Road to Freedom

Chapter 4

Light was just starting to shine through the windows when Daniel got up the next morning. After a whole night without sleep, and the long, sleepless trip here, he figured he’d sleep good last night. Unfortunately he was so worried about oversleeping, that he kept waking up every hour.

To his surprise, Doc was also up and working over the stove. At least he figured this man must be Doc for who else would be in his house? Just to be sure, he decided to question it.

“Doc?” he asked.

The man stretched to his full height, and turned to face him. He was tall and slender. Daniel guessed him to be somewhere in his forties. His hair was completely dark and he had a mustache and beard that only surrounded his mouth, but left his cheeks clean shaven.

“Yes, Mr. Marshall?” he asked with a touch of a smile to his face.

Daniel smiled back, and brushed his fingers through his messy, blonde hair.

“Thanks for letting me stay with you.”

“It’s the least I can do considering you’re here to teach our children.” Doc replied, “Did you sleep well?”

“I was so worried about oversleeping, that I tossed and turned a good part of the night.” Daniel said, “I should sleep very well tonight.”

“I felt that way the night I was freed.” Doc chuckled, “Couldn’t figure out what to do with myself now that it was completely up to me.”

Doc took the frying pan from the stove, and scraped its contents of onto two plates.

“Breakfast is ready.” he announced.

During breakfast, Daniel was quiet. He wondered what it was like to be a slave. He knew that whenever his father and brothers ordered him around, that’s how he felt. In a way, being off by himself like this made his feel as if he had just been freed. Still, he was curious of this man’s story. He wanted to ask him about his life, but that would have to wait. It was almost time for school, and he still had to wash up and get dressed.

“How many kids do you think there will be?” Daniel asked as he washed his dish in the tub of water.

“Depends on how many families let their kids go to school.” Doc said, “Some of the parents aren’t too thrilled about a white man teaching their kids.”

“Why?” Daniel asked as he went to his suitcase and pulled out a change of clothes, “We all go by the same alphabet and numbers, don’t we?”

“Sure! But there’s some that wonder if we go by the same morals and principles.” Doc said.

Daniel paused in the middle of changing his shirt, and looked curiously at the older man.

“What do you mean?”

“They wonder what you’ll be teaching them.” Doc said as he got up from the table and placed his dish in the tub of water. “Will you be teaching them that they are less than the white man? That they would be better off enslaved? That they don’t stand a chance in this white world?”

Daniel’s face turned a slight shade of pink. Whether it was from embarrassment or anger, he didn’t know.

“Of course not!” he replied, perhaps a bit heatedly. “If I felt that way, I would have turned right around and went back home. Is that why you think I’m here?”

“Whoa! Calm that temper, boy!” Doc chuckled as he held up his hands. “I didn’t say that’s how I thought. Though before I met you, I did have to wonder.” Doc placed his hands in his pocked and walked forward a few steps. “The people here can be a bit distrusting. You can’t say that one of our own wouldn’t be treated the same way if he went into a white community.”

“No, sir!” Daniel smiled sheepishly as he pulled his shirt on, “I guess I can’t.”

“As long as you’re staying here, you might as well get used to the whispers and suspicions.” Doc continued as he went over to his medical bag. “Give them time. Parents have a right to worry for their children. Lord knows I deal with it enough whenever one of them has the slightest case of the sniffles.”

~~~~~




Daniel got to the church which doubled as a classroom before the other students so he could get things ready. He placed his books on the desk. The letter Miss Wilson gave him said these children needed to start at the basics. They had no schooling except for what little their parents might have taught them. Daniel turned to the blackboard that was hanging up behind his desk, and started writing out the alphabet. When he finished, he was surprised to turn around and find five children sitting in the pews. Looking hard at two of the little boys, he began to recognize the little heads that were peeking out at him as he and Mr. Conrad passed through.

“Good morning!” Daniel smiled as he sat on the edge of his desk. There was no response. The few children that looked at him did so shyly. “Does anyone know if anymore children are coming?” There was still no answer. This didn’t discourage Daniel though. He had expected that they’d be nervous. Most children were on their first day of school. “I see! Well we’ll wait until eight o’clock to start. You may talk with one another till then.”

As one, all the children leaned their heads in together and began whispering. Daniel was sure he was the main topic. Eight o’clock came, and three more children came. All together, he had five girls and three boys. He was pleased with this turn out. Doc had him worried that no children would come.

The children were spread out: some on the second pew, some in the middle pew, and some in the back pew. Daniel asked them all to move to the first two pews, and the children quietly did so. Taking a book and pencil, Daniel stood directly in front of the children. The three boys in the front seat slid down, and the girls in the pew behind them sat as far back as they could. Daniel raised his brow in surprise. He had never seen children afraid of him before.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me, you know.” Daniel said, smiling a kind smile to emphasize the point. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to teach you.”

The girls seemed to relax some, and the boys straightened in their seats.

“That’s better!” Daniel said feeling relieved. It was only a small hurdle, but he managed to jump it. “My name is Daniel Marshall. I come from a city several miles away called Culpepper. This is the first time I’ve taught a class completely on my own, so in a way I’m going to be learning just the same as you. Now what I need from you are your names. We’ll start with you boys in front.” He looked at one boy in particular. “What’s your name?”

The boy was hesitant to answer, but when the boy next to him nudged him, he quietly said, “Jonah!”

“What’s your last name?” Daniel asked.

“Jonah Webster.” The boy answered.

Daniel smiled at the boy, went on to the other children. Some were a little more outgoing than the others. Some were very shy, and Daniel had to ask a couple of times before they finally whispered their name.

Daniel went back to his desk and laid the book down. He looked over the faces of each child, and could see the curiosity on their faces. This was a good sign, he figured. Curiosity led to learning.

“Do any of you know the alphabet?” he asked.

The children looked at each other, and Daniel could tell they didn’t understand.

“This is the alphabet here.” Daniel said as he pointed to the letters on the blackboard. “A-B-C-D-E-F-G: These symbols are what we use to read and write with. We’ll start with the vowels.” He was about to ask them to write them down when he realized none of the children and pencils or papers. He could take paper out of his pad and give it to them, but he didn’t have enough pencils for everyone. “If any of you have paper and pencils at home, I need you to bring them so you’ll have something to write with.” He took his three pencils and passed them around along with sheets of paper, instructing the children to share.

It was pushing noon, and he was sure the children would be ready for a break. He dismissed them all for recess, and the children wandered outside, talking amongst each other. Daniel tried to muster some encouragement for himself, but it was difficult. The children were quiet and unsure. He scolded himself for not being able to make them come out of their shell, yet at the same time told himself to give them more time. He couldn’t expect so much out of the first day.

At the moment though, something just didn’t feel right. There had been many times that he had sat in the class room while his friends went off to play. He could always here them yelling and laughing. That’s what was different. It was quiet outside. That was unusual for children unless they were up to something as his father always said. Daniel walked outside, and looked around. Not a child in sight. Discouragement filled his soul. Had they been bored and given up on him so soon? Did he scare them or offend them in some way? His shoulders sagged as he walked back into the school room. He sat on his desk and looked out over the empty pews. Recollecting everything he had said and done, he smiled to himself when he found his mistake. He called recess and told the children they could go outside. He neglected to explain what recess was. The children had gone home for the day.

~~~~~




Doc laughed when Daniel explained why he was home so early. The laughter was contagious, and Daniel found himself chuckling about it also. Aside from that incident, though, Daniel explained that he enjoyed teaching today.

“Being it’s only the first day,” Daniel said, “It’s kind of early to tell whether or not I’m getting through. My biggest fear is that they’ll become bored. It’s hard to hold a little one’s attention.”

“How did they seem to react toward you?” Doc asked.

“They were scared at first.” Daniel said, “Very shy. I hope they’ll warm up to me.”

“Given time, I’m sure they will.” Doc said. He got up from his porch chair, and stretched. “Come inside, and I’ll make you some lunch.”

“You don’t have to bother. I can take care of it.” Daniel said as he walked inside behind Doc, “Considering I have the rest of the day off, I’ll make dinner too.”

Doc seemed pleased with Daniel’s offer. With a slight nod of his head, he agreed.

“I’ll go to my office, and get some work done then.” Doc said, then chuckled, “You know, I think I’m going to like having a house wife for a couple of weeks.”

“Oh yeah?” Daniel smiled, “Just think, you don’t even have to buy me flowers.”

Doc’s laughter could be heard even after he left the house.