Rocks and Water

Seated at the dinner table, none of us showed any fear. Father stood at the head of the table, grease stained hands placed lovingly on the shoulders of my eldest brother and sister, while Mother sat at the other end, arms wrapped serenely over her stomach which was soon to be much bigger than it was now. We each had our nicest dress or suit on, which we all knew was improper attire for running, but that was surely the point. I quite liked my dress, with its delicate purple lace and fluttering chiffon sleeves.

My eyes glanced up to the line of pictures hanging on a mantle as a reminder of all the boys and girls that came before me and the ones that were with me now. I swallowed hard as Father opened his mouth to speak.

“First off, I want you all to know that though this seems like I don’t love you, I love each and every one of you dearly, just as I loved your other sisters and brothers. But, it seems that your mother is with child once more, and as you know we can only keep so many children at once. Thankfully this time it’s only one baby,” His eyes cut to my older twin sisters, Esther and Joanna “so only one of you will be leaving us tonight.” At this point my younger brother Judah was looking a little green, so I squeezed his hand gently under the table in an attempt to comfort him.

“Since there are twelve of you,” Father continued, “I’ll be sending you out two at a time. Remember the rules: once you’ve left the house you may not come back inside until I call for you. You may not go anywhere but into the woods and once there you cannot leave them. If you try to use the woods as an escape route into town, I’ll know.” A heavy sense of dread was settling over the dining room.

“Now, since I started with Delilah and Jacob last time, we’ll start with Lucas and Ruth this go around.” I could feel all my younger siblings relax at the same time. Starting with the youngest children first usually resulted in one of the older ones having to be the one to leave. Father went around behind my chair as He approached little Lucas and Ruth, only five and seven years old. He knelt down to their level and smiled kindly to them.

“Ruthie, Lucas.” He said in his soft timber, ignoring the fast growing fear of His two youngest. “Go outside and play like good children.” Like windup toys they stood from the table, hand in hand, and left slowly through the front door. I wanted to look out the window to see where they would go, but Father had drawn the curtains tonight.

Every ten minutes Father would leave His position at the head of the table and tell two of my siblings to go play outside until He finally got to me and Thaddeus. “It’s a lovely night, tonight, isn’t it Thaddeus?” Thaddeus nodded vigorously. “Don’t you agree, Eunice?” I swallowed hard again and gave a small nod to Him.

“Yeah.” He said, cheerfulness in His voice we never got to hear except on these nights. “It’d be a shame to waste it staying inside. Go play with your older brother.” We stood, and I could see that Thaddeus wanted to hold onto my hand but my palms were too sweaty. Stepping out into the cool, dark night, I jumped as the door shut tight behind us.

Our footsteps were quiet as we trudged through the overgrown front yard, a breeze ruffling my light summer’s dress and giving me a chill. The woods were dark and cold, and right in front of us. I turned to Thaddeus and he looked back to me, jaw locked tight though he looked like he wanted to cry.

“Don’t let Him send you away, Eunice.” He whispered. “There are endless hiding places. Just choose the right one.” He let go of my hand and sprinted into the trees.

My fingers trembled as I took a shaky step into the woods. It was dark and muggy, a bit hotter than it had been by the house. I looked for holes in the trees, anywhere that my body could fit. I was the fourth child, so Father would be coming soon. I hoped that I wouldn’t be the one to be found.
Deeper and deeper through the trees I walked, careful not to make any loud sounds in case Father was already there.

I started to fear that I would be the first one found, because there seemed to be no place for me to hide from Him. I wondered if when I was sent away I’d find my brothers and sisters. I was only fourteen, definitely not old enough to live on my own.

I heard a bang; one similar to the gunshot blast that always called us home but not as strong. I kept going.

The air was growing colder when I tripped and fell flat on my face in the middle of a small clearing. I stood, dirty dusted onto my pretty dress. Standing up, I looked back at what I’d tripped over. It was a stone, a small rectangular one with words carved crudely across its face. I felt a sense of unease but I still looked down at it, an icy ball settling down in my guts as I read the words Isaac Hollen. My brother who, up until last year, had been the youngest in my family. I couldn’t believe it; this surely wasn’t a gravestone!

A callused, grease stained hand came down on my shoulder as I felt cold steel press against the back of my head.