Dear Diary,

Today was great until I got some news about my brother. He’s very sick and he can’t consult a nurse or a doctor at the camp. I’m really hoping that my Aunt Samantha has an idea to help us help Henry.  Tomorrow I have so much to do. I have to clean the house then go to the market to get flour and some fresh fruit. Later, I have to go to Laura’s house to buy cloth and after that come back home and pick up my Mom and go next door to talk to Aunt Samantha. I Ho-

My eyes start to close and I slowly fall back on my bed.

I wake up to the smell of fresh bread. I get up and follow the smell. It led me to the kitchen where my Mother was slicing the bread and then putting it on the middle of the table. I help her by making scrambled eggs. She looks tense but her face relaxes when she sees me begin to help her.

“Thank you, Cristine.”

said my Mother as she slightly smiles.

“You’re welcome. If you don’t mind me asking, where’s Dad?”  I reply.

“You know where he is. He’s with your Grandma. She’s not doing well, you know that.”

“I didn’t know. I thought he left or was still asleep. He only visits her three times a week.” I respond with concern.

“Yeah, but your Uncle isn’t helping out anymore so your Father has to make up for it,” she says in a disappointed tone.  

“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him about Henry’s situation.”

I say that with instant regret. I shouldn’t be talking about negative things in the morning because I will ruin my Mother’s mood for the rest of the day.

“I haven’t told him anything yet, but I will. Not today though. He has too much to think about today. Promise me you won’t say anything until we have a plan.”

she drops the butterknife and picks it up.

“Fine.”

After Breakfast, I get ready to head to the marketplace. Luckily it’s a sunny day and it’s not raining or snowing. That means all the food will not be wet but it might mean there will be fruit flies everywhere. As I try to find the flour, I bump into Laura.  

“Hello Cristine, are you coming by later?”

Laura said in a friendly way.

“Yes. Actually right after I finish my shopping. Are you almost done?”

I reply with a small smile.

“Yes. I’m already done and I was starting to head home.  Since you’re coming by anyway, why don’t you just walk with me?”

“Okay. That sounds like a plan.”

We start walking home. I look up at the sky, it’s covered with ash gray clouds. A cold breeze brushes my skin, leaving goosebumps on my arms.   Laura starts walking faster than me. Her red hair in the wind looks like fire moving side by side.

Laura turns around and says to me,

“It looks like it’s about to start pouring. We better start walking faster. “

I nod my head and catch up to her. We continue walking until we made it to her abnormally small house.  She opens the door and says hello to her husband and her child, Meredith. I walked over to her kitchen where she had her collection of cloth on the dining table. I look at the different variations of colors on the table. beige, black, grey, light pink, red, and blue. She didn’t have much as she usually does but I didn’t ask why. The cloth feels rough yet very soft. I start to pick which cloth I am willing to buy. I choose beige, grey, and blue. I leave the money on the dining table and left because I had to get going to my Aunts house.

As I ran to my Aunt’s house, the pouring rain felt like sharp needles on my skin. My hair felt heavy on my head. My skirt started to stick to my skin. I got there before I got even wetter.

“Hello,”

I softly say.

My Aunt grabs a blanket and runs towards me and wraps it around me.

“How could you do this to yourself? Where were you?”

she said with concern in her voice.

“I was at Laura’s house. I was buying some cloth. The rain didn’t look like it was going to clear up anytime soon so I just ran here as fast as I could.”

“Oh darling, you should have stayed. You’re going to get sick.”

“No, I have to talk to you about my brother. My brother is more important than my own well being.”  

She nods,  

“Okay. Let’s talk about your brother then. What’s going on?”

“Henry sent a note to my Mother. It said he was very ill but he couldn’t tell a doctor nor a nurse. He did something terrible. I and my Mother don’t know what it is. They suspect it’s him but if they find out it was, they’ll let him die. I told my Mother that you would know what to do.”

She looks concerned and confused,

“At this moment, all I can think of is your brother simply escaping., but if he doesn't  escape, people will start to get suspicious and hunt him down.”

“What if we have someone take his place, someone who looks similar. It would be simple. We would just have to find men with hazel eyes and short dirty blonde hair.”

“How would we find anyone that looks like that near us. All the young men left to fight. We need another idea.”

She replies with disappointment.

“Unless… No, that wouldn’t work.”

“What? We need all the ideas we can get.”

“You go in your brother’s place. It would be excellent. You have a similar eye shape and similar eye color. You both have the exact same hair color. We would just have to cut your hair or simply put it in a ponytail.”

I take a deep breath. I couldn’t believe what she was saying. I can’t fight. I can barely even hold up my two-year-old cousin. But this is for my brother. He needs to be safe.

“Okay, I’ll do it, but we have to start hurrying up. We don’t have time to waste. His illness could kill him at any moment. “

The next few weeks were manic.  Me and my mother started making clothes for me with the cloth I bought. We had to find someone to get us to Valley Forge on time for Henry’s escape. We found someone eventually. Their name is Madeline. She is was very kind and had been in the same place I was. Her father had many horses. One of her father’s horses is going to help me save my brother. In the suitcase, we have medicine, water, and food. Tonight we are putting the plan into action.  

I accidentally stab myself with the pin while finishing a shirt for my brother. I rub the blood on my skirt and go over to put water on my finger.  

   “Are you almost finished?” my mother’s tone sounds stern.

   “No, I still have to finish the white button-up shirt and a pair of pants”  I reply.

She sighs and starts working faster on the shirt she’s making.

   “You have to hurry up, we don’t have that much time left.”  

   “I’m doing the best I can.”  

A few hours later we were getting ready to finally find my brother in Pennsylvania. It’s going to take three days to get there. I hope that we packed enough supplies for the trip. I put on a long cardigan and started putting on my dark blue boots that were covered in mud.  My mom is in her bedroom rechecking all of the things we packed to make sure we got everything. Madeline comes in and asks

   “Are you guys ready to go? We don’t really have much time left.”

My mother comes into the kitchen and replies with a stern tone.

   “We would have been finished if you told us what time you would be here. “

   “Well, I’m very sorry that I have to prepare the horses so you can save your son!” She yells.

I reply

“Stop all of this guff, what’s important here is that Madeline is here giving us a chance to help Henry and that he’s going to be saved”

   “You’re right, I’m sorry Cristine and Madeline. I didn’t mean to cause any harm”

    “You’re forgiven. I get that your son is very important to you, but I really did try to get here as fast as I can”

By the time we stopped fighting we started putting everything in the carriage.  We started heading to Valley Forge right away. A day in I saw so many trees and rivers.  The trees sometimes started to look like broccoli. It rained a few times and we had to stop. We are close to getting to Valley Forge. We stopped and fed the horses.  I sat in the carriage while my Mother was getting ready to cut my hair just like my brothers.

“Honey, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I can gladly take your place.”

“Mother, I’m young and brave. I’m strong enough to fight. You need to take care of Henry.”

“Okay, whatever you say.”

She grabs the scissors and starts chopping my hair. As the hair falls down my shirt it feels like someone is stabbing me with broken sticks. My dirty blonde hair looks like honey falling onto the floor. She cuts the hair up to my forehead. I turn around and smile at her and mouth         

“Thank you”

I look down on my feet, they're covered in hair. A hot tear falls down my face, I wipe it off reminding myself this was for my brother.  I stand up and walk toward the horses,

   “I’ll take us to Valley Forge. You two must be tired from doing all the work, it’s my turn.”

My mother responds,

   “No, you need all the energy you can get. You need the energy to fight.”

“Mother, I insist. You need the energy to take care of Henry and Madeline needs the energy to take you guys back home to Raleigh.”

My mother nods walks to the carriage and lays down.  Madeline walks back as well and nods with validation.

It’s almost been a day, I’m getting closer to Valley Forge, closer to saving my brother. It’s dark outside and it’s drizzling out.  I get frightened by bunnies scurrying towards a bush, but the light rain calms my nerves. I start seeing cabins but I’m not sure if it was me being very tired.  I try to get closer and I start to see soldiers. I had to go behind the cabin with a red rose in the back. I quietly start going around the camp to spot something that is dark red, it took me a few rounds around the camp but I finally found it. I jump onto the ground and woke up Madeline.

    “Get the supplies ready, we need him to be healthy on the trip back home. Also, tell my Mother to give him the blanket I was using the way here because people will be suspicious if I have a fully made blanket. “

   “Okay, are you sure you have everything?”

         “Yeah.”

Madeline turns around and starts getting the supplies.

   “Madeline!”

She turns around looking concerned.

“Yes?”

   “Thank you”

She nods and then continues to gather the supplies. I sneak into the cabin and there I find my brother, pale faced and laying down.  He starts coughing up some blood. I go over to him and wrap him in the blanket he had beside him.

   “I’m here, you need to get going!”

He tries to smile but his cough interrupts him.

   “Thank you, Cristine.”

   “Where are your clothes? I need to change into them”

He pointed to pile beside a small wooden bed. I nod.

“When you hear soldiers running, it means either it’s time to eat, train, or we’re getting attacked. That’s all you have to remember”

“Okay. You just have to rest and be kind to Madeline. She helped us get here. Now get out of here, I’m pretty sure we don’t have time to spare”

“Okay”

He hugs me and waves goodbye. He closes the door and suddenly I’m in this dark and cold room. I pick up the clothes and start to put them on. They smell exactly how the letter he sent a month ago smelled.  I sit down on the strange bed.. I wait until something happens to start doing something. All the sudden I heard someone yell,

   “Dinner!”

He hugs me and waves goodbye. He closes the door and suddenly I’m in this dark and cold room. I pick up the clothes and start to put them on. They smell exactly how the letter he sent a month ago smelled.  I sit down on the strange bed.. I wait until something happens to start doing something. All the sudden I heard someone yell,

   “Dinner!”

I run out of the door and followed the soldiers in front of me. I hear someone yell out my brother’s name,

   “Henry!”

It was a very strange man. He had very light ginger hair with dark black eyes.  

    “Henry! Hello?!”

   “Oh sorry, wasn’t sure if someone was calling my name.”

I say as I slightly deepen my voice.

   “I got you food and I was going to go back to the cabin and give it to you. Do you feel better?”

   “Thank you. Yes, I feel great actually. Thanks for being concerned”

The man lowers his voice to a slight whisper.

   “I know it’s you, Cristine.”

I look shocked and have this gut feeling of danger.

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

We start walking toward our cabin and sit on the outside of it.  The beef smelled like it was beginning to rot. The whiskey burned my tongue. I cough until my face becomes bright red.

“Are you all right?”

the strange man asked.

“Yeah, the food here isn’t the greatest, but I’ll have to get used to it,”

I respond with pity.

“Yeah, you have to if you wanna survive here. I’m so sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m George.”

“Nice name. I don’t think I need to introduce myself since you clearly already know my name.” I smile genuinely.

“Yes, I guess so”

The rest of my conversation with George was bland and boring.  The conversation was filled with awkward silences. George gets up, takes my plate, and go where the plates were getting cleaned.  I also get up and decide to look around. Some cabins were close to each other, others not. Melting snow covered the roofs of the cabins. Men were in and out of the cabins at all times. Naked trees were scattered around the camp. The sky looked like cigarette smoke, when I would take a deep breath, it felt like a bunch of  ice coated my lungs. Soldiers stare at me as I observe Valley Forge carefully. Someone came up to me and said concernedly,

   “Are you all right Henry? You look quite disturbed.”

   “Yes, I’m all right. I’ve been stuck in my cabin for so long I forgot how strange this place looked”

“All right, well we soon have to get training. You need to get used to being a soldier again!”

“Yes, of course”

I head to the training area. People are shooting every which way. I start to notice that I can see my brother Henry  behind the shooting ranges. He doesn’t look well. I run to him and to check if he’s all right. I suddenly realize he’s not breathing. At first, I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me. I pick him up and start running to find my Mother and Madeline to help him. Hot tears fall down my face and I can’t properly see where I am going. I suddenly hear someone at the camp yell out,

   “The British!”

I hear guns cocking, but I don’t stop running. That’s when I feel a strange sharp pain on my back. I start to blackout as my breathing slows. My knees give in and I fall on the ground.

Two weeks later.

Pennsylvania Evening Post

Cristine Crawford and Henry Crawford dead at Valley Forge. Siblings both tragically died at around the same time.  Henry Crawford died from Malaria and his younger sister died of gunshot wounds. Some soldiers reported that Henry was sick for over five months and then suddenly got better, later our resources found out that his sister went in his place to save him from a crime that he committed but it was never reported.   Soldiers at Valley Forge said that he needed an excuse to go back home. The Crawford Family has stayed silent about their children's situation. December 21, 1778

The end.