title: Universal Moods: Short Stories and Poetry to Stir the Mind, Body, and Soul
author: Lisa Sullivan
description: While sharing the same space on a popular Internet message board, Love, Corley, Sullivan, Mills, and Petty would soon discover that writing was a gift they all shared. By taking advantage of every opportunity to showcase, critique, and inspire one another, a naturally collaborative effort was born. Geography was no obstacle, and determination, passion, and enthusiasm produced the dream you now hold in your hands. That dream is unique and inspiring, and we invite you to experience it with your eyes open! Everyone should know the pleasure of dreaming while awake!
zlib_text: 
  
  
  [_Chapter One_](Aust_ISBN9781441202871_epub_c4_r1.html#d8e8531)
  
  
  Richmond, Virginia 1853  
    
  
  
  The first scream jolted me awake. The second one chilled my soul.
  
  
  I sat up in bed, searching for Tessie in the darkened room, but the pallet
  where my Negro mammy usually slept was empty.
  
  
  “Tessie?” My voice trembled with fear. “Tessie, where are you?”
  
  
  Rain drummed against the windowpane, keeping time with my heart. Beyond the
  shuttered windows, the day had dawned dark and dismal. Thunder rumbled in the
  distance. Then the heartrending cries broke the silence once again.
  
  
  “No . . . _please_!”
  
  
  The tumult came from outside, just below my room.
  
  
  “Please don’t take him, please don’t take my boy from me, _please_!”
  
  
  The voice, barely recognizable in its anguish, was Tessie’s.
  
  
  I couldn’t believe it. For all of my twelve years, as far back as I could
  recall, Tessie had been a happy, carefree presence in my life, always humming
  or singing as her elegant brown hands dressed me and brush