Sydney to the Max Season 5: Episode 3 - Riding the Underground Railroad

Written By: "Fun But Shy Girl" , Based on Characters Created by: Mark Reisman

Max and Sydney stepped into a large building full of storage units. As the two walked in, Sydney said, "Wow. How much stuff did Great Uncle Fred leave in storage?" As the two walked together Max said, "Well my dad always described Uncle Fred as a real pack rat. However he held onto a lot of stuff from our family's history dating back to when some of our family's earliest ancestors immigrated from Ireland in the early 1800's. Since this stuff is mine as much as it is yours, I figured you'd wanna help me organize it." Sydney smirked and said, "Correction. You didn't want to ask Angela or Sophia because they just moved in and you're a little nervous still about rocking the boat." Max smirked too and said, "You know me well Syd. But I did figure this could be a fun last thing just the two of us do before the new baby is born." Then Sydney said, "Hey. It's cool with me. I had fun looking through stuff with Grandma Maya about her family tree a few weeks ago. Now I get to have fun exploring your side of the family."

Max then opened up a large storage unit full of boxes. Max then looked at Sydney and said, "Okay. Lets start looking through these boxes and see what we find." Sydney then opened one old wooden box and held up an old Civil War uniform. Sydney's eyes widened as she said, "Whoa. This looks like it's from the Civil War." Max noticed the uniform and said, "My God, I've only seen that once before. That belonged to my great grandfather. Of course I know there's a few more 'greats' in that title. He's the hero of our family my dad named me after. Maxwell Reynolds. He was a defector from the Confederate Army that apparently helped runaway slaves escape in the Underground Railroad." Then Sydney noticed in the box was an old journal. Sydney opened up the journal and said, "This journal says it was written by a Maxwell Reynolds in... 1862! Dad, this is great grandfather Maxwell's journal." Max smiled as he said, "Well I think we just found our number one item for the 'Keep Pile'. Now come on. Lets see what else we can find." Sydney began to look aroud a bit but then peeked into the journal to read the opening page.

1862:

A young dark skinned woman was holding the hands of two young girls as they walked discretely through the woods. All of them wore dirty clothes with tear marks as they moved as quickly and quietly as they could. Suddenly from behind a tree, an older man with a rifle appeared as he said, "Where you coloreds think you're getting off to?" The two children stood frozen and scared, as the young woman trying to look confidant said, "We just live at the plantation on the other side of these woods. We just got a bit lost looking for new places to pick cotton." The older man pointed his rifle right at the woman as he said, "You three don't wear the clothes that them slaves at the Edgar Plantation wear. You're runaways. Now you give yourselves up now and no one will get hurt."

Then suddenly the sound of a gun shot was heard, and two bullets hit right near the older man's feet. A young pale skinned man appeared holding out a rifle as he pointed it at the older man and said, "How about you just give up right now and I promise you won't get hurt." The older man dropped his rifle and put up his hands as he said, "Not looking for any trouble here boy. Just trying to get some property back to its' owners." The young man then said, "Well I don't see property; just people here. Now back over to that tree there nice and slow." The older man backed over to the tree as the young man handed the young woman several chains and said, "Chain him to the tree." As the young woman tied the older man to the tree, the young man kept his rifle pointed at the older man. The older man looked angry as he said, "What are you? Some union spy?" The young man smirked and said, "Something like that. Now while you stay in chains here, try to imagine what it be like if you spent your whole life in them. Good day."

The young man then led the young woman and children away as he said, "We gotta make a French leave but you know how these patter roller are." The young woman then said, "Wait. Were you sent by the station master? What's our destination?" The young man smiled as he said, "The land of Caanan. And yes, I was sent by Miss Debby. My name is Maxwell Reynolds. I'm a Confederate Defector, and can we drop the code words now?" The young woman then said, "Sorry. Can't be too careful. I'm Tyra. These two little girls with me are Jemima and Flora. We've spent weeks on the run from the plantation they lived on in Georga." Maxwell smiled and said, "Well you're just days away from meeting up with the real railroad that'll get you to Canada. Till then, Miss Debby's cabin is just a half hour walk's away. Lets move." As everyone began to move, the young woman Tyra said, "Thank you kind sir."

In the evening, Maxwell sat near a window in a cabin looking at the night sky. From a nearby room Tyra stepped out and walked towards Maxwell. Maxwell smiled and said, "Those two little girls sleeping well?" Tyra smiled as she sat down near Maxwell and said, "They are. Those little ones have been running so much for weeks now, they fell asleep as soon as their little heads hit the pillows." Maxwell chuckled and said, "Well I think we all look forward to any rest that can be found in these war times." Tyra then said, "I must say though... I certainly was frightened when I first saw you apppear before us in a Confederate uniform. Was that stolen or..." Maxwell sighed and said, "No. It's mine. I... used to belong to the Confederate army. I was right there at the First Battle of Manassas too. I was all riled up to defend our way of living by my friends and fellow countrymen." Tyra then looked at Maxwell as she said, "Well if I may ask... what changed?"

Maxwell then sighed and said, "Well one day... I stopped to watch a slave auction on February 3rd. That's the day of my late mother's birthday, so I was thinking about her. And I remembered when I was coloring with paints one day as a child and I asked my mother what God's favorite color was. And she simply told me that God loves all colors equally, because if there was one color he didn't like, he wouldn't have made it. And then I started looking at those black men and woman being sold and whipped before me and I realized... if God thought one skin color was superior to another... he would've made us all look the same. Just as God loves all colors equally, I realized he must love all people of all skin colors equally. And it sickened me that my so-called God loving countrymen claimed to be carrying out his will, when they had obviously forgotten how to carry out one of his most important commandments: to love thy neighbor as thyself. So... I defected and joined not just the Union, but the Underground Railroad. Speaking of which. How did you get mixed up in all this?"

Tyra sighed and then said, "I was actually born a free girl. My parents were runaway slaves that escaped to the North back when it was safe for colored runaways to live in the Northern States. However the Compromise of 1850 changed things, and suddenly my parents were attacked in their home one night by slave catchers, and they took them and myself back down south." Maxwell looking confused said, "But you weren't born a slave. How could they take you?" Tyra then said, "Well it's a little difficult for colored people to prove whether they're slaves or not in a court full of white men that are always bribed. In fact, many black men and woman I knew that were born free were dragged back south in chains. However there was something my former masters didn't realize about me. When you're born free and that freedom is taken away from you, you'll fight harder than ever to get it back. So I planned and calculated. I kept track of my my masters' habits, foraged food, and asked as many questions as I could about the geography of the entire eastern coast of these United States. And then when the right time came, I escaped captivity and made it to freedom. However I knew all the knowledge I gained just couldn't end in my journey. So just like Harriet Tubman, I've been making as many trips back and forth to help free as many runaways as I can."

Maxwell smiled as he said, "You're quite brave Miss Tyra. I've never seen someone with such strength, considering." Tyra then raised an eyebrow as she said, "Considering what? That I'm colored?" Then Maxwell said, "No. Just considering you're a woman. That being said, you have a firey spirit stronger than any man or woman I've ever come across." Tyra smiled as she said, "Well Mr. Reynolds... I don't think I've ever met a man as brave or as flattering as yourself." Maxwell and Tyra then sat still as they just looked at each other and smiled.

Maxwell and Tyra led the two children with them to the back of a series of train cars as Maxwell said, "Welcome to Baltimore and the heart of the Not Underground Railroad. Now the train conductor of this here train is friendly to our cause. You don't make any noise, and hop off as soon as you get to New York, he won't say anything. From there, you'll meet your contact that will get you to Canada. Now here kids. Let me get you on." Maxwell then helped the two children get into a storage car of the train. Tyra then looked at Maxwell as she said, "Well here is where we part ways." Maxwell smiled as he said, "So we do. It was an honor to meet you Miss Tyra." Tyra smirked and said, "It's Miss Carter. Tyra Carter. Sorry, I didn't tell you my last name until now. Just trying to protect my identity." Maxwell gently held Tyra's right hand and said, "It was an honor to meet you Miss Carter." Then Maxwell kissed Tyra's hand, and then looked at her face. Tyra stared back at Maxwell, and then... the two suddenly kissed one another on the lips.

The two's lips parted as Maxwell said, "I'm sorry for moving so fast with you Miss Carter but..." Tyra then said, "No. Don't be sorry. I greatly enjoyed it." Maxwell then said, "I... I'm sorry circumstances must drive us apart. I'm sorry our world must be one where the color of our skin keeps us from..." Tyra then put a finger on Maxwell's lips as she said, "No Mr. Reynolds. Don't speak like that. It's not the world's fault; it's the fault of people. But I believe one day the people of this world will change and maybe our children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren will be able to love any person they choose regardles of the color of their skin." Maxwell then moved his face forward and kissed Tyra on the lips one more time. Then Maxwell smiled and said, "Here's to the dream."

Suddenly the train started to move. Tyra then quickly hopped onto the train and looked back at Max. Tyra then called out, "Thank you for everything Mr. Reynolds." Maxwell then called out, "Thank you for making this world a better place Miss Carter. Till we meet again. And if we never do, then perhaps one day our children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren shall meet in our place instead!" Tyra smiled as the train began to move faster and soon she was out of Maxwell's sight. Maxwell then stood still as he smiled while watching the smoke of the steam engine train fill the air.

PRESENT DAY:

Max sat in the kitchen drinking coffee as Sydney walked in with several papers. Max seeing Sydney said, "Hey Syd. Looks you beat Angela and Sophia to waking up. Care to get first dibs on the bacon?" Sydney then sat down and said, "In a bit. I just discovered something huge about great-grandpa Maxwell." Max then said, "What did you discover? I thought you finished reading his journal days ago." Sydney then said, "I did. But then I came across the name of a runaway slave woman he met named Tyra Carter he once saved; a woman who actually traveled back down south to help many other runaway slaves like Harriet Tubman did. Then I did some re-reading into Grandma Maya's family tree. And then I discovered... Grandma Maya had a great-grandmother... named Tyra Carter... who is well respected and remembered for being a runaway slave who helped many other runaway slaves escape as well."

Max looking astonished said, "Wait. Are you saying..." Sydney smiled as she said, "If it wasn't for Maxwell Reynolds... Tyra Carter wouldn't haven't just help free twenty more runaway slaves over the following two years... you wouldn't have met mom... or had me." Sydney then held up two old photographs of an aged Maxwell Reynolds and Tyra Carter. As Max looked at both photos he said, "Who would've thought? I thought Leo was the one that introduced me to your mother, but it looks like... introductions might've started much further back." As Sydney pointed to the pictures she said, "Looks like Maxwell Reynolds truly was a great man." Max smiled as he said, "And Tyra Carter was a great woman. Just like so many other brave people back then that truly understood what true freedom and true love looks like."

THE END

Coming Soon:

*Episode 4 - Sydney's Temptation - Sydney some time ago did something in the past she regrets. Something she deeply regrets... which only makes it worse when everyone finds out what it was.

*Episode 5 - Wormhole Wonders - Over half a century in the future, Sydney's grand-children are polar opposites, which results in an advanced science experiment going very wrong.

*Episode 6 - Sisters Stick Together - When Emmy's parents finally learns that Emmy is dating Olive, it results in devastating consequences for Emmy.

*Episode 7 - A Mother's Love - Sydney remembers what a seemingly typical day with her mother long ago was like, while at the same time she has to deal with her new step-mother Angela.

*Episode 8 - Father Found - When Sophia decides to go on a quest to find her biological father, discoveries both terrible and good are made.