Family Traditions

1

I woke up with my head hazy; everything that was in front of me was a blur, sunlight from the outdoors beamed through my tiny window blinding me.

"Jaylee, -"I heard my Nana call "-Time to get up Mia."

Reluctantly, I open my eyes and got out of bed and threw on a pair of faded blue jeans with a t-shirt.

"Mia!" My Nana called from down stairs, louder this time.

"I'm up!" I yelled back. I looked in the mirror and ran the brush through the mess of my hair. My eyes looked puffy with black circles underlining the bottom of them; my pale skin almost seemed to beg for the suns raise to dance along my skin making me tan. I shook my head, disapproving of the thought. Years of spending time day after day I tried to tan, I wouldn't even get as close as a serious sunburn, Ma told me I was lucky and how she didn't know where I got the gene from, and how I should be grateful God gave me this gift. I grabbed my hair tie and jogged down stairs, Nana was hovering by Mom giving her a worried look, Kia sat in the chair beside mine looking quite confused.

"Good morning." I said trying to ease the awkwardness I happened to walk into.

"Mia, sit please. Kia, can you go outside and feed the horses?" Nana asks. Kia nods her head and heads for the door.

"Jaylee, can you sit down, we need to tell you something." Mom said sitting down across the table from my chair.

"What...?" I gave everyone a confused look and sat down; the chair was worn down to fit my body comfortably.

"Jaylee, uhm, you understand and enjoy how this family operates... right?" Mom said choosing her words carefully.

"Of course, what kind of question is that? What is going on?"

"Mia. We have many family traditions, as every family does, but the thing is our traditions are different, more extreme and inhumane in a sense." Nana said taking over from what Mom was trying to say.

"Like what?" I asked quite curious on what Nana meant. Mom looked over at Dad almost begging for him to tell me, Nana just sighed and looked at me deeply, worry, fear, and curiosity washed over my body in a matter of seconds. What did she mean by extreme and inhumane traditions? What kind of family was I born into?

"Jay-Bay, -"Dad started, "- back when Papa was roughly your age he was already married to your Nana -"

"I have to get married! Why now?" I interrupted

"No Mia, hush and let your father speak." Nana said

"Nana, do you mind telling the story? You after all know it better," Dad said looking like he is unable to speak.

"Very well, the year 1933; I was just turned 17, I was young and married to the love of my life, and everything was amazing, until we received new neighbors. Now, at first Mia they was nice, but later on during the year that they lived by us the more we grew to hate them. Not just I but my parents, and even your Papa hated them. They were rude and hateful to us. We tried to like them again but once they started being that way they did not even bother turning back to their original state. They had two daughters who they loved very much. Well, one day we decide to sneak into their house and kidnap both of their daughters to make them leave. We kept them 2 month roughly before we gave them back. They never knew it was my family, we wore masks all the time, and had to disguise our voice when we was around them, which was harder than it was sounds. We enjoyed the rush it gave us, so we did it to everyone who we hated that was in a 15-mile radius. More things happened and we still do everything to this day."

"So we kidnap people but give them back?" I ask shocked in trying to understand everything they are trying to say.

"Yes Mia." I looked up at my parents who part way seemed relived; I guess if we gave them back, that it was not as bad as it sounded.