“Now it’s all done, Becky. And always after this, you know, you ain’t ever to love anybody but me, and you ain’t ever to marry anybody but me, ever never and forever. Will you?”

- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

CHAPTER 1

I am a social outcast, livin’ in Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal is a lively town.

When I go downtown, I see the women and girls, all prim an’ proper in their skirts, dresses and bonnets. The men were well-groomed, their mustaches trimmed an’ carefully combed in place.

I walk by a multitude of houses everyday. Many folks live in decent homes; nothin’ fancy, but they say it’s cozy. Some live in ornate homes, others in unkept cabins and shacks.

It’s noisy durin’ the day; the bustle of the town, church bells tollin’, an’ children playin’ on the streets. It’s peaceful at night, when all the people are in their beds, snorin’ away. The scent of freshly baked bread at the bakery, boiled candies and other sweets at the general shop, the sweetness of oak, the spiciness of pine, and the smokiness of hickory at the lumber yard.

I love to feel the coolness of the Mississippi River, the crispness of the wind and rain, and the roughness of the dirt roads ‘neath my bare feet. I enjoy the taste of fresh milk and the mellow flavor of tobacco.

Most of the mothers keep their children away from me. They believe I am a bad influence on them. Yet, the children still look up to me, desiring the so-called “freedom” I have; not goin’ to school, not goin’ to church, an’ not wearin’ shoes.

Thank the mighty Lord I don’t live in a civilized manner. One time, I was adopted by the Widow Douglas, she made me wear shoes, she made me sleep inside, she made me go to church… she even made an attempt to educate me.

That was too much for me to handle. I was used to sleepin’ under the stars, smokin’ my corncob pipe, wearin’ raggedy clothes, goin’ around barefoot, an’ roamin’ the world free on my raft.

My name is Huckleberry Finn; my friends call me “Huck”. I live in a cabin with my father, who I refer to as “Pap”. We live on the bank of the river. I was born and poorly raised here.

My Pap doesn’t seem to care about what I’m doin’ or where I’m goin’, because he’s always drunk. Sometimes, he would get aggressive and would beat me with a hicky switch. He would take my money away to buy more alcohol. Most of the time, he doesn’t care two wits ‘bout me. I don’t know my mother, fer she was never around. Either she died after my birth or she ran away because of Pap. I have asked my father about her, but he hasn’t told me a darn thing; he would just slump in his wooden chair, with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

To escape from Pap, I would go on adventures with my best friend, Tom Sawyer. Joe Harper would come along with us.

Sometimes, we’d sneak off, hop onto my raft, and ride the current across the river. The night sky, the moon, and stars seemed to be everywhere at once. The Mississippi’s roar filled my ears. The water felt cold and refreshing; the breeze was warm and soothing. Most of the time, we were pirates, sailin’ down the Mississippi on my raft. We each had pirate names; Tom was The Black Avenger of the Spanish Main, Joe was The Terror of the Seas, and I was Huck Finn, The Red Handed. I know, pirates killed people, but we didn’t do that. All we did was steal food. We’d take eggs from farmers’ coops and water from other people’s wells. We would also take the meat from those farms, so we could have ham to eat.

Those adventures did get us into a lot of trouble, but that’s why I liked it.

Not only were the adventures fun, Tom and Joe were fun too. We had plenty of time to talk, plannin’ our next adventure, tellin’ tall tales, havin’ adventures in the woods an’ on the river, stayin’ up late…those were some of the best times in my life. Those adventures kept me from being lonely. And if I were, they made me smile anyway. That was the only time I could *really* be myself, to be free, to be happy.

At the time, my only reason for living was to be able to travel the Mississippi River, to explore new places, and meet new people…and hopefully, I might find someone I loved and fell in love with.

A person that was one of a kind.

Like a star in the sky. You can't forget their image as long as your eyes are open, because they will always remain in your memory, no matter how far you go. No matter how hard you work, no matter how hard you struggle.

They'll be there forever.

I'm sure of it.