To Meena's horrified surprise, the person that has made a claim against her and kept her from joining her husband on the trip to Nova Scotia is Robinson Appleby. Disgusted and annoyed, Meena protests his claim against her. Mr. Appleby provides proof of his original purchase and Meena has nothing to disprove his claim. Thankfully her friend Sam is present and returns with Solomon Lindo to claim her. She is released to him and he finally sets her free. She and her unborn child continue with their journey to the "promised land" on the next ship out. Unfortunately it is not destined for the same port her husband was sent and she is the only free Negro to travel at that time. Upon her arrival in Shelburne, she is not welcomed as she had hoped and finally learns that Birchtown is the place for her kind.
Birchtown is where free Negroes lived and waited for the free land that lured them to Nova Scotia. There, people lived in shacks and deep pits dug in the ground. All the residents relied on each other for survival. Meena found paid work with Mr. McArdle at the local paper and helped deliver babies, write letters and read the papers in Birchtown and Shelburne. She even delivered her on baby, a girl she named May. She kept her snug on her back regardless of what she was doing. She soon met the Witherspoon's, a white loyalist family that employed her on days she did not work at the newspaper. She continued to look for Chekura and even took a trip Annapolis Royal to find him but returned with no new information. They continued to live and work in Birchtown and made the best of the life they had together.
Things began to get bad in Shelburne and Birchtown as whites and Negroes competed for the same jobs. Riots broke out, killings occurred and their safety was in constant question. When riots broke out for four days, Meena and May sought refuge with the Witherspoons. When the riots ended, Meena traveled back to Birchtown, but she left May with the Witherspoons in order to secure their shack and ensure safety. Two days later, Meena traveled back to Shelburne to retrieve her daughter but was met with an empty house. She frantically searched for her daughter and someone to answer her questions. Finally Mr. McArdle tells her that the Witherspoon's left the day she returned to Birchtown and they took May with them. Once again, Meena's child was stolen from her.
