SOLD ON A MONDAY By Kristina McMorris

"August 1931 – It was their eyes that first drew Ellis in. Seated on the front porch of a weathered gray farmhouse, among the few homes lining the road surrounded by hayfields, two boys were pitching pebbles at a tin can. Ages six and eight at most, they wore no shoes or shirts. Only patched overalls exposing much of their fair skin tinted by grime and summer sun. The two had to be brothers. With their lean frames and scraggly copper hair, they looked like the same kid at different stages of life. And then there were their eyes. From as far as twenty feet away, they grabbed hold of Ellis Reed. They were blue, like his own, but a shade so light they could have been cut from crystal. A striking find against the blandes of settings, as if they didn't quite belong. With them came a sign. A raw, wooden slat with jagged edges, it bowed slightly agains the porch, as if reclining under the weight of the afternoon heat. The offer it bore, scrawled in chalk, didn't fully register until Ellis snapped the photo."

2 Children for Sale

This may sound cruel but times were hard in America. Everything was fine until one day the Stock Market crashed, Banks were closing, no money, no food, people out of work, long bread lines waiting for food. Families with children couldn't afford to feed them. Some parents passed their children to farmers to help with the farming. Some parents sold their children thinking it would give their children a better life.

Ellis Reed is a newspaper photographer, looking for his big break. From random photos never meant for publication, while waiting for his Model T to cool down, comes his chance.

But, the consequences will be more devastating than he ever imagined.

A co-worker at the newspaper, Lily Palmer, sees his phots drying in the developing room and encourages Ellis to use them for an article about the dire straits of Depression era farm families. Later she is haunted by her role in all that happened, being all too familiar with the heartbreak of children deemed unwanted.

Ellis never intended to return to the farm with the sign. But, when the file containing his story and photo are accidently destroyed he finds himself back at the farmhouse. But, the family is gone. But, the sign is still there and there are three other children. So begins the deception to get the story. Ellis pays their mother, Geraldine Dillard to allow the photos

How far will a mother go? What no one knows is that Geraldine is dying and she does sell her children.

Thus begins a story of twists, turns, danger, and near death as Ellis and Lily seek to find the children.