Kansas. I never knew that I would end up in Kansas after I parted ways with Jewel in Illinois. I made sure that she was as North as we could get, and then I decided to head South into the new state. By the time I arrived in Kansas, my name quickly became a common topic around Topeka, where I now live, and I'm quickly becoming famous and respected for my escape with Jewel.
I know that I'm not going to stay here for long, as I hope to explore America and draw my surroundings.
"Evangeline! Evangeline!" Someone shouted from across the street. "Is it true that you betrayed your family to free one slave?"
I rolled my eyes and groaned in annoyance. This was the about the third person today to ask me the exact same question. "Yes, yes. It's true." I paused and glared at the random townsman. "Don't call me Evangeline. It's Evan." I spat out the last word, and it almost sounded like a low growl.
Even though I hated my real name and preferred my nickname, Evan, I still didn't like to hear my brother's name after what he did to Jewel.
I turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction to avoid the previous townsman. Instead of heading for the market, I headed for the local art museum to sell my paintings and drawings from the escape with Jewel.
***
Once I finally reached the large building, I nervously clutched my twin brother's satchel that I stole before I left with Jewel. I lightly brushed the smooth leather with my fingers and remembered how he would always take me to the nearby forest and teach me drawing lessons, and I soon felt more comfortable and relaxed.
As I pushed open the large double doors of the museum, a tall, thin man rushed over to me. I firstly noticed his icy blue eyes that stuck into my gaze like a sharp knife. The man's eyes didn't show any hint of wildness, but they were comforting and calming like an ocean's waves rippling in the soft breeze.
Another striking feature was a bright lavender necklace that loosely strung around his neck. It had the shape of a teardrop, and it was the same shade of my one purple eye.
The horrifyingly handsome stranger speed-walked toward me with a clipboard in his hand, and he awkwardly stumbled on the bottom corner of the podium in front of me.
He adjusted his round glasses and stood up to face me. "H-hello. Miss Freebourne, is it?" His voice was shaky like he didn't have enough confidence to approach me.
He smiled awkwardly as I opened my mouth to answer. "Yeah, I'm Miss Freebourne. I was, uh, wondering if your museum can purchase my art."
The stranger paused, and he seemed to be gazing straight through me as if I was but a ghost in the museum. His expression was blank, and I predicted that he was zoning out into space. I tried my best not to giggle.
"Oh, good heavens!" the man said as he snapped back into reality, his cheeks flushing to a bright pink. "Sorry, Evangeline." He said my name slowly as if trying to savor every syllable that rolled off of his tongue.
He rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, today was just a busy day, I'm probably just really tired."
I finally managed to let out the chuckle I was trying so hard to hold in. "Don't worry, that's fine. As long as you don't fall unconscious, I'm okay with you daydreaming for a bit."
He smiled thoughtfully and held out his hand, trying to distract me from his reddened face. "Thanks. I'm Oliver. Oliver Brown."
***
Oliver quietly led me to his office and had me sit down in a leather chair on the side of the desk opposite to his. "Evangeline, show me your works and I'll see what I can do with them." he removed a checklist-like sheet from a drawer in his desk.
I set my brother's art satchel on the desk and took out one of my best works.
I slid a painting of a scene of a copse of trees and a mountain watching over the small forest. Under one of the autumn trees sat my twin brother, and he was lazily dozing off, his headband at his nose. A single ray of light stretched down from the sky and through the trees to illuminate my brother's tan face.
Oliver grabbed the painting and examined it, his icy blue eyes sweeping from one side of the canvas to the other. He then covered his mouth with one of his hands in surprise and awe. "Evangeline, this is amazing! How much do you want for this piece?"
I shrugged. "I honestly don't care. I'll settle for how much it's worth."
"Well," Oliver said as he scribbled down furiously on his checklist. "It's worth a lot."
He smiled, stood up, and clasped his hands together. "We'll mail your earnings to you in a few days."
I stood up and out of my chair to leave the room, but Oliver placed his hand on my shoulder and pushed me back into my chair. "Don't go yet."
I raised an eyebrow in confusion, but my confusion quickly faded away once I gave Oliver a chance to explain what he was about to say.
"There's a little tradition we do here in this museum," he began, trying to adopt a confident, non-awkward tone. "Whenever we buy someone's artwork, someone from the museum has to take them out to dinner at the restaurant of their choice, and that someone who's taking you out to dinner is me." He pointed his finger to his chest, right above the teardrop pendant on his necklace.
I curled my lips and pouted, taking on a skeptic appeal. "I'm not sure if you're telling the truth."
Oliver's face reddened even more and he shrugged awkwardly. "What do you mean?"
I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "I mean, so you do this 'tradition' to everyone? Or am I just an exception?"
He giggled with me, trying to seem like his lie was actually the truth. To be honest, Oliver needs some lessons on lying. "N-no..." he stammered. "It's a tradition that we celebrate how an artist has their, uh, drawings noticed."
I smiled at Oliver and combed a strand of hair behind my ear with my hand. "Yeah, it's cool, Oliver. You can take me out to dinner."
***
I happily ate the food that Oliver bought for me, and he smiled at how fast I was eating. Oliver placed his hand over his mouth to muffle his small giggles.
"Is the food good?" he asked, barely managing to stifle a laugh.
I rolled my eyes and rubbed my mouth with the sleeve of my brother's old cardigan. "Hey, cut me some slack, this is the first good food I have had in weeks. It's amazing."
"Wait," Oliver said in surprise. "What do you mean by that? You're famous and inspiring here in Kansas. Why can't you get good food?"
I inhaled slowly, gathering recent memories that I chose to stuff in the back of my mind. "Well, Oliver, ever since I ran away with a slave friend from my family's plantation in Missouri, I had a bit of financial trouble here in Kansas. I wasn't able to earn money since they don't want to hire a 'law-breaker' like me."
"I managed to save up a bit of funds to buy myself a place to stay, but I haven't been able to buy sufficient food, so I resorted to hunting. While escaping the plantation with Jewel, we both learned how to hunt," I exhaled after reciting my recent memories.
Wow was the only word Oliver managed to respond with after my little story of how I live in Kansas.
He shifted in his chair and fiddled with his eating utensils. "Maybe, if you want, you can stay with me. I have good food and shelter."
I opened my mouth to speak, but Oliver drew his arm across the table and covered my face with his hand.
"You can't make me say otherwise. Someone as brave as you should deserve better living conditions, and it'll be easier if you just stay with me. Once you have enough funds, you can leave whenever you want," Oliver smiled thoughtfully. "Please. I really don't want you to resort to hunting for food."
I rolled my eyes, a piece of cooked salmon still sticking out of my mouth. "Fine," I said, the statement becoming muffled due to the large bite of food I just took. I couldn't help it-the food was delicious!
"Oh," I said, breaking the silence between Oliver and I as we ate our dessert. "You don't need to call me Evangeline. It's Evan."
***
In the guest bedroom at Oliver's house, I woke up not to the warm rays of the sun, but to the rumble of many pairs of feet parading on the ground. The vibrations of the ground from the people outside almost caused me to fall out of bed, but I stumbled onto the floor below.
I tiredly rubbed my short, brown hair and twirled a portion of it into a half-ponytail. Still yawning, I changed into some clothes I stole from my brother's closet-a pair of tight black pants. I dug through one of my backpacks to find another comfortable tank top that I sewed myself during one of the many sewing lessons Jewel would give me.
I finally slipped into my favorite purple cardigan and headed down the hallway. I turned into Oliver's room to wake him up, and I found him snoring softly in his bed.
I tapped his shoulder. "Oliver, get up."
He groaned in exhaustion. "No, please. Five more minutes. Or eternities."
I rolled my eyes and finally pushed him over the side of the bed. "Get up, sleepyhead! I think there's a riot outside!"
Oliver, or the sleepyhead, sprung awake when he heard the word "riot". He slid his robe over his shoulders and rushed over to me.
"A riot?" He said in his usual shaky voice.
"Not sure, but I bet that you can hear the pounding feet outside," I joked.
Oliver shoved past me and dashed down the stairs to see what was occurring outside. I followed, but I casually walked down the small flight of stairs knowing that I would eventually get outside.
I exited the small house that Oliver lived in and joined him on the side of the road. He had his arms crossed in an angry manner, and he shook his head in sheer pity.
"Border ruffians," he finally said in a solemn manner.
"Border ruffians?" I repeated with a twinge of curiosity and confusion in my voice.
"Border ruffians," Oliver replied through the loud rumbles of the border ruffians heading in the same direction. "They're some sick Missourians who want to sway the vote. Stupid popular sovereignty."
I tilted my head slightly and furrowed my brow, my confusion deepening. "Uhh, Oliver, what's that?"
"Long story short," Oliver began. "If most people vote for our state to be a free one, it's free. Myself and my brothers encouraged my father, John Brown, to come to Kansas to help us abolish slavery. If the impossible occurs and most people in Kansas vote for this state to be one that supports slavery, then our state would support slavery."
I paused in thought, and then the only word that popped out of my mouth was the word oh.
Through the many unfamiliar faces of the border ruffians, I found three that were almost horrifyingly familiar. The faces were those of my mother, my father, and my twin brother, casually making their way through the street to sway the vote for Kansas.
It can't be, I told myself. They can't be here to sway the vote... They're probably just here to look for me.
I burst toward them, dodging any ruffians in my way.
I waved my hands in the air like a child. "Mom! Dad! Evan!" I screamed, my voice cracking.
The three of them instantly turned in my direction. Evan bolted toward me, and we crashed into a tight hug. We then immediately crashed to the ground, the coarse dust from the street covering our clothes and faces. I giggled happily as I squeezed Evan tighter. When he finally coughed from loss of air, I let go and stood up.
I dusted off my cardigan. "Sorry for taking your cardigan."
"No biggie," my brother replied. "It's all dirty now, so I don't want it."
I rolled my eyes and smiled back at my brother, who's now a young adult like me. "So, uh, what brings the family here?"
Evan smiled and placed his hands on his hip proudly. "My family's going to sway the vote!"
My heart broke in two as my twin said his last sentence with such confidence and pride. I shoved myself past him and ran over to my mom.
"Mom?" I asked, my voice almost as shaky as Oliver's. "Are you here to sway the vote with Evan and dad?"
My mother slowly shook her head up and down, signaling the word yes. "Evangeline, I don't have a say in this. At home, it's me against Nick and Evan. I'm done with arguing and fighting, and I fear that if I do, I won't know my own strength and hurt or even kill one of them. I don't want my husband or son to end up like your grandmother. I'm simply doing what they want me to do."
"Just go with them to vote, Mom," I patted her shoulder consolingly.
"And then just vote for Kansas to be a free state. Please, they'll never find out," I begged my mother quietly. I interlaced my fingers with hers before letting go after Evan bumped into my shoulder on purpose.
I managed to sneak a peek at him, and he turned around to face me for a brief moment. Evan glared at me, disappointment and pity swelling in his violet eyes.
He mouthed the words "You shouldn't have changed your mind". We then locked gazes again, our childish selves yearning for another warm embrace, but our mature, adult selves wanting to separate farther and farther.
My brother's golden hair swayed in the brisk breeze as he headed back toward my parents, and they continued to the voting booth with all the other border ruffians.
I kicked a pebble to the side as I made my way back to Oliver, my face morose and solemn. Oliver held out his arms consolingly, and I walked right into a tight, friendly hug.