I settled down in the comfy blue chair in my living room, a smile forming on my tired face as I picked up my book. It had been the LONGEST day, and I was exhausted. But it was here, it had waited patiently all day for me to come home and devour another chapter.

"Thank you, Mark Twain," I mumbled, before opening The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to my bookmark. I found myself lost in the world of Huck and Jim, King and Bilgewater, the way things happened back then. I had seen the movie countless times, but this was my first time reading the book, I had chosen it for my 10th grade English class.

And I loved it.

I read for at least half an hour, losing every sense of reality. I felt the breeze in my blonde hair and the coolness of the river water splashing onto my feet.

But slowly, even the book became too much for me. I had been reading the same sentence over and over without realizing it. My day had worn me out, and I felt myself drifting off into sleep…

I woke up the next morning feeling slightly lightheaded, laying down on a hard surface. Where was I? The sun was shining onto my face, and my clothes were damp. I suddenly was able to detect the feeling of the surface I was laying on… it was moving. More like rocking slightly, but it was certainly moving. I opened my eyes and I was faced with a blinding light. I squinted hard, the brightness almost painful.

"Hey, Jim, she's waking up!"

"About time, too."

Wait a minute…

My eyes slowly began to adjust to the brightness, and I opened them wider. I suddenly realized something.

I was on a raft.

And in front of me was a boy with dirty, ragged clothes, overalls and a shirt too big for him. He was wearing a hat that was all too familiar.

"Huckleberry!" I gasped without thinking.

His expression grew confused. "How- well, uh, I'm not- I don't reckon I've met you, miss- uh-"

"Martha." I said quickly, even though that wasn't my real name. "Martha Williams."

He nodded at me, confused. "Well…this is my free-born manservant, Jim."

"Nice to meet you, Jim." I said, nodding at him.

Jim waved from across the raft.

"And…uh…What'd you call me?" asked Huck, looking at me with a strange expression on his face.

"Oh. Nothing. Dream I was havin'."

"Oh. It sounded like…" he trailed off. "Well, forget that. Name's Jackson. George Jackson."

"Pleasure." I added. I looked down at myself. Somehow I was wearing a white old-fashioned cotton shirt and a long blue skirt. I bit my lip, nervous. He seemed to notice what I was looking at.

"You feelin' well, Martha?"

"Yeah…just a little confused, is all."

"Oh. We found you in the river, about a mile down. Thought you were dead for a minute."

"Why'd you take me on board, then?"

"You were floatin' face up. And I think people know that a dead man floats face down."

I nodded, trying hard not to smile from my memories of the movie.

"So ya pulled me up?"

"'Course we did. Couldn't leave a girl floatin' in the water like that. Someone could think you really were dead." Huck looked at me curiously. "What DID happen to you, anyway, Martha?"

"Oh." I said awkwardly. Please, God, don't let my improv skills back out on me now… "Well, I lived at a farm back down there anyway. Happy life and all, only child."

He nodded.

"Well, a few days back, there was a fire. I escaped all right, but my Ma and Pa, they were trapped. I'm an orphan now. Been runnin' away. Don't rightfully know where I'm goin'. Must've fell into the river and knocked my head on a rock."

"Well, you're welcome here if you want. My family's dead too."

I smiled at him. "Need any help with anythin'?"

"We're good for now. Why don't you just get some shuteye, Martha. You look mighty pale."

"Thanks, George. I'll do that."

I climbed into the shady part of the raft and let out a deep exhale. I better be dreaming, I thought. Lord knows how long I'll last out here if this is real. I closed my eyes and eventually fell into a restless sleep.