What Will Become of Occam?
Occam looked sat near the streams of the Fresh Water Plantation. What was he going to do now? He was free and the war was over. What was to become of him now? He didn't have to go back to his master, but where else could he go? His future looked blurry to him. He heard a rustling in the bush behind him and turned to see Benjamin Martin approaching him.
"Hi Occam. You've been out here quite a while. Are you okay?" He asked casually.
"I don't know," Occam answered.
"Something on your mind?" Martin guessed.
"How could you tell?" Occam replied and continued to look at the stream.
"I've been in your shoes. When my wife died, when my sons died," Martin trailed off. "Anyway, I'll take that as a yes, that something's on your mind. Wanna talk about it?" Martin changed the subject.
"I don't know what to do," Occam stated.
"About what?" Martin looked at him quizzically.
"Now that the war is over and I'm free, what am I going to do?" Occam asked.
"What do you want to do?" Martin replied.
"I don't know," Occam stated. "I just don't know."
"Well, you know you're always welcome here," Martin wanted to confirm that he always had a place at his house.
"I know, but where will I go and what will I do for my life," Occam looked at him then back at the water. He hoped that Martin could provide some of the answers he needed. Martin suddenly got an idea.
"You know," He said, "We had a lot of freedmen work here before the British forced them into the military. I'll need some help with the farm." Martin looked at Occam who turned his head acutely to look at him. He looked as if he already knew what Martin was about to suggest. "If you want to stay here, you're more than welcome. We could use a good farm hand like you to help us get ourselves back on our feet. I can't pay you right away, of course, but I can pay you as soon as the crops are sold out, if we have a good year this year," he said. At this Occam began to smile broadly.
"Sounds good," He said, "when can I start."
"Oh, we'll probably start planting next month," Martin replied. "In the mean time you're more than welcome to stay with us."
Occam nodded and smiled before they both headed back up to the house.