Just that Sinner

15

The sun starts to rise and Meagan's heart drops, she doesn't want to go back. "Let's get you back home," Amethyst tells her. "I don't want to go back," Meagan says as fear fills her eyes. "I know, but I don't want you to get hurt. Someday you won't have to go back, we are going to do movies remember? Our pinky promise will help." Amethyst says and starts walking to the front door. "Wait! I got to take off the bandages first, I am not allowed to have them" Meagan says and quickly takes them off. Then, the two girls, one blonde and the other with black hair run crossed the road early that morning. "Bye! Thank you for everything." Meagan says. "Bye, I'll miss you!" Amethyst says. She watches her new friend run off, she stands there until she can't see her anymore then goes back to her own house. Meagan quickly runs to her room and starts getting ready for the day. She puts on her dress, does her hair, and then reads her Bible until she is called for breakfast. Everyone is sitting at the table together for their breakfast feast, no one seems to notice that Meagan was gone all that night. Albert stands up to make his morning announcement,

"My dearest children as always I must recite our rules and you repeat them back." Father Albert says to his followers.
"1. As your Prophet anointed by God, you refer to me as Father Albert.
2. Don't stray from the fenced yard unless given permission by the Father 
3. If you try to escape, you don't value your life and will get punished
4. Only have intimate relationships with those part of our way of living
5.  Don't talk back to Father. Albert
6. Don't talk badly about Father Albert
7. Everyone who disobeys is a disgrace and will be shown no mercy
8. Follow the work instructions even if you work all night. Rest will be given to those who deserve it
9. Don't ask about the missing, if someone goes missing it's God's will and it's not to be questioned
10. Show no doubts
11. Always smile and speak kindly
12. If you don't do the Lord's will,  you must suffer the consequences."
13. To spare the rod means to spoil the child"
One by one the rules are said and repeated.
Meagan still had a hard time using her hand to do anything but apparently, that's what she deserves. When she went to tend to the garden outside, Karen noticed the blisters. Her eyes fill with tears but quickly turned her head. She was ashamed that she let the poor baby go back to that environment but what else was there to do?
Karen wanted to speak to Meagan's mother but it was hard to know who her mother is. Every man had multiple wives and children, they all seem to take care of each other. She did however notice how much power one man had over the rest of them, it looked crazy to her. It would look crazy to anyone in the outside world but to Meagan, Karen, and Amethyst were the crazy ones.
Amethyst steps outside and runs up to the fence, "Hi!" She says happily.
"Hello, how are you this fine morning?" Meagan asks.
"Good, I am tired but good." Amethyst tells her and then asks, "How are you?" Meagan smiles, "I am good but also tired." She tells her. "You should take a nap then," Amethyst says. "Oh, I am not allowed to take naps," Meagan replies making Amethyst frown. That's when Karen comes over, "What happened to your hand?" She asks the girl. "It's just a reminder to be good, it's what Father Albert said is best for me." She tells her new friend's mom. "That's not good for anyone, my dad hurts me sometimes too and it makes me sad and mad." The young Amethyst tells her. "Oh no he doesn't." Karen scolds. "Well, no one knows better than God and Father Albert," Meagan replies, trying her best to pull the weeds out of the garden. She finds one that looks like a flower and holds it up for Amethyst to see, "See, it looks pretty and isn't spiked but, kills what we need to survive. It's evil with a pretty face, just like the devil. The devil makes himself look pretty and inviting but slowly kills you." She tells her. "Oh. Okay." Is Amethyst can manage to say, she's never heard anything like that before and it scares her. "Well I got to go, keep this weed as a reminder," Meagan replies, handing her friend the weed. "I like it, maybe it isn't bad. Maybe it just grew up in the wrong place." Amethyst says, not realizing how much her words resonated with Meagan. Meagan stands up and brushes the dirt off her dress, "Maybe." She says and they both part ways. "Maybe I grew up in the wrong place." Meagan thinks to herself but instantly hits her leg with her burned hand to punish herself for thinking in such a way. She believes that the pain is what she needs to keep her in line, it seems to work. Pain and writing scriptures, that's how she keeps herself in line. She watches Amethyst go off to her house and wishes she could just run off with her and never look back. She can't though, if she leaves she can never go back, and what if the outside world isn't any better? It's a lot for a young child to think about, it is inhumane to put a child under so much pressure. Karen may not be a perfect mom but still can tell something isn't right. They all are at a loss of what to do, no one knows the right way to go about this situation. So, no one does anything, they just pretend like everything is okay. Karen wants to call the cops but knows they wouldn't take her seriously, they are looking for reasons to arrest her anyways. It is a complicated situation but we will learn more about that at a later date.