Came Again Today

Came Again Today is a fiction novel that consists of twenty-five chapters of Southern hospitality, of hardships, and of slavery as Big Bill and Neva Dawn's uncertain journey unfolds from the Karmans' plantation to the rugged low ground in Alabama near Leach Creek.

Those were horrible days on the Karmans' plantation of loved ones disappearing never to be seen again. Big Bill had struggled and schemed for over 15 years to escape the detestable conditions of the plantation, and all the hardships made his quest for freedom even greater. The Karmans were fond of both Neva and Big Bill especially Mrs. Karman who had a diffi cult time to let them leave the plantation as she was responsible for delaying their freedom for eight years. She held the deed papers for land her late husband had granted the Dawns for their ultimate freedom.

As the Dawns departed the Karman plantation, they vowed never to return. As they traveled, they refl ected back on their experiences as children on the plantation, how they became a couple, the desire for a family, and having their own home on their land. Neva was barren for fi fteen years when departing the Karman plantation, but Big Bill believed they would still have the opportunity to have children under less stringent conditions as free people. Their journey becomes temporarily interrupted and intertwined with circumstances surrounding the Stanley family.

The Stanleys were one of the elite families in Jeff erson County. The Stanley family drama focused upon their two twin daughters, Molly and Lolly. The midwife, Odessa, had a daughter who became impregnated by Mr. Stanley around the same time as his wife. With the desire for her grandchild to have a better life, Odessa places her grandchild, Molly, as a twin to Mrs. Stanley's daughter, Lolly. Upon discovering the truth, Mrs. Stanley disengages aff ection to her favorite twin of the family making Molly's life miserable. However, Molly meets a rich well-to-do gentleman, Flango Scott, and they fall head over heels in love with each other before her untimely death on the eve of her sister's wedding. Molly's body was exhumed by Lolly's husband, Patterson, to determine the mystery surrounding Molly's death since she was a young individual without any medical concerns.

Finally the Dawns reached Leach Creek, and Big Bill built his cabin from trees he cut from his own land. While cut ting through bushes, he cut through a clearance and there across the creek on a slight hill was the schoolhouse created from the summerhouse that Scott was planning to prepare for his beloved Molly. The school was built to educate all underprivileged children. After fi fteen painful long years of being barren, Neva's wildest dream came true, discovering she was with child. The Dawns welcomed the opportunity to have their children to attend that school someday.