The sun is rising on my face. It was a long drive but we must have made it to Atlanta by now. I open my eyes. I am not in a seat. I am not even in the minivan. In fact, I don’t even see the minivan. My three sons are curled up next to me with their heads on my legs. They are familiar but the rest of the world is not. I sit up a bit more pulling Anil into my arms to keep him from waking. The cars are shaped differently. I have never seen anything like them before. Where are we?

“Ashwin, Santosh,” I pull on their shirts lightly. “It’s time to wake up.”

I would have to keep Anil held tightly. He would panic with this change in environment. I expected Ashwin would retreat within himself and Santosh will be calm. The boys yawned and stood up. Santosh reached down to help me stand up with my free hand. He had grown into a considerate young man at 14. As I turned around to look at the area better, a chill goes down my spine. I immediately turn around and put my finger in front of my lips and sent the gesture towards Ashwin and Santosh.

The confederate flag. Huge. Everywhere. I scan the area around us. What do I do? Where did the year 2007 go? Is this America? This can’t be Atlanta, can it? Where is Ivan? Where’s Alexei? I notice a few angry glances in my family’s direction. It would not be long be long before trouble found us. I am a black woman, but my children are not black. My husband was not here. I could hardly defend myself and my children certainly could not. What would happen to us?

I sigh and tell my boys, “We must stay calm. I don’t know what’s happening but we must stay calm and together.”

Just then a strange vehicle pulls up next to us. A tall man opens the rear door and walks towards me. He reaches for my free hand. “Asha, my name is Sergei. I am a relative of Ivan. For the safety of you and your family, please get in.” He gestures towards the open door.

I hesitate and look around. I hear the laughter as those around us joke about the runaway slave. It boggles my mind that they mean me. I look at Sergei’s face. Well, he has Ivan’s chin and blue eyes, but brown hair instead of blond. I notice he has a very pensive smile. It seems he might be panicked but is careful not to scare the children. He looks directly into my eyes. He knows about the children. I must decide right now to trust or not to trust.