Alabama Moon

Just before Pap died

He told me that I'd be fine as long as

I never depended on anybody but myself

I made Pap's grave just like

he had done Mama's.

All I had to remember her face

was one picture Pap kept.

but I can remember in the bed at night

keeping me warm from the other side

Pap said people passed on

and came back as some kind of animal

that the old part of them would

float around like smoke

and a person could burn

letters and talk to them that way

He said my momma was a

yellow finch now.

I mostly thought of her that way

I was 11 years old and Pap said he taught me

everything I needed to know

about living in the forest

When it came to fightin', he said he figured

I could whip someone 3 times my size..

but he mostly talked about the government

said they were after us

said they'd always be after us

and one day a war would come

and I'd have to fight them and be ready

to die for what was right

Pap look!

What's that Pap?

- What are they doing Pap?

- Making a road.

Why?

Who are they, Pap?

I don't know.

Fill up the canteen. I'm going into town.

Yeah. Bring some vegetables

for us to sell?

We don't have time for that.

Fill up the canteen like I told you.

Pa, I did it!

- How are you, Ali? Moon?

- George

- What you two have for me today?

- Nothing.

What's going on with the dozers?

I hate to tell ya, Ali...

Heard that a lawyer from Birmingham bought

up a big track from the paper company.

12,000 acres

- They're going to build a big

huntin' lodge. - What else you know?

Oh, not much, just what I heard from a couple

fellows come in here to buy coats and such...

Do I get to buy anything? Pap!

You keep up, you hear me?

Nothing was ever the same after

the bulldozers came.

Even though I watched his face,

I didn't know what Pap was thinking anymore.

Sometimes it was like,

he didn't know I was there.

A couple weeks passed before the

bulldozers grew silent.

We started hearing the hammering.

which made Pap even more nervous.

He got upset over the

smallest mistakes.

Alright.

We made one more trip to

Mr. Aberscotti's store

when the vegetables ripened in the fall

That was the last time

Pap left the forest alive.

Ahh, South America's Andes.

It and it's

...fringing islands...

- are basically a jagged...

- Stop reading out loud.

You're old enough to

read to yourself now.

Pa! Pa!

Help me!

Pa!

Help me!

Tell me again why we live out here.

Because you never ask for anything.

Nobody ever give us anything either.

Go on.

Because of that...

We don't owe anything to anybody.

Who it that thinks we owe them something?

The government.

I'm not gonna get any better.

What are we gonna do?

I'm not gonna make it.

You're gonna to die?

- When? Tonight?

- No. But soon.

This leg is gonna get infected

What will I do?

The paper company that owned this land

was too big to notice us out here.

But that new owner is gonna find you.

and he'll send the law.

You need to leave here, Moon...

and go find other people like us.

Most of them are out west, in

Montana, Colorado, Wyoming.

Alaska's even better.

A man can still homestead in Alaska

Find a place where nobody can find him.

You gonna have to find your

way up there, son.

- But how...

- You'll figure it out.

You can't rely on me anymore.

You just remember what I taught you.

And don't you trust nobody.

If you get lonely, you

can write me smoke letters.

But how will I get answers from the smoke?

I want to burn that picture of your mom

and put me and her both out of your head.

You'll feel lonely for a while...

but it will go away if you ain't

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