Mosana (The Union) - Part II
EPISODE 2
“You want to become a conductor?” Mel half-shouted.
“It’s dangerous!” Edwin finished for her.
Meg just looked at me in shock.
“Listen,” I said, my hands up. “We are not going to become conductors. Just spies.”
‘Mosana…” Meg was trying to get me to stop talking. She knew how I could be when I set my mind upon an idea.
“Look,” I started, determined to finish my sentence. “How long do you think we can run? It’s only been a year since they passed the Slave Act, and we’ve seen so much damage. Even if we flee to New York, how long do you think before the long arms of the law catch up with the rest of the escaped there? We need to go back. Help the cause. Put our ears to the ground and smuggle information. The Revolution needs it.”
I said the last bit while keeping my eyes on Edwin. I knew only he would understand what I meant. He stared into space, thinking hard like the Conductor that he was.
“Revolution?” Mel breathed. “What revolution?”
Edwin spoke. But instead of answering Mel’s question, he said, “Mosana’s right.”
“What?” Meg and Mel spoke at the same time. “I thought you just agreed that this was insane!” Meg finished.
“For you three, yes. But for the Society, no.”
“What in the world are you talking about? In which world does the Society need escaped slaves to go back as spies?” Meg was frustrated.
“That wasn’t exactly the plan. But Mosana has actually given us a way to carry out our mission.”
“What mission?”
I held back a smile. If Edwin didn’t start explaining well, Meg was going to burst. She was such an impatient black woman. Freedom in Philadelphia had revealed as much. I couldn’t help feeling like I had played a part in that.
“I don’t know how Mosana knows,” Edwin looked at me briefly, “but the Conductors have been strategizing on this for months, ever since the Act was passed. The plan was to send someone back, someone brave enough, and strong enough, back to the South to uh, how do I put this, peddle information. We realized that the commodity best traded in the South is information; apart from slaves, that is. And that’s what the Underground Railroad is built on. We need information. We have to know. If we don’t know, we can’t act. And if we can’t act, we can’t rescue slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act caught us by surprise simply because we didn’t know. If we had known this was going to happen, the Conductors would have leveraged influence and power at least on the free states to fight the bill.” Edwin wiped his brow with one hand.
‘And now Pennsylvania has to return escapees,” he finished defeatedly.
We were silent for a few seconds, then I spoke up again, quietly. “But we can do something.”
“Yes,” Edwin replied. “But like I said earlier, it’s too dangerous.”
“You mean for Mel, it’s dangerous,” I countered, raising one eyebrow with a smirk. He had looked at her while telling us it was too dangerous. It wasn’t hard to figure out who he was most concerned about. Mel blushed like someone had lit a bush fire in her cheeks and Edwin cleared his throat.
“Why not send one of the conductors?” Meg asked.
“As slaves? We considered that. Even considered sending Rossie, but we need our conductors for rescuing slaves. What we want is someone unknown, who can go undercover. Rossie might be unknown to the slave owners, but she has been well described among slave circles, and you’d be surprised how far news carries, even without a newspaper. If a slave should see her while she was over there, she would be recognized and the plan could be jeopardized. We need her here.”
“Send us,” I said, when nobody spoke again.
At that, Meg turned to me, eyebrow furrowed, slowly analysing me with her eyes. Finally, when it clicked, she raised her eyebrows. “This is for Flint, isn’t it?”
I was a little surprised it took them to long to guess. Of course, it was for Flint. If we went back to the South, as per the Society’s instructions, I could look for Flint on my own. Edwin had been surprised I knew of the Conductors’ little plan. But he didn’t know how I came to know of it. He didn’t know I had haggled Camden, a shipmate, who worked the docks steering newly arrived escapees to the Society, for days on end trying to get information on Flint. Edwin wasn’t the only one I asked about the workings of the Railroad; I had also made an acquaintance in Camden, who would thrill me with stories about how slaves escaped through the Railroad. I listened to Camden’s stories, hoping to get a sliver of information that might tell me where Flint might be.
After a while, I got frustrated, and began to ask direct questions to Camden, ignoring his stories. One day, he got so tired of my haggling him that he confessed to me how the Conductors were looking to send some people back who were willing, and who could smuggle information for them. If they succeeded, I could have someone on that side who would find out where Flint was.
That was the last time I asked Camden about Flint, and I figured he was grateful for it. Because I now knew what to do. Now here we were, with my plan (or the Society’s plan) out in the open, and the real reason I wanted to go through with it.
“This is for Flint, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The two sisters sighed.
“He would come back for you,” I said quietly.
“Yes, but he wouldn’t want us recaptured,” Meg answered.
“We’re not going to be recaptured! Rossie went back for her family. Flint is the only family I have!” I decided to ignore for now, the fact that Meg and Mel were also my family too.
Edwin tried to speak. “Mosana, with a little more time, we will find Flint. I suggest that you exercise some- ”
But I didn’t let him finish. “We’ve been waiting ten years! He’s not here!”
“Hey…,” Mel tried to soothe me, but I wasn’t having it.
“Send me, then,” I said defiantly. “If no one will go with me, then send me alone. I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Mosana…”
“No! You can stay. I don’t blame you for refusing anyway. I was there too, with all of you. I suffered. We all suffered. But you want to just leave Flint there? Who knows if he’s even -” But I refused to finish the sentence.
As the years had gone by, the thought that I might never find Flint because he might be dead had crossed my mind more than once. But I squashed it each time it came up. I wouldn’t give up hope.
Meg put a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll go with you, Mo. Flint might not want us recaptured, but he certainly wouldn’t want us to leave you alone.”
Mel came to stand with her sister. “So, we’re coming.”
I managed a smile. “What about you, Edwin?”
The man looked at me incredulously. “You want me to come along too?”
“No, silly,” I half-laughed. “I’m asking what you think about Mel going.”
“Well…” He cleared his throat again, like something was suddenly stuck there. “Mel is… strong. And if there was anyone I’d recommend for the job, it’d be her. Besides, she’d be of much use to you in the South, than here… with me.”
If a black woman’s cheeks could turn red, Mel’s were crimson. She looked down at the ground shyly and refused to meet Edwin’s eyes. Meg laughed at her sister.
Edwin spoke again. “Well, since that’s settled, let me take you to the Conductors.”
“You want to become a conductor?” Mel half-shouted.
“It’s dangerous!” Edwin finished for her.
Meg just looked at me in shock.
“Listen,” I said, my hands up. “We are not going to become conductors. Just spies.”
‘Mosana…” Meg was trying to get me to stop talking. She knew how I could be when I set my mind upon an idea.
“Look,” I started, determined to finish my sentence. “How long do you think we can run? It’s only been a year since they passed the Slave Act, and we’ve seen so much damage. Even if we flee to New York, how long do you think before the long arms of the law catch up with the rest of the escaped there? We need to go back. Help the cause. Put our ears to the ground and smuggle information. The Revolution needs it.”
I said the last bit while keeping my eyes on Edwin. I knew only he would understand what I meant. He stared into space, thinking hard like the Conductor that he was.
“Revolution?” Mel breathed. “What revolution?”
Edwin spoke. But instead of answering Mel’s question, he said, “Mosana’s right.”
“What?” Meg and Mel spoke at the same time. “I thought you just agreed that this was insane!” Meg finished.
“For you three, yes. But for the Society, no.”
“What in the world are you talking about? In which world does the Society need escaped slaves to go back as spies?” Meg was frustrated.
“That wasn’t exactly the plan. But Mosana has actually given us a way to carry out our mission.”
“What mission?”
I held back a smile. If Edwin didn’t start explaining well, Meg was going to burst. She was such an impatient black woman. Freedom in Philadelphia had revealed as much. I couldn’t help feeling like I had played a part in that.
“I don’t know how Mosana knows,” Edwin looked at me briefly, “but the Conductors have been strategizing on this for months, ever since the Act was passed. The plan was to send someone back, someone brave enough, and strong enough, back to the South to uh, how do I put this, peddle information. We realized that the commodity best traded in the South is information; apart from slaves, that is. And that’s what the Underground Railroad is built on. We need information. We have to know. If we don’t know, we can’t act. And if we can’t act, we can’t rescue slaves. The Fugitive Slave Act caught us by surprise simply because we didn’t know. If we had known this was going to happen, the Conductors would have leveraged influence and power at least on the free states to fight the bill.” Edwin wiped his brow with one hand.
‘And now Pennsylvania has to return escapees,” he finished defeatedly.
We were silent for a few seconds, then I spoke up again, quietly. “But we can do something.”
“Yes,” Edwin replied. “But like I said earlier, it’s too dangerous.”
“You mean for Mel, it’s dangerous,” I countered, raising one eyebrow with a smirk. He had looked at her while telling us it was too dangerous. It wasn’t hard to figure out who he was most concerned about. Mel blushed like someone had lit a bush fire in her cheeks and Edwin cleared his throat.
“Why not send one of the conductors?” Meg asked.
“As slaves? We considered that. Even considered sending Rossie, but we need our conductors for rescuing slaves. What we want is someone unknown, who can go undercover. Rossie might be unknown to the slave owners, but she has been well described among slave circles, and you’d be surprised how far news carries, even without a newspaper. If a slave should see her while she was over there, she would be recognized and the plan could be jeopardized. We need her here.”
“Send us,” I said, when nobody spoke again.
At that, Meg turned to me, eyebrow furrowed, slowly analysing me with her eyes. Finally, when it clicked, she raised her eyebrows. “This is for Flint, isn’t it?”
I was a little surprised it took them to long to guess. Of course, it was for Flint. If we went back to the South, as per the Society’s instructions, I could look for Flint on my own. Edwin had been surprised I knew of the Conductors’ little plan. But he didn’t know how I came to know of it. He didn’t know I had haggled Camden, a shipmate, who worked the docks steering newly arrived escapees to the Society, for days on end trying to get information on Flint. Edwin wasn’t the only one I asked about the workings of the Railroad; I had also made an acquaintance in Camden, who would thrill me with stories about how slaves escaped through the Railroad. I listened to Camden’s stories, hoping to get a sliver of information that might tell me where Flint might be.
After a while, I got frustrated, and began to ask direct questions to Camden, ignoring his stories. One day, he got so tired of my haggling him that he confessed to me how the Conductors were looking to send some people back who were willing, and who could smuggle information for them. If they succeeded, I could have someone on that side who would find out where Flint was.
That was the last time I asked Camden about Flint, and I figured he was grateful for it. Because I now knew what to do. Now here we were, with my plan (or the Society’s plan) out in the open, and the real reason I wanted to go through with it.
“This is for Flint, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The two sisters sighed.
“He would come back for you,” I said quietly.
“Yes, but he wouldn’t want us recaptured,” Meg answered.
“We’re not going to be recaptured! Rossie went back for her family. Flint is the only family I have!” I decided to ignore for now, the fact that Meg and Mel were also my family too.
Edwin tried to speak. “Mosana, with a little more time, we will find Flint. I suggest that you exercise some- ”
But I didn’t let him finish. “We’ve been waiting ten years! He’s not here!”
“Hey…,” Mel tried to soothe me, but I wasn’t having it.
“Send me, then,” I said defiantly. “If no one will go with me, then send me alone. I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Mosana…”
“No! You can stay. I don’t blame you for refusing anyway. I was there too, with all of you. I suffered. We all suffered. But you want to just leave Flint there? Who knows if he’s even -” But I refused to finish the sentence.
As the years had gone by, the thought that I might never find Flint because he might be dead had crossed my mind more than once. But I squashed it each time it came up. I wouldn’t give up hope.
Meg put a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll go with you, Mo. Flint might not want us recaptured, but he certainly wouldn’t want us to leave you alone.”
Mel came to stand with her sister. “So, we’re coming.”
I managed a smile. “What about you, Edwin?”
The man looked at me incredulously. “You want me to come along too?”
“No, silly,” I half-laughed. “I’m asking what you think about Mel going.”
“Well…” He cleared his throat again, like something was suddenly stuck there. “Mel is… strong. And if there was anyone I’d recommend for the job, it’d be her. Besides, she’d be of much use to you in the South, than here… with me.”
If a black woman’s cheeks could turn red, Mel’s were crimson. She looked down at the ground shyly and refused to meet Edwin’s eyes. Meg laughed at her sister.
Edwin spoke again. “Well, since that’s settled, let me take you to the Conductors.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey you!
Hey you!
Welcome back to another episode. I won't talk too much today, I want to do my hair abeg. But let me know if you have any questions in the comment section.
P.S. Do you think Flint is dead??? #evilwink
Till next Sunday,
xoxo,
Ava.
Comments
Post a Comment