Into the City

"Maria when you're done milking the cows I want you to feed the pigs, collect about thirty eggs from the hen house, brush down the horses and cook me dinner. And don't even try to shirk any of your other duties 'cause I'll find out and when I do you'll get the whipping of a lifetime. Now get to work," my father shouted in my ear before turning on his heel and stomping back into the house. Boy did I want to dump the pail of milk over his worthless face and leave the farm, and him, behind forever. Ever since Catherine died during childbirth last month, my father has been acting unbearable. It's like this every time something doesn't go his way. He bottles up all his feelings until he explodes in my face. I'm his thirteen-year-old daughter and already I have more scars on my back then Horace, my father's slave of twenty years. There wasn't much more abuse I could take before I took my belongings and left to find work in the city. “This is not the time to think like that, do you want to be whipped again,” I thought, pushing all thoughts of escape and hatred out of my mind.

I managed to get all the way to the second to last item on my father's list of demands before I heard from him again. I was brushing down Thunder, his prized horse, when he burst through the barn doors. "WHERE IS IT!?!?!?! I KNOW YOU HAVE IT, YOU LITTLE THIEF!!" he yelled, spraying spit all over the barn. "Where is what, Father?" I asked as politely as I could manage. "DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME, YOU KNOW VERY WELL WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT," he screamed at an even higher volume. "No, sir, I swear on my mother's grave that I don't," I replied barely controlling my own rage. Without warning, he lunged for my neck. I tried to dodge his grasp, but my reaction was delayed and he was on top of me wringing my neck within a millisecond.

"I SAID WHERE IS IT!!!! WHERE IS CATHERINE'S LOCKET, I KNOW YOU STOLE IT!" When I didn't reply he released my neck and began to beat me senseless. All I could do was lay there and pray he would disappear. I woke up an hour later on the barn floor. My whole body throbbed, but I forced myself up and into the house. Grabbing the suitcase from under my bed, I threw every single possession I owned in and limped out of the house. I headed west in the direction of Boston. “Just keep going, you'll be safe soon,” I kept telling myself. “It will all be over soon.”

Within two hours, I had reached the outskirts of Boston. The sun was beginning to set, but the city was still bustling with activity. I knew that one mile into town there would be a spinning wheel factory. There I would find work and lodge in one of the boardinghouses nearby. I just had to stay strong for a little while longer. "Oh my goodness, you poor child! Who did this to you?" a young woman said running up and taking me by the shoulder. "My.....father,” I squeaked out. "You must come with me; I board at the Lowell Mill. Oh, I just came up with the perfect idea! Once you get better, I can get you a job there. Then you'll never have to worry about that mean old daddy again," she said in almost a singsong voice.

It took me about a week to recover. When I did get better the woman kept her word and got me a job working at Lowell Mill. I was in heaven; Lowell Mill was all I had dreamed of and more. There were no abusive fathers, we were paid for our work, and boarding came along with working there. I felt like I had finally found my calling. If only Mother could see me now, she would be so happy that I had managed to escape Father even if she wasn't able to.

Day after day, I blissfully spun cotton into yarn and yarn into cotton. It was much easier to work since machines had been invented to move along the process. I remember the days when everything had to be done by hand. Back in those days, I would have happily stayed with my father. Thankfully, he never showed up. Now I am free to make my own living and find a suitable husband for me to settle down in. I pray to god that more people will venture into the city like I did. A much better life waits for them there.