Freewater

The narration switches to first-person perspective for Homer’s sections, but other characters’ sections remain in third person. Twelve-year-old Homer and his seven-year-old sister, Ada, have just escaped Southerland plantation, where they were enslaved. The overseer, Stokes, is chasing them with dogs, one of which bites Homer’s ankle even though he used to feed the dogs as part of his work. He kicks the dog, and he and Ada run toward a river. They jump in even though they can’t swim.

The river tosses Homer and Ada. They go over a waterfall, and Homer hits his head on rocks. Ada shares the same mother as Homer, but it’s implied that her father is the plantation owner, Mr. Crumb, because she has a different shade of skin with spots, like Crumb and his youngest daughter, Nora. When Mrs. Crumb noticed Ada’s spots, she started hitting her, which is why Mama (Homer and Ada’s mother, Rose) decided it was time to run despite the risk. Homer and Ada pull themselves out of the river. Both are nervous because the swamp makes sounds they’ve never heard, which Ada thinks might be the “monsters” she’s heard about. Homer says monsters don’t exist, and that others were only trying to scare her. Ada also believes flying is possible, especially in the North, where the siblings hoped to run with Mama. Mama isn’t with them because Homer wanted to escape with his friend Anna, so she went back to the plantation and was caught. Now, Homer blames himself for their separation. He doesn’t know how to find North without Mama, nor does he want to leave her behind. Mama said if they got separated, the children should run to the river. Homer hopes she’ll find them and rests his injured head.

Stokes, the overseer, loves abusing enslaved people and chasing those who run away with his dogs. He claims to have a psychic ability that alerts him when someone is considering running, but this failed the night that Homer and Ada escaped. That night, he was playing poker in his overseer shed with his brothers-in-law, Rick and Ron, both of whom he recently hired to assist him on Crumb’s plantation. Rick and Ron are incompetent, but Stokes hired them anyway because they’re family. Stokes got dealt a poor hand, and took a brief walk to decide what move to make next. During the walk, he opened some cabin doors and found Homer, Ada, and Rose missing. He ordered Rick and Ron to get his dogs and join him in chasing the family. The dogs quickly picked up a scent and ran toward it.

Homer wakes up, and Ada questions whether Two Shoes, a man who also escaped Southerland, is still in the swamp, or if he went North. Two Shoes didn’t work in the Big House (the plantation owner’s house), nor did he always work in the fields: He did special errands for Crumb, and often went into town to fetch supplies. He received hand-me-down shoes from Crumb, which many attribute to his successful escape. Two Shoes ran after his son, Desmond, who was sold elsewhere. His wife, Sally, and daughter, Minnie, are still at Southerland. Homer was relieved when Two Shoes left, because he used to inform Crumb of enslaved people who ran away, such as Wilson, who wanted to find his brother at McGrath’s plantation. Two Shoes was trying to get his son Desmond back by doing “favors” for Crumb, but it didn’t work.

Homer’s head is still bleeding, so he cleans it with water while he thinks about Old Joe, an enslaved man who was “gifted” from Mr. Crumb’s father to Mr. Crumb at his wedding to Mrs. Crumb. He reflects on enslaved people being sold, taken, and loaned, but finds being gifted the most bizarre—as gifts should be good things. Homer learned a great deal from observing Joe, including how to treat wounds. Suddenly, Ada hears dogs again.

Ada is nervous to venture further into swampland, due to the “monsters” that may exist. Homer says the swamp is less scary than Stokes and enslavement. They go deeper into muck. Homer gets stuck in a sinkhole, and Ada finds a branch to pull him out. There’s a snake wrapped around Homer’s leg. An arrow pierces the snake, killing it. The Black man who shot the arrow swings down from the trees.

Ada asks Homer’s rescuer if he flew to the swamp, and if he’s ever flown North. The man shushes Ada with the two fingers of his raised hand, because the dogs are close. They also hear voices calling out to the children. The man tears a piece of fabric from Ada’s dress, ties a piece to two arrows, puts something brown on them, and takes out a match. Stokes continues calling, but the man tells the siblings to stay where they are. The man wraps a rope around a tree and climbs. Stokes tries to bait the siblings by mentioning their mother, and the man fires the arrows to cause a swamp fire. Stokes, his dogs, and his brothers-in-law run back to the plantation.

Ada is amazed that the man scared Stokes away. Homer asks who the man is and what he’s doing in the swamp, but Suleman counters with questions regarding Homer’s ability to track bears, deter snakes, and hunt. He does not know these kills, so Suleman tells the siblings to follow him if they want to survive.

The night that Homer and Ada escaped, Homer’s friend Anna was woken up by Stokes yelling and dogs barking. She had mixed feelings, as Homer was her only friend and she wished to be taken along. She recalled how Homer claimed he could turn himself invisible, which made his daily life easier. However, this was no longer the case.

Homer, Ada, and Suleman walk for hours, and then stop to drink from a pond. Suleman cleans Homer’s head wound, then finds a hidden tree-trunk boat. They row down a river until a wall of brush prevents their passage. Homer tries to memorize the way so he can someday communicate it to his mother. Suleman dives into the water, swims underneath the brush, and pushes a secret door from the other side.

After going through the secret door and rowing some more, Homer, Ada, and Suleman arrive at a bank and stop for the night. Suleman kills a weasel for dinner, then reveals a secret shelter he built in a tree. Ada asks which plantation Suleman “belongs” to. Suleman says he ran from enslavement three times, which is how he lost three fingers: Though his enslavers thought they “owned” his body, they didn’t own his mind, and now he owns them. Ada doesn’t understand what this means. Suleman tells the siblings that they don’t belong to Crumb. He knows about Southerland plantation and Old Joe. He takes things from plantations, including Crumb’s shirts, one of which he’s wearing.

Mr. and Mrs. Crumb’s youngest daughter, Nora, who does not speak (of her own volition), wakes to her mother fussing over eldest daughter Viola’s upcoming wedding. Nora looks to the outdoor kitchen and sees Mrs. Petunia, not Rose. Normally, Rose cooks and Nora hangs out with her in the kitchen. Nora was born with a large octopus-shaped birthmark on her face, which caused her mother to reject her, claiming Nora required “special” treatment and had to stay with Rose. Rose was forced to wean Homer early and wet nurse Nora when she was born. Nora was raised by Rose and continually rejected by Mrs. Crumb and Viola. She sees herself as an octopus, smart and sneaky.

Nora was educated by a tutor and loves reading and writing, but not speaking. Viola fusses because her wedding is in a month, and Rose needs to cook for it; her mother says Rose is sick but will recover in time. Viola also voices embarrassment at others having to see Nora’s face. Nora runs to the kitchen but can’t find Rose. She hears her father yelling in a cabin, so she sneaks over. Rose is there, having been brutally beaten by Stokes, Rick, and Ron. Crumb is furious because she’s beaten to the point of being unable to work. He orders his brothers-in-law to clean her wounds for the sake of the wedding. Nora rushes off, disturbed at what she’s witnessed.

Homer still feels responsible for Mama and Anna’s inability to escape. Mrs. Crumb has a bizarre hatred for Anna, and frequently abuses her. Anna wished flames would erupt around Mrs. Crumb and planned to run North, with her and Homer promising to share ways to escape. When Homer made the promise, he didn’t know Mama was already planning an escape. After spending the night in Suleman’s tree shelter, he and the siblings continue rowing down a river until they see “trees” that come “alive”—for they are people in disguise.

Rose sleeps while Mrs. Petunia tends to her. Nora spies on Rick and Ron, whom she knows hurt Rose. They’re bickering and packing bags, preparing to search for Rose’s children again. Nora grabs raw meat and sneaks it into their bags.

Stokes, Rick, and Ron head to the location of the swamp fire. However, the dogs go in circles. The men notice footprints: Some are child-sized, but some are bigger. They hear something moving in the bushes, and Rick and Ron pounce, assuming it’s a formerly enslaved person. However, it’s a bear that wants the raw meat in their bags. The men run off.

Three people step out from the trees, disguised with mud and greenery: They are David, Ibra, and Daria, friends of Suleman. Suleman explains Homer and Ada escaped alone, and the adults are impressed—but Homer feels guilty. Suleman warns his friends of Stokes, and instructs Homer and Ada to go with them to a safe place deeper in the swamp. He himself doesn’t live in the local community, as he travels on his own, but he does bring others supplies and information.

Homer, Ada, David, Ibra, and Daria make their way through the swamp in a zigzag pattern. Ada asks Ibra questions about plants, and this makes them fall behind. Homer yells for her to hurry up and she runs ahead, but stumbles and screams until Ibra picks her up: She got cut by spikes, concealed by tall grass. The local community sets up these traps to protect themselves; they walk in a zigzag pattern to avoid running into them. The group takes ropes and climbs trees with pegs. Up in the canopy are secret sky bridges to walk across.

Homer is nervous to walk across the sky bridge, but Ada is excited to “fly.” The group reaches the other end of the bridge, where a man named Gus welcomes them to “Freewater.”

Stokes, Rick, and Ron come back from their failed capture. They’re torn up, muddy, and missing their bags and some shoes. Rick and Ron say they’re never returning to the swamp, and that Rose’s children are probably dead. Nora is concerned about how the children’s deaths will affect Rose. Crumb reprimands his brothers-in-law for failing and says they’ll try again with better tools.