Mustard Seed (Freedman/Johnson, #2)

by Laila Ibrahim

you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can move mountains.”

A new layer of sediment settled onto Lisbeth’s already-complex emotional landscape as she thought of her brother from so long ago.

freedom didn’t mean very much without the means to exercise it.

My mother’s attitude continues to confuse me. One day she is warm, and another she is hostile. She has no interest in knowing my children, which pains me. Julianne and Jack have taken a liking to Sadie, but I fear their influence conflicts with our values.” Lisbeth’s voice broke. “And Sammy seems to be very disappointed in me after seeing where I come from.”

“Your Congress won’t admit us back into the Union until Virginia has a new constitution,” Mother Johnson explained.

She had been following the news about the slow return of the Confederate states to the Union. It was confusing—and the process was instructive about the limitations of the US Constitution.

Sammy knew about the argument in theory, but living in Oberlin, he had never heard people who directly advocated for states’ rights over federal rights.

“This soap does not contain lye. It doesn’t hurt me,” Jordan declared, “so it won’t hurt you.”

“An ugly truth is preferable to a beautiful lie.

Lisbeth felt sick at her own capacity for deception, to uphold appearances, but from the moment of her birth, her mother had taught her well.

“It’s never a sin to love.”

“These folks are our kith, the people we are connected to because of our choices. Somewhere between friends and family.”