Sweat clogged every pore in my skin. Every muscle in my body, even ones I didn’t know existed, ached like they were being torn apart. My lungs were pockets of acid and there were searing tears in my eyes that I barely noticed. My body was an overheated oven, on fire! But the cold winter air was the exact opposite, so cold even a snowman would be shaking. Fire and ice were colliding and all I felt was excruciating pain… Yet none of it mattered if I could get out of here alive.
The long dry grass of the field tickled my nearly numb legs as I crouched hidden by the nature around me. My short, gasping, warm breaths were visible in front of me. I tried to hold my gasps in, to slow my breathing, but instead my breaths came louder, and faster. Finally I calmed down enough to sense the world around me.
Cold air bit my nose, fingers and toes; I only wore thin slippers and a nightgown. The field of long grass whistled so loud I barely heard the voices, but they were there, shouting over the wind.
“She couldn’t have gone far, search the field!” twenty men were now scouring for us, or at least one of us, the man had said she, they had only seen one of us escape and they didn’t know there were two of us…yet. A fellow slave named May and I had been separated when we ran from our slave quarters. This was all a stupid idea, neither of us was ready to run and it had been a failed attempt at an escape, and if they caught us now we’d be sent back or killed. So much regret boiled in my throat I didn’t notice the movement of the grass until it was too late--a white boy stood staring straight down at me. His eyes burned into mine so hard I thought I’d melted. I’m dead; I’m D-E-A-D, dead. I crouched there, frozen solid unable to move.
“Eh Rookie! Ya see anything!” a white man hollered. The boy turned back toward the others and called back.
“Na’thin here!” Before he returned to the others he whispered something so faint it took me a moment to process it.
“132 Redwood Way.”
An address, he’d given me an address. I didn’t know how to read but I knew where that was. So many thoughts rushed in my mind I almost didn’t hear it. Almost.
“Got ‘er I got ‘er! She’s right here.” Lights all swung toward the man’s voice illuminating a girl, no not just a girl, May.  A piercing scream rang out, May’s piercing scream, and there was absolutely nothing that I could do.
“Well give her here!” A gruff voice called. “Best teach her a lesson ‘bout running away when we get back.”
The voices continued as they got farther away, as did May’s hopeless sobs. I crumpled to the ground shaking, my once hot body, now ice cold, there was one word in my mind, May. May was the closest thing I had to a friend, to a sister, to family. She was stubborn, rude, and strong; she also managed to piss everyone off, including the white folk. Oh she got lashed a lot, but boy did we love her. She stuck up for everyone even to the white folk. And dear god to hear her cry, defeated and hopeless, it opened up my eyes to what we all felt inside.
The sky was completely dark when I stood up, my legs cramped; I had sat there for at least three hours. My body was no longer numb but nearly frozen from the cold winter night.
“132 Redwood Way.” I uttered in barely a whisper. Who was that young man? Why did he not give me away? What does he want with me? Questions swam through my mind I found myself slowly walking toward the direction of Redwood Way. This is dangerous, what am I doing? I kept walking. I walked slowly for half an hour before I saw the small estate. There was a small white house where an old man and his wife lived, no one knew what happened to their children or why the old married couple were frequently gone but tonight a bedroom window on the upper floor was lit and on the porch there sat the young boy who had talked to me earlier.
I let out a small short gasp as I examined the boy and the house. Oh dear, oh dear what am I to do? A small smile crept at the boy’s lips, “Oh…” the boy quietly spoke staring straight into my eyes. “Is it distrust that I am sensing in your hesitation?” a small smile crept at the side of the boy’s mouth. I let out a gasp and stayed frozen. “Or am I not trustworthy enough to bring you to Ohio?”
Ohio, the word hit me like a slap to the face, freedom, Ohio… freedom. Ohio, this boy was here to help me. I was going to Ohio; I was going to be free.