My mother, father, and older sister were propped up on the spider-infested steps in front of my Victorian style house. Each gazing at the slowly rising sun, a blank, sorrowful stare in their eyes. As I approached them, I watched my father arise from his seated position on the stairs. The red x across his right cheek was blazing in the sunlight. The red x is cut into the sacrificed's face on Exchange day.
Anger and frustration filled up inside of me the moment my eyes fell upon the mark. They made the decision without me? I never got the chance to rebut against sacrificing the eldest. The guilt then overwhelmed me. I would do anything to take away my father's pain and wear the x.
"Today's the big day, huh," my father said with a nervous grin.
That's one of the things I'd miss most about my daddy- his positivity. Even in the darkest times, he smiled and guided the light back towards his family. The grin has never left his face.
But my eyes had fallen upon a new man, one filled with sorrow and regret slashed across his face. His grey locks sprouted white hairs. Eyes sunken, with dark circles hanging below them, and face removed of all color, who was this stranger? And what happened to the cheerful man I used to know?
The sight of my poor, deprived daddy caused me to melt. Tears burned my eyes as the dripped and rolled down my cheeks. I had always been a daddy's girl. Losing my father would be a wound that would never heal. And the pain of losing my head is nothing close to suffering the loss of my dad.
I knew what I had to do.
YOU ARE READING
Exchanged
Teen Fiction"The young people's curiosity poses as a threat. Yet the elderly know too much...."
