The Burning of Sadie Bluebell

Part One

Sadie knew that there was something wrong with her.

There had to be. She was always messing up. Why couldn't she ever follow rules, pay attention, or just remember a few verses from the Bible? And now, peculiar feelings . .

     Sadie always worked her hardest, but try as she might, she could never live up to her parent's expectations. It was already bad enough that they were strict, but the fact that her father was the leader of their small village made everything ten times worse.

     Sadie's father, Marcus Bluebell, watched over and lead their small, conservative, and isolated village. Every villager practically groveled at his feet. They all praised Marcus for doing the Lord's work everyday, and for being so pure and sin-free. Everything her father said was considered God's word.

     Because she was the daughter of a person with such status, she had been set high expectations. She had to be perfect. If only it came easy to her like it did for Jessie.

     Jessie, who always went by Jess, was Sadie's sister. She was crude, and always looked down on Sadie. Maybe it was because Jess saw Sadie as competition. Maybe it was because their parents always favored Jess more.

     Jess was the golden child. Absolutely perfect. Perfect manners, perfect looks, perfect thoughts. Her parents, especially Sadie's mother, constantly doted on Jessie.

     Sadie's mother, Julie Bluebell, was a proper woman. She had a cold look glinting in her eyes and she always knew what to say to make you look like a fool in front of others. She kept her head held up high, which Sadie liked to imagine was because of how tightly her mother put her hair into buns.

     It was no wonder how Julie had caught Marcus's eye.

     Marcus had a sharp wit and a smooth voice. He was great at comforting people and telling them what they wanted to hear. It was too bad that he had a quick temper.

     Julie was an exact blend of the two. She had cold eyes and a charming demeanor, but she wasn't so great when she was upset.

     And then there was Sadie.

     Sadie didn't know why she was so different. She could hardly talk to anyone in the village without getting all tongue tied, and she definitely struggled with knowing when to talk and what not to say and what to say.

     Her parents were disappointed with her. She knew that. She wasn't stupid. They never reprimanded Jess as much as they reprimanded her. And now everything was even worse than before.

     Why was she feeling this? She knew she shouldn't be feeling like this. DEFINITELY not for another girl. There was something wrong with her.

     Yes, there was absolutely something wrong with her. Jess never talked about emotions such as these. It wasn't normal for Sadie's heart to race every time she passed that girl. It wasn't normal for her face to heat up whenever that girl looked at her. It wasn't normal to dream about that girl every night, longing to embrace her . .

     Sadie quickly shook her head.

     She had been thinking about it all morning as she did her chores. Her parents would never accept it. No one in the village would. Even if she was perfect like Jess, they still wouldn't allow it.

Sadie pulled a white button-up shirt out of the basket and pinned it onto the clothesline, lost in her thoughts. The sun shone down brightly, high up in the middle of the sky. She hoped that she would be able to earn some alone time later.

Her daily routine went like this: Wake up. Wash up. Help cook breakfast. Do chores. Study verses. Gather in the church for her father's daily prayer. Go home and cook dinner. Sleep. Sadie found that, if was lucky, she was able to sneak off after everyone left the church.