Olivia, Mourning Read Online Free PDF Page A

Killion’s General and hid behind the bolts of fabric in the storeroom. Seven-year-old Olivia watched as Goody Carter picked him up and dragged him out to the wagon. Mourning fought hard, kicking wildly and yelling, “I ain’t gonna go, I ain’t gonna. You can’t make me. I ain’t yours. I ain’t none a your business.” The white customers stepped aside in dismay, the women’s bonnets bobbing, but no one felt inclined to interfere.
    A few days later Olivia walked down to the bank of the Saugauta River. It was a warm day in May, the sky a startling blue, the fields dotted with yellow and purple wildflowers. She spread a red and white checkered tablecloth over a patch of clover and knelt on one corner of it. A gentle breeze played with the cloth, so she anchored two other corners with her rag doll and picnic basket. She was humming “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” to her doll when she heard someone slosh out of the river. She looked up, amazed to see Mourning Free climbing up the bank, his scrawny chest bare and his trousers dripping. He was carrying his shoes in one hand and a brown shirt and blue cloth bag in the other.
    “Hullo, Mourning,” Olivia said, eyes wide.
    “Hullo to you, Livia.” He walked over and tossed his belongings to the ground.
    “Did you fall into the river?”
    “Nah. Been gettin’ cleaned up. Heard someone come and thought I’m a have to hide down there. Then I hear it just be you, talkin’ to your stupid doll.”
    “Do you want to have a tea party with us?” She reached for her doll and pulled it back to her lap, making room for him to join her on the tablecloth.
    “You got any food ain’t make-believe?”
    She opened the picnic basket and arranged chunks of cheese, a few slices of bread, and two apples on a white linen napkin. Mourning sank to his knees, making large wet circles on the cloth, grabbed some cheese and bread, and filled his mouth.
    “Ain’t et nothing for two days,” he mumbled, cheeks bulging.
    “Who were you hiding from?”
    “Everybody.” He swallowed and reached for more bread and cheese, but hesitated, glancing at his hostess.
    “It’s okay,” Olivia said and leaned away from the food. “You can have it all. I thought they took you away.”
    He bit into a chunk of cheese and sat back on his heels. “That right. But I run away from ’em. Been walkin’ for three days.”
    This announcement left Olivia frowning. She watched him eat for a few moments before asking, “But who’s going to take care of you?”
    “Me.” He jerked his thumb at his bare chest. “I can take as good care a myself as them Carters ever done.”
    “Why, were they mean to you?”
    He tilted his head back and grinned. “That what Goody think folks gonna say.” Then he looked straight at Olivia, his expression serious. “No, Goody always give me a good tanning when I got it comin’, but they ain’t never treated me bad. But they got four kids without me. That be crowd ’nuff in one cabin.”
    Olivia studied the horizon, still frowning in bewilderment. “How did you find your way home?”
    “Followed the river back. Minute I seen it, I know that be my chance to run.”
    She hugged her doll and stared at this amazing boy, somewhat frightened of him. “You can have the apples too.” She pushed the plate toward him.
    They sat staring at the sunlight on the river while they listened to the distant buzz of honeybees and breathed in the sweet smell of clover. Mourning chomped on the apples, leaving nothing but the stem and seeds.
    “Why were you hiding?” Olivia asked.
    “I don’t think they be lookin’ for me.” He tossed the tiny remains of the last apple away and lay back in the warm sun, hands behind his head. “They be just as glad I gone. But I gonna stay out a sight a few more days, just in case.” He lifted his head to look at Olivia. “Once they be gone west for good, ain’t nothin’ no one can do with me.”
    “But you don’t have a mommy or a daddy,”