed us to cover much more land than on foot.  When the Quaker dropped us off, he was kind enough to tell us that we were in the state of New York.  He also told us that we could probably reach the border in about a night and a half’s walk or so.  Levi and I rejoiced at this news, for it meant that we were extremely close to freedom.

“You know,” the Quaker said to us, “I think you two have a really good shot at reaching Canada.  When I stopped to offer you a ride, you were really booking.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen two fugitives going as fast as you have.  Normally they’re completely worn out by this point and just barely walking.  You’ve got stamina, I’ll give you that.”

I was surprised, as was Levi.  We hadn’t even noticed that we had been going fast.  I figured that it must have been the drive for freedom.  But whatever it was, it had definitely worked to our advantage.  That night, we were so excited that we half jogged, half ran the entire way.  We covered the night and a half’s journey in one.  When we figured we must have been nearing the Canadian border, we saw another wagon with other fugitive slaves surrounding it.  They looked up at our approach and smiled at us.  They motioned for us to come over, and we did.

“Congratulations!” one of them said.  “Rejoice, for this wagon is taking everyone here over the border tomorrow morning!”

Levi and I looked at one another for a moment, and when the truth set in we grabbed each other and exulted.  We were going to be free.

A little before dusk the next day, we stepped out of the wagon and stretched.  Then, we took in our surroundings.  Levi pulled me close and whispered, “We made it—we’re free…”