This book is dedicated to the slaves who lost their lives through the Middle Passage. May you rest in peace.

There once was a girl named Asha who lived in Sierra Leone. The year was 1619 and Asha was just 10 years old.

One night, Asha could not sleep and decided to take a walk. However, as she walked near the shore, Asha spotted a large and strange ship under the moonlight.

Asha suddenly noticed that there was another ship that reached the shore. There were tall, white men that had started a fire and were running in the direction of Asha. She was scared so she started running away.

She could hear loud shouts coming closer so she ran as fast as she could. However, her foot caught a root from a tree and she fell. Asha felt something cold and rough grab her arm. She heard someone say,

"Grab that girl! She is now a slave!" Asha fainted.

Asha was woken up by the sounds of screaming. She was surrounded by African American women and children on the deck. She was chained. One of the white men said,

"You are aboard the White Star! We are taking you to Jamestown and you will not be our indentured servants but slaves!" Asha did not know what to think.

Asha tried to move her body to get a closer look at the strange men but could not move. She thought to herself,

"There must be 600 people chained to the ship. What is going on?" As the wind got stronger, she knew she was leaving her home and was sad.

Asha could taste the salt from her tears. She was scared because she did not know what "Jamestown" was. Her legs ached. Asha could hear someone near her say,

"This must be similar to the dreaded Middle Passage Ode was talking about!" Asha squeaked, "Excuse me, ma'am. What do you mean?"

The old woman said,

"These men are colonists who capture African Americans and sell us to other countries like America through the Triangular Trade. She heard her owner talking about it one day. Once we are sold to the highest bidder in something called an auction, we are enslaved to that person forever." Before Asha could ask another question, she heard screaming.