Ambar de Andrade

Dear Chiara,


How have you been? I hope well.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I think I’m truly starting to miss you now. With all that has been going on, my only hope is that you at least receive this letter. New York is amazing, I love it, and it inspires me every day. I am working as a journalist now; I have to write every day. I know, it’s the ideal job for me, I can’t stop writing. The situation that’s been going on is eating my soul. I know you still live with dad but, I really can’t understand how he’s capable of still holding those poor people to work for him. You know I always told you that treating them like that was going to come back at us, and now it truly is coming back to us Chiara. I’m scared for Sally and Pete. I feel useless and frustrated all the time. I miss you guys so much. Pete is in the Union army, which puts me in the most horrible position. I can’t imagine losing him Chiara, what about Sally? She wouldn’t have her Dadda anymore. This is the hardest times of my life, and I feel that it cannot get any worse. Chiara, I know you feel the same way I do about the slaves that dad has in his farm, why don’t you try to put some sense into dads head? If something happens to any of you, my world would blow into pieces. Please do something, or say something! Make dad stop… Is mom handling the situation? I know mom is very nervous, so she must be going crazy. I miss you guys so much…It pains me to think that I can’t come near you guys.
Pete just left to fight in the Gettysburg battle. He’s been sleeping with the soldiers at the army. He tells me the food is horrible and disgusting. I don’t know what kind of weapons he’s using, he refuses to tell me. I’m dying alone in this house of frustration, anger, and pain. The feeling of insecurity on whether my husband is coming back to me is excruciating. I had to wash his uniform yesterday; I wanted to rip the blue evil piece of cloth into a million pieces. Pete told me he thinks that it’s the first time he’s seen so many people together, he says there’s about 94,000 soldiers fighting together with him during this battle. Can you imagine how all those men’s wives and mothers are feeling right now? Just like me: horrible and useless.
Well my dear sister, I love you so much, and I miss you too much. Say hi to mom and dad for me, if dad accepts my greetings anyway. Take care of them Chiara, I love them to death. Don’t forget to take care of yourself; don’t be brave like you always try to be. Hide and make mom and dad hide with you. I hope you write me back.

With all my love,

Ambar.