Dear Journal, May 8th, 1587

My family has been through a lot. About a week ago, my Papa came home very late. He was a man of the drink, and this behavior wasn't unusual. The next morning though, Papa didn't wake up. Mama couldn't tell if he was dead or asleep, but I always knew that he would wake up.
The grave diggers came the next day to collect his body. Now, it was only me and Mama. Charlie, my brother, died from the Black Death about six mouths ago. His body had rotted too fast, and he was burned to the ground instead of buried. That was when Papa started drinking, trying to forget Charlie.
While Papa was being carried away, one of the men went over to talk to Mama. He said that in England, there was no where to burry anyone else. He informed us that they had removed graves from the ground and burned the bodies. On the coffins though, there were scratch marks on the majority of the inside of the coffin. The grave diggers had been burring people alive! So the man said that Papa was going to be given a bell tied around his wrist. A watchman would sit and watch the cemetery all night long. If he heard a bell, Papa would be saved. If there was no bell, Papa would be assumed dead. I ran up to the man screaming that Papa was alive, I could feel it, but they left, dragging Papa's limp body out the door.
That was the last time I saw him until today. Papa was saved by the bell two days ago, but he was not healthy enough for us to go see him. Today, Mama and I got to take him home! I was so excited I couldn't wait!
When we got to the local remedy house, Papa was waiting patiently by the door. His face was a sickly pale color and the bags under his eyes seemed to touch the floor. He looked terrible, but his face had a gigantic smile on. We all walked back to the house in the cool summer breeze and sat around the table for supper. Papa wasn't in the mood to talk much, but he did say one thing that shocked us all. He told us that we had to get out of England quickly. Too much had already happened to our family and we were going to leave very soon. Tomorrow morning to be exact.
Papa had signed us up to leave tomorrow morning to go to the New World with John White and other English citizens. I couldn't believe it! Since our family was Protestant, we could not peruse are religious beliefs in England. When we arrive in the New World, we would be free! We wouldn't have to hide our beliefs or worry about deadly plagues. I rushed upstairs to pack my bag.
The next morning, I rushed downstairs with my bag ready. I could've not been more excited about leaving this country. We all sprinted down to the dock to catch the ship. A man on the ship checked us in and showed us our cabin on board. It was a small tight room that we had to share with two other families. I was lucky to find a spot where I could sit and write all of this down. I will write another entry when we arrive, but until then, goodnight.

Love,
Annabeth

Journal Log