Mama has been in the hospital for three months now. Papa died one year ago. My name is Rosie. I am thirteen years old. It is July 16, 1894, I wrote. I am sitting in the lobby of the hospital Mama is in. Yesterday Mama was diagnosed with Scarlet Fever. Mama needs medicine that is grown and kept a long way away. Our town is so broke we can’t even afford a horse.

“Rosie? Rosie? Rosie!”

“What!” I answered.

Doctor Daniel mumbled, “ Sorry, it looked like you were dead for a second,”

Doctor Daniel handed me a bag, a necklace, and a map with some markings on it.

“Your mother needs you to go on that journey. You can go ahead in and see her,” Doctor Daniel told me.  

I tied the necklace around my neck, put the strap from the bag over my shoulder and grabbed the map. I pushed through those dreaded double doors and tried not to look at all the sick people. I feel very bad for their families. Mama was behind the blue curtain. She was very pale and her hair was growing more and more gray everyday. She saw the bag and her smile faded.

“ So you're going,” Mama said in a hoarse voice.

“ I’m only doing it for you,” I say back. “It’s time for me to go.” I gave Mama a quick hug and bit my tongue and tried not to cry. I turned around.

“ Please don’t go,” Mama said again.

“ I already lost Papa and I’m not losing you too,” I said without turning around. I forced my stiff legs to move. I wanted to stop by the church on my way out of town.

 

I ran up the steps of the small church and brushed most of the dirt off my dress.

“ Minister Gray? Are you there?” I said into the church. Minister Gray is the priest in our church.

“Rosie? What are you doing here?” Minister Gray asked.

“ I’m going on a journey for my mother and I wished to be blessed,” I admitted.

“Then I  shall bless you. Come over here and leave all your belongings there,” he said while pointing at the bench in the first row.

When I put down all of my things, and walked over to Minister Gray, Minister Gray dropped my necklace in a large bowl of water. He undid my braids and combed my hair.

He dipped my hair in the water and prayed, “ O Heavenly spirits bless thou girl on her voyage for her beloved mother. Amen.” He pressed my whole face in the water and held it there for five seconds. He lifted my head and hair from the bowl. He combed my hair again and reput it in braids. He refastened my necklace around my neck.

“Thank you for taking the time to help me,” I emphasized. I gathered my things and walked out of the church.

“ Be careful,”  Minister Gray cautioned, “ Oh, and have a safe journey.” he concluded. As soon as I opened the church doors hot, sticky air blasted over me. I began to run.

I kept running until the edge of town. Sweat beaded on my face and the back of my neck. All of my breath had left me. My hip was sore from my bag bouncing on the side of my hip. I forced myself to keep walking. I was walking on a dirt road. The dirt road reminded me of an endless journey or a never ending job because it looked like the road ran forever. Looking at the position the sun was in, it was about ten o’clock. I had about three more hours before it got really hot. I picked up speed. Thinking about walking like this for three more hours or anytime at all made me sick to my stomach. As I watched the town disappear from view, I said a prayer. “Please heavenly Father bless me on this trip, and let Mama live until I get back. Amen.”

After an hour I looked at the map. I saw another road curving from the road I was on. When I saw the other road, I realized I was surrounded by yellow sand. Everywhere I looked, yellow sand. At the curve, I sat down and looked what was in my bag. I found a blanket, an extra dress, a hammock, a basket of food filled to the brim, one jug of water, a lantern, extra oil, and eight copper coins. The basket had more food than I would have usually eaten in a week. The tax for my house is one copper coin every two months. Our entire town is probably worth twelve  copper coins. I silently thanked Doctor Daniel. I ate a peice of bread with cheese and took a huge swig of water. I got up and kept walking.

Two hours later, sweat was everywhere. My dress was completely soaked and I was lightheaded. I sat down again. If I kept sitting down, I would never make it. I drank some more water and got up. In the distance, I could very faintly see civilization. My destination was two hours away from that town, according to my map. I needed to use two copper coins to pass through that town. I started to run. Soon, the town became more and more visible. My dress was now dripping with sweat. My feet and legs ached. I was breathing heavily. I could now see the town gates. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. Finally, I was only feet away from the gates.

“ Two copper coins to pass,” One of the guards demanded. I dug 2 coins out of my bag and placed them in the guard's hand. I was so happy. Two hours more! I knew I couldn’t walk two more hours. Tears came. I leaned against the side of  a building.  I thought, why was my town so quick to get rid of me? Are they even going to care if I don’t come back? Is Mama dead already? I wanted to crawl into Papa’s big arms. Papa is dead, Rosie. Pull it together.  Who cares about the town? Me! My mind was having a battle with itself. A door creaked open and a large lady came and picked me up and took me inside. I didn’t fight her. What did I even have left? In the lady's arms, I looked at the map again. Mr. Brass’s trading post was where the medicine was kept. A smile came to my face. Mr. Brass’s trading post was where my father used to take me every winter he was alive. Mama always disapproved because Mr. Brass is Jewish and he is not married. Mr. Brass is always in a rush. He always used to give me bags and bags of candy. Mr. Brass always had a sweet tooth. The lady put me in a bed and closed the door behind her. I fell asleep and dreamed of visiting Mr. Brass with Papa. I woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. The bed was soaked with sweat. I jumped up in disgust. I opened the door and walked down the stairs. The lady from yesterday was behind a counter serving drunk people eggs and bacon. She saw me and walked over.

“ I’m Carrie. What is your name?”

“ Hello, Ms. Carrie. My name is Rosie. I am on a journey for my mother. ”

“You can just call me Carrie. Would you like some eggs and bacon?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed and followed Ms. Carrie. We walked into a kitchen with a table and two chairs at the end of the room. On the table was two plates of steaming hot eggs, toast, sausage and bacon.

“ What a breakfast!” I declared. I sat down and Ms. Carrie carried over two mugs of coffee. The liquid was light brown instead of black. Ms. Carrie has cream! This was amazing. I haven’t eaten a proper meal since the last trip to Mr. Brass’s which was last winter.

“What a meal! I would like to tell you a story about a girl named Carrie from my village,” I said to Ms. Carrie.

“I would love to hear a story right now,” Ms. Carrie said back to me.

“Okay, I shall begin. Once, there was a beautiful girl named Carrie. She was an angel. She had blonde hair and blue eyes just like you. When she walked in the street, or when she passed anyone, they would smile. Not because of her beauty, but because of her kindness and gentleness. They say she glowed in the street, just like an angel. She was gentle and timid, but kind and strong. She made our town happy, and pushed us through bad times. She named me and no, she is not my mother.

She named me because she said, and I quote, “This one is special. This one is the one.” Everyone tried to get her to tell them who the one was. She never told a soul. This girl didn’t have a family. She lived in a small barn at the edge of town. One night she disappeared and never came back.”

“ What an ending to such a magnificent story!” Ms. Carrie cried.

“I wish I had actually gotten to know her. Now I just hear so many stories of her. Would you mind if I go upstairs and pack. I need to get going. I didn’t realize.”

“Of course! Don’t let me stop you from continuing your journey,” Ms. Carrie said.  

I walked upstairs and put back on my bag and picked up my map. I could do this! I walked downstairs. Ms. Carrie walked me out of her hotel.

“Maybe someday I will come live with you,” I smiled while hugging her.

“ That would be lovely,” Ms. Carrie said.

“ Goodbye, Ms. Carrie. Thank you for everything,” I said.

“ Goodbye Rosie, the special one,” Ms. Carrie said.

Sooner or later I began to see Mr. Brass’s town. I started to run. Mr. Brass’s house was on the very edge of town. It was a amber color. I knocked on his door. I was so excited I began to jump. Mr. Brass opened the door.

“Rosie? Is that you?”

“Yes, Mr. Brass, it’s Rosie.”

“Where is your father? I wasn’t expecting you two until winter.”

 “Mr. Brass?”

“Yes, deary, ” I hesitated. Should I tell Mr. Brass the truth? Is he trustworthy? What will his reaction be?

“My father was a victim of the war.” Mr. Brass’s face fell.

“How is your mother? Come in. Come in.”

When I sat down to sweet tea and taffy I said,

“My mother is sick. I need a medicine called. I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s called. Mr. Brass!”

“What does your mother have?”

“Scarlet Fever.”

“Oh, dear. I will be right back.” When Mr. Brass left I put a yellow taffy in my mouth. It was delicious. It tasted of sweet lemon with a little tart left. When Mr. Brass came back he handed me a package in a brown paper bag. I tucked it into my bag.

“One spoonful will do the trick.”

I stayed with Mr. Brass for three more hours. We caught up on new stories and events.

Mr. Brass handed me a bag filled with candies and said, “ You better get going. It’s going to be dark by the time you reach your mother.”

“Thank you Mr. Brass. I will come visit you with my mother soon. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye Rosie.”

Finally I was on my way back. I ran for a few minutes and then switched into a quick paced walk. I took out a large piece of bread and cheese from my basket. I ate it while I walked.

At the town where Ms. Carrie lived, I payed two copper coins and skipped through the town. I knew the sun is going down soon but Mama couldn’t wait another day for this medicine.

One hour later, I lit the lantern. I had a long way to go but it was almost pitch black. I was so excited for Mama. I took out another piece of bread with cheese and ate it.

One hour later, I looked at the map. It wasn’t safe to be walking in the dark like this. The curve was coming up soon which meant the town was only one hour away. I skipped and skipped. My dress was soaked with sweat, but I was cold from the chilly night air. The moon was so bright I didn’t even need the lantern. I could see my village. I was so excited my hands began to buzz. My hip hurt so badly from the bag. I switched the way I held it so it bounced on my other hip.

When I walked into the town, I couldn’t believe I was here. I remembered my town is not safe at night and started to run. I ran to the hospital and opened those awful double doors. Doctor Daniel walked out from the blue curtain.

He said, “ Hurry! Over here!”

I ran to him and pulled out the medicine from my bag.

“This is not the right medicine.” Doctor Daniel said.

“Just try it,” I said. “ And one spoonful will do,” I snapped, my nostrils flaring. Doctor Daniel got a spoon and dipped it into the medicine. The medicine looked like molasses and had a similar texture.

Mama swallowed the medicine and said, “Water!Water! That is gross!” Doctor Daniel handed her a tall glass of water.

Over the course of two weeks, the color returned to my mother’s face. Her lips were her normal color. She was cured! Some of the cases took longer to heal, but everyone soon healed.

That night the town had a celebration. The celebration was held at the church. Everyone sat like we were having a regular Sunday service. Minister Gray held a ceremony.  After the ceremony,  adults drank rum and children drank milk.

Two years later… Mama and I are living with Mr. Brass. Mama finally decided it was alright to be Jewish and not to be married. Mama certainly does not participate in the Jewish celebrations and tons of candy eating. Mama got Mr. Brass to eat better, and Mr. Brass got her to eat some candy every once in awhile. I help Mr. Brass in his shop everyday and Mama is teaching me how to read and write. Every weekend I go and see Ms. Carrie. I love to eat the sausage she makes. The town is doing great. Mama decided that she needed a new page of her life, so we moved to Mr. Brass’s house. I closed the journal and sighed.

“Mama, I finished,” I said.