by
Katy
ong long ago, in the age before the civil war there were slave plantations in the southern states of America. Any slaves that a person owned were considered property and were not able to leave the plantation or disobey their owner with out getting whipped or beaten. When an owner did free a slave, the slave recived a slip of paper that claimed their freedom.On one of the plantations there lived a 8 year old girl who was under the ownership of Greg Brown. Her name was Lucy. She didn't have a name because slaves did not need one. She had been born on the plantation and had lived there all her life, only leaving every Sunday to go to church. Like all girls and boys of her age, she dreamed about the day that she would be free. Before her Mom died(Lucy was 6), her Mom would tell her about how when she turned 16 she would get her little ticket that said she was free. She had been on her best behavior and tried as hard as she could to make her owner happy. She was brave too. A few times she had been blamed for things she hadn't done, but she took the whippings and beatings without a single tear. The years passed and she turned 16. She dressed in her best clothes and put her stragly hair in a plait. As she walked toward the big house(where Mr. Brown lived) her head filled with thoughts about where she was going to go and what she was going to do when she was free. She walked up the steps to the big house with pride and confidance. All the steps she took seemed free and joyous. Calm down, she told herself, your not free yet. Something could happen. At that thought she began to get nervous. She took one last look at the fields where she had worked so long and so hard. Then she pushed the shiny white door open and steped into the hall. She was told to wait outside of Mr. Brown's office and not to touch anything. As she waited, the butterflies in her stomach started to become active. She was so nervous that she almost bumped in to the proud grandfather clock and another slave rushed in to the office. The slave was in such a hurry that she didn't close the door all the way. Lucy strained her ears to hear the words that were coming from the office. "Sara....dead.", "replace....Lucy....her...." Then the slave came out and said to Lucy, "Master Brown wishes to see you in his office." Lucy walked in slowly, her heart pounding all the time. As she entered the office she noticed a paper in the trash can that said "Lucy's Freedom" on it. She couldn[t read the word freedom, of course, but one of the slaves who could read(that was very unlikely during that time period) taught her to read her name. "Lucy,"Mr. Brown said, drawing her attention away from the wastebasket,"there has been a change of plans. My personal slave, Sara has just died, so you will take her place. You will serve me, clean my rooms, wash my clothes and make my dinner. You will be treated much better than you were in the fields; you will be given a bed and new clothes. Leave me now, l have work to do." he said the last with a wave of his hand and did not look up again, even though she bumped into one of his chairs on the way out. That night she stole downstairs and into the hall way. She crept into Mr. Brown's office, quieter then a mouse. There was still a fire burning in the fireplace, athought the room was deserted. She located the dim outline of the trash can and serced though it until she found it. Than she snuck back out of the office. BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG!!! She jumped at the sound and wheeled around. All the shadows revealed was the grandfather clock, standing tall and proud, just as it was the day before. She hurried quickly to the door, grabbing her stick with her hankerchif tied to the end as she opened it. Her boby was flooded with nevousness as she crept down the stairs and into the fields. Lucy walked though the fields, joy in her heart. She was free!! She wanted to jump and yell for joy, but she did not dare make a sound. She could see the dawn coming up over the trees, smearing colors across the darkened sky. To her it was the dawn of a new life. She walked across the fields with a smile on her face, her few belongings on her back and her ticket to freedom clutched in her hand the whole time.
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