The Family (15 page)

Twig put her hands to her mouth. She had been off the compound before the day of her accident. She had been to this place in the painting. She was that little girl in the frothy dress with the glimmering shoes. She had lived in that house. That big, brick house. She remembered it.

Or did she?

The emotions the painting had evoked began to subside, and reason grabbed at her. She lost her sureness of the moment.

She looked at the painting again. It was such a clear depiction. How could she have painted that if she’d never been there? How could she have painted it, period?

The sun began to warm the room. She had to go.

She scratched a note and left it in place of Gran’s.

Thank you for breakfast…for everything. Back as soon as possible. Love, T
.

Twig rinsed the coffee cup and pot, leaving it drying on a towel beside the sink. She stuffed a muffin in the pocket of her sweater. Her heart was beating rapidly and her head still hurt, but she had to keep moving. She began switching off lights.

She eyed the painting, the paper thick and still wet. She picked it up and carried it gingerly as she left the studio. Sapphire whinnied with happiness at the sight of her. Twig ducked behind the studio and set down the painting beneath a small overhang of roof in order to protect it. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. She didn’t want anyone to see it.

The lights in the kitchen began to glow. Twig didn’t have time to stop. She still had to get Sapphire back before breakfast. She saw Gran’s pretty white head at the window. Twig made a writing sign with her hand and nodded toward the studio. She pressed her hands together and bowed toward Gran in a gesture of gratitude. Gran nodded back in understanding.

Twig and Sapphire tore through the woods toward the compound. Twig worried for a moment about her head and her wrist but pushed ahead. A seizure might not be worse than being late.

When Sapphire was safely situated in her stall, Twig stumbled away from the stables, smoothing her hair and twisting it into a bun. There was nothing she could do about the rosiness in her cheeks from riding. She could always say her head had begun to hurt. In fact, she should have some excuses at the ready in case she was late. She pinched her wrist between her thumb and index finger and turned it gently, worried that she had pushed it, but it seemed to be standing up. There wasn’t any soreness. She should ice it just in case. She didn’t want to be in a cast again. She wouldn’t be able to ride… or paint.

Twig saw Ryan and Sophie at their table when she entered the hall for breakfast. She grabbed a tray and filled it with food, suddenly hungry. She hadn’t managed to eat Gran’s muffin. It was still stuffed in her pocket. She chose an empty seat next to Ryan and sat down.

“I’m sensing some untoward morning behavior,” Ryan whispered while scooping up a spoonful of oatmeal.

“What’s giving me away?” Twig responded, trying not to move her lips and staring with sudden interest at her fingernails.

“Oh, a certain
je ne sais
Twig.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

Sophie had been talking to Rose and Thomas and only then looked up at Twig. “Morning, Twig.”

“Morning, Sophe,” Twig answered casually.

“Oh, Twig!” Rose suddenly said, realizing Twig had joined them. “We both need to talk to you.” Rose pointed to herself and then to Thomas.

“Okay,” Twig said, curious. “Together?”

“No, actually,” Thomas said. “For different reasons. Can you stay for a minute before yoga this morning?”

“Yeah. I can’t do half the class right now, anyway. But I should let Teacher know.”

“I’ll tell her. I’m assuming this has been approved?” Sophie asked.

“Yes.” Both Thomas and Rose nodded. “We can just talk here after everyone leaves,” Thomas suggested.

“Sounds good.” Twig had had enough moving around for one morning.

“Hey,” Ryan nudged Twig. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.” Twig squeezed Ryan’s hand under the table.

“How ’bout a walk soon? Tomorrow? Before dinner?”

“Nothing I’d rather do,” Twig answered, and she meant it. It had been too long since she’d caught up with Ryan. She felt far away from Sophie too, but that might be best right now. She didn’t want to jeopardize Sophie in a way that she knew she didn’t have to worry about with Ryan. Ryan could take care of himself. Too much information might both upset Sophie and put her in a bad position. And sadly, Twig just didn’t trust Sophie right now.

A loud noise suddenly boomeranged through the dining hall. A man named John, a father of young children, had dropped his tray. His dishes and the tray itself had clattered to the floor with a bang. Everyone stared for a moment. He held up his hands, blistered and bleeding, as if for explanation. He seemed to be frozen with fear or dazed with fatigue. Ryan stood up and went over to him. He helped him to a chair and then went back to pick up the dishes and the tray, bringing them over to where John was sitting. Twig looked at Sophie. They both wanted to help, but it was best not to call more attention.

Ryan righted the dishes and cleaned John’s utensils with his shirt. Twig knew John could not go get another serving of food. He’d have to manage with what didn’t spill. Ryan patted John on the shoulder and came back to their table.
He’ll learn now
, thought Twig, recalling Adam’s teachings.
Wherever he went astray, he’ll be different now. He will be better for this
.

But inside, her stomach burned.

* * *

The breakfast crowd had cleared out. Thomas and Rose sat across from Twig. Twig was glad for the distraction. The incident with John, though small, had left a heaviness in her heart.

“So.” Thomas rubbed his hands together. “Adam said you’re going to be part of my supply team. Well, now it’s a team. Before, it was sort of a one-man show.” Thomas smiled at Rose and Twig. “Anyway, I’m glad to have a new partner.”

“Thank you, Thomas,” she said humbly. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m happy to help.” She had to speak to Thomas as if she were speaking to Adam. Anything she said to Thomas would surely go right back to him. She was sure Adam would use Thomas as his eyes and ears when it came to Twig.

“Okay. Good.” Thomas stroked Rose’s hair with his large, freckled hand and smiled lovingly at her. They were really cute. Twig couldn’t help remembering Leo brushing her own hair off her forehead at the hospital. She felt a shiver run through her body.

“We’ll start one week from today.” Thomas smiled warmly at Twig. “We always leave after breakfast, but we will pack sandwiches. It can be a long day, and we can’t eat anything that hasn’t been purified first.”

“Okay,” Twig nodded, thinking about the meal she had shared at Gran’s. “What about us? Do we need to be purified before we leave and after we come back?”

Thomas looked grave and shook his head. “Adam said because he laid hands on you recently, you are fine. I have received special blessings to protect me on these outings. Adam will tell us when we are in danger of infection again.”

Twig couldn’t help but wonder why her purification had the power to last some open-ended amount of time but Thomas had received a special blessing to go on supply runs. If Adam had made everything up about infection and corruption in the outside world and his ability to cure it and prevent it, wasn’t he being a little lazy by not giving her a special purification for supply runs? Did he not expect her to question any of it?

“I am glad I don’t have to go. I would be scared to death,” Rose said. “I hate that you two have to go, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing it.”

Thomas began to stand up. He lifted Rose’s hair off her neck and let it fall. “One week from today. I will explain protocol—rules of behavior—on our way there.”

“Okay. Thank you, Thomas.” Twig couldn’t wait for next week to come.

Thomas kissed Rose’s head and left. Twig started to get up.

“Oh, wait, Twig. I have to talk to you about something, too.”

“What’s that?” Twig said, sitting back down and tucking her legs beneath her.

“Well, this is kind of weird, but Adam and Yasmine wanted me to tell you about these classes you’ll be taking now.”

“Different classes?”

“Yeah.” Rose was hesitating. “Because you’re getting married. All the betrothed girls take these… these ‘how to be a wife’ classes.” Rose giggled nervously. Her fair skin was turning red. Twig sat in silence. She wasn’t sure how to react.

“Who teaches them?” Twig finally asked, unsure of what to say.

“Well, I’ll be there, but mostly Yasmine teaches.” Rose stopped for a moment. “It’s more like a conversation, really. Answering questions you might have, and some instruction.”

This marriage was really in motion. “Are they like Meetings?”

“No, no, not at all.”

The lights went off. Someone from the morning’s kitchen crew must have shut them. No one would expect anyone to still be in the dining area. Both Rose and Twig looked up.

“It’s weird, right?” Rose said conspiratorially. “
Love
classes.”

“Yes,” Twig answered. “Definitely.” Although ‘terrifying’ was more like it.

“Verdant Green classes will start in a few weeks. I’ll let you know.”

“Verdant Green? That’s the name?” Twig thought about what Adam had said about keeping her pure.

“Isn’t it the most beautiful name?”

Twig didn’t say anything for a moment. She was at a loss for words.

“I know, Twig. It’s kind of awkward.” Rose leaned closer to Twig and whispered, “But you do get to learn all of these crazy things!” Rose put her hand over her mouth and started to giggle. Her red hair bounced around her tiny, pretty head.

Twig tried to smile, share in Rose’s mirth, but she had a pit in her stomach.

Book Two

Extended Family

25

Twig’s dreams had become brutal. Something deep inside her was scratching at the surface. It had started with the painting at Gran’s. Every day since, images would come to her in her dreams and reappear at random times throughout the day. She might startle awake, only to have the dream disintegrate when she tried to remember it. But pieces would pop back into her mind as she went through the daily motions. She might be in the shower, and suddenly she would remember the imposing brick house or the young Avery with the platinum hair and haughty expression. Not the beaten, checked-out Avery of today.

The man with the smile and the prematurely graying hair was always there, holding toddler Twig and calling her Livvy. Eventually it became clear that this man was Avery’s husband, Twig’s father. At least in her dreams, in her visions.

She knew he couldn’t be her real father. Avery had come to the Family pregnant. Twig’s father had left them when he found out Avery was going to have a baby. Maybe she just wished she had a real father right now. Someone to protect her in a way that Avery couldn’t.

But the last few weeks had shown Twig that there were secrets all around her. Cell phones and money transfers and lies about the outside world. And her painting and her dreams were telling her she was involved in them. How could she dream of these things, paint these things, if she had never seen them or seen anything like them? She was anxious and scared, but mostly she was confused.

Was she going crazy? Had she damaged her brain in the accident, and the doctors had missed it? Was it something they would have picked up if she’d gone back for her scan?

What was the alternative? That she had been lied to her whole life about who she was and where she came from? This kind of circular thinking was becoming unbearable.

Twig stared out at the concrete in front of her. It kept disappearing as the small white van lapped it up and pushed her and Thomas toward Turrialba for her first supply run. She wanted to be excited—she
should
be scared—but she was consumed by her thoughts.

“Is something wrong, Twig?”

Do you remember when my mom came to our Family? I mean, I know you were young, but do you have any memory of that?
Twig wanted to ask. Thomas was two years older than Twig. He might have some memory that could help her.

Twig tried to imagine how she might to explain things to Thomas.
I’ve been having… Memories? Visions? Delusions? I don’t know
.

“You know, Rose really admires you,” Thomas said suddenly.

Me? What?” Twig was shaken from her thoughts.

“We both do.”

“Wow. Thanks, Thomas.”

“I don’t mean to be too forward, but it seems like you have been through a lot with your mom, and despite that, you are always so upbeat and nice. Always so helpful to everyone. We can both see why Adam chose you as his wife.” Thomas paused for a moment. “You will be an amazing leader for us.”

Twig felt a little stunned. “Thank you, Thomas,” she said softly. “That is really nice of you to say.” Of course she couldn’t ask him her questions. She might as well go straight to Adam. Thomas would report on her immediately; he wouldn’t think twice about it.

“So, there are some things we have to talk about,” Thomas said, his tone more formal.

“Sure,” Twig answered. She was glad to be taken outside of her thoughts.

“There are rules we have to follow once we get to Turrialba. It is very important that we follow these rules to the letter in order to prevent getting infected, getting lost, or worse.”

“Worse?” Twig asked.

“You are a woman, and Turrialba is a dangerous city. A lot of terrible things can happen.”

“Of course,” Twig said, feigning a somber tone. It wasn’t that she was mocking Thomas; she just didn’t believe that the world outside of the compound was wholly evil and dangerous—not anymore. Between the hospital and Gran’s, she’d seen otherwise.

“One: don’t look anyone in the eye. That is important. Avert your gaze. You will be surrounded by citizens of the outside world, and they will try to charm you, engage you in conversation. You don’t speak Spanish, so that helps. I will have to give you a few words to get by, but other than that, avoid conversation. You will have to deal with people at the post office, the general store, and the food market. It can’t be avoided. Just give them your money, get your change and your merchandize, and go.”