Dear Samson,

I think about you and your mother everyday. I miss you more than you could know. I am sorry I'm away from you right now, but I'm praying for our family to be together again. I promise I will find away for that to happen. Hold on my son and be brave. I love you.

Love,

Paw

My mom read the words to me that my father had written. I received this letter two weeks after my father became a free man. It was 1851 and many families were separated by slavery. My father was a hard worker and our master let him go free after working 50 hard years for him.

I dreamed about going with him, but I had many years left before I could go free, I was only 13. Mother cried for days longing for my father but our master had a liking for my mother and she knew she would never be free.

I prayed everyday that my family would be together again, knowing my paw was doing the same. Day after day I prayed while I picked cotton hoping God would hear my prayers.

After a year away from my paw I began to lose hope and gave up on freedom. Thats when I heard the name Harriet Tubman. My mom had gotten a letter from my paw talking about her and she seemed to be our saving grace. It was hard to get letters from Paw because they had to come at night and it was very dangerous for the deliver.

Dear Marisol,

God has answered my prayers and sent someone to me that can help our family. Her name is Harriet Tubman and she has escaped slavery and helped many others escape. She will be coming to find you soon. She will show up before dusk and you must wait until dark to go meet her. Trust her for she will bring you to me. Destroy this letter and stay safe.

With Love,

Benjamin (Paw)

We waited for days for Harriet to arrive unsure and afraid of what was ahead of us. Three weeks after the letter arrived Harriet finally got to us. I was finishing in the field when I saw a unfamiliar face watching from the distance and I knew it must be Harriet. I wanted to just run to her right away and escape but I knew I had to wait until dark like Paw had warned.

I finished up my nightly duties and went to find my mother. She wasn't in her quarters like usual so I searched the plantation anxiously with no luck. I knew she must be in the masters house but I wasn't allowed to go in.

I waited for hours into the night hoping my mother would emerge from the house. I couldn't leave my mother behind but I knew time was slipping away. It was almost dawn when she finally came outside. I rushed over to her and told her we must go. She knew right away what I was talking about and followed me to the edge of the plantation farthest from the master house. Tears streamed down her face and I could tell by her grip on my arm that she was frightened.

The sun was coming up when I saw her face again. It was Harriet. We ran to her and mother wrapped her arms around her sobbing. We didn't know what the journey ahead would have in store for us but we felt safe having Harriet by our side.

We walked miles before we made it to our first stop. It was a little house that belonged to a free black man and was helping Harriet free slaves. This is where I learned the journey we were on was called the Underground Railroad. We would be making many stops at houses where people were willing to risk everything to help us to freedom. Harriet had made this trip many time rescuing family members and other slaves and taking them to Canada. She had never lost anyone on this journey and that gave me hope that I would soon see my father.