Sarny, a female slave at the Waller plantation, first sees NightJohn when he is brought there with a rope around his neck, and his body covered in scars. He had escaped north to freedom, but he came back- came back to teach reading. Knowing that the penalty for reading is dismemberment, NightJohn still returned to slavery to teach others how to read, and twelve-year-old Sarny is willing to take the risk to learn.