One Last Prayer From The Queen

     Debra-Ann, a small-town colored girl, was born in the rural backwoods of Hush, Mississippi, in 1932. Her father lovingly called her his courageous soul, a nickname she earned for her spiritually inspired compassion for her people, which she held onto even more after the tragic day he was lynched when she was five. After that loss, she was cared for by her grandfather, who loved her deeply; her father's loyal old hound dog, her best friend, Lancelot; and a mother who despised the image of her deceased husband she saw in Debra-Ann. Her grandfather, whom she reverently called Grand Michael, aimed to raise her as best as he could—like a man—teaching her to hunt, fish, and fight; skills that would prove vital and save her life after his passing.

     Just months before her fifteenth birthday, Debra-Ann changed the course of her life. In the dead of night, with her grandfather's double-barreled shotgun fired and her mother's new husband Charlie's blood splattered on the walls, she confronted the oppressive laws of the segregated South along the pitch-dark back roads. Facing threats from the Klan during their night rides, she desperately marched to town and the train station. Northbound and with four tickets to four different cities before her to choose from, Debra-Ann is frantic. A small hand grabbed a train ticket—her destination was Philadelphia, PA.