Imagine (9 page)

“Son
, you made it back okay. We have missed you so!” He leaves his wife’s side and embraces Keagan with a big slap on the back, like only a Dad can. He takes a look over at me and adds.

“So you’re Trish, It’s nice to m
eet you. In all honesty, we were expecting to meet you under different circumstances.” He says as he extends his hand to me.

I shake his hand and begin to wonder about this place I have found m
yself in. This place has me completely baffled, one minute I see a man hitting a woman’s hands with a stick, Keagan washed my mouth out with soap for being sarcastic with him once, and now I have witnessed such affection from all three members of one family. I definitely have a lot to learn, a lot to figure out.

We go over
to the table and Helen serves a delicious stew, which has big chunks of meat and vegetables in it. Throughout dinner Keagan’s parents are keeping up a lively conversation with us, mostly about embarrassing moments from Keagan’s childhood. It really feels a lot like I am meeting a new boyfriend’s parents for the first time.

They tell me about the time that Keagan climbed into an apple tree to rescue a kitten only to end up needing re
scuing himself and the time he lost his shoes in a muddy puddle. The night is filled with laughter and lots of smiles, even though Keagan keeps quiet. I catch occasional glimpses of a smile from him; I realize how much he really loves his family.

I can’t help but like these people. I know that they are part of this society but I realize that these people truly have e
mbraced the lifestyle as a family. I cannot dislike them for that. The only thing I do have a hard time with is the fact that they do not seem to have any issues with tearing teenage girls away from their normal lives and thrusting them into the dark ages. I make sure not to show this and just politely enjoy the food and company. It is, after all, my first time meeting them.

By the time we leave it is already late
. The moon and twinkling stars fill the night sky. Keagan walks back to the house with me and, to my surprise, follows me as I walk through the door.

“I’m so tired. I was planning on going to bed now
.” I tell him.

“I know. I’m the
same, it’s been such a long day.” he replies.

“
But where are you going to sleep?” I don’t move an inch. Nervousness overcomes me at the thought of him sleeping in the same cabin.

“I am planning on sleeping right there in that bed, right next to you.” He has stopped moving and now we are facing each other.

Goosebumps break out all over my skin; there were so many nights when I would lie awake in my bed, wishing that Keagan were there with me, holding me.

“I’m not going to sleep in the same bed with you, I’m not doing that,
and you cannot make me.”

Keagan’s face splits into a grin “You think I’m trying to get into your pants, don’t you? Well let me just tell you, you are completely wrong. I am definitely not interested in you lik
e that. You are a Young Creator and I am your Guardian, it is my job to make sure that you are protected, or you don’t do anything stupid. Therefore, you and I will be tied together with this.” He shows me a contraption that looks like handcuffs, but a lot more comfortable. They are made of some sort of soft material but still look strong enough to stay in place.

I am completely
mortified. He doesn’t like me; I guess he just cleared that up for me. Why does he have to affect me like this? I should hate him, but for some strange reason I still like him and I am still disappointed that he doesn’t feel the same.  

I am not comfortable spending the night in the same bed as him, but at this point I’m just done with everything. I’m far too tired to fight anymore.

I give him my hand and he places the cuff on my wrist, clicking it into place. He then fastens the matching one on his arm.

I don’t even care that I’m dirty and still in the same clothes that I’ve worn for the last few days. I turn t
owards the bed and drag Keagan with me. I fall into the bed. Before Keagan blows the candle out I see him unlocking his end of the cuffs and taking his shirt off. I quickly turn away.

I hear a soft chuckle and then feel the bed dip beside me before I hear the ‘click’ of his side of the cuffs as he puts them back on. I scoot as far away from him as I can with the handcuffs, we just lay in silence. It feels like forever b
efore I hear his breathing become slow and steady.

I re
lax and let sleep consume me, finally.

XI

imagine enjoying doing dishes

I wake up to a ray of sunlight shining directly onto my face and all I want to do is go back to sleep. I dig deeper into the warm comforter and relax. As I begin to drift back to sleep I hear a noise, one that sounds like a soft snore, coming from next to me in the bed, it reminds me that I am not alone. I am now wide awake. I used to enjoy lying in bed when I first wake up; daydreaming, but now, instead of the wonderful daydreams, the events of the last couple of days are replayed in my mind.

I remember how I managed to move the room around to stop the dogfight, I remember being kidnapped and drugged, meeting Brother Lorrus
; who told me about my heritage, meeting Helen and Marcus and finally, my current predicament; waking up next to Keagan, my Guardian.

My back faces his side of the bed, the soft snoring that stopped me falling back to sleep was coming from him. I slowly turn to my other side to look at him
, only to discover that where Keagan had lay last night is now just crumpled sheets and a pillow. I am no longer chained to Keagan, but instead to the headboard of the bed. I sit up slowly and look around the small sectioned of bed area to find him; he must be nearby as the snoring is pretty loud. I need him to unlock my handcuffs, the bathroom quite badly. “Keagan?” I call loudly.

I hear rustling as Keagan steps through the curtain that separates the sleeping area from the rest of our living quarters. He is rubbing his eyes and stretching.

“Where did you go? I was really worried when I woke up and you weren’t there, you just left me.” I accuse him.

“So you’re saying that you missed me? You wanted to wake up next to me?” He says with a wink.

“I never said that I missed you at all! I need the bathroom and cannot move from the bed” I say as I rattle my shackles.

He reaches into the top of his t-shirt and takes a long gol
den chain from around his neck. Attached to the chain is a small key. He deliberately takes his time unlocking the handcuffs to torment me.

“Please hurry up!
” I plead.

The very second he clicks the handcuffs undone I s
hake my hand free and jump out of bed, I sprint towards the bathroom, completely ignoring the giggles of laughter I hear from behind me. My shirt and jeans that I thought looked so nice the night of the ‘party’ are now completely ruined, I probably smell awful too, I’m slightly embarrassed to look and smell this way, especially as he looks really good. In his navy sweatpants and a loose fitting black shirt, with his hair all tousled and that wicked smirk on his face.

I don’t know when he changed his
clothes; it was definitely after I had fallen asleep though. The last thing I remembered before he got into bed was him taking his shirt off. I remember his broad shoulders and tan skin.

I head over to the other curtained area and notice the toilet for the first time. I say toilet, it’s more of a wooden seat with a bucket underneath it. There is some toilet p
aper however. I use the bathroom and then take a look in the shower area. I cannot wait to take a nice long hot soak in there to wash all of the dirt and grime of the last two days off my body. The only issue is that it seems that I am going to have to find water from somewhere first.

As I return to the living area I notice that the sleeping bag at the foot of the bed has been disturbed, that must have been where Keagan slept
last night. It doesn’t look comfortable at all.

He is
sitting at the dining table and I walk over to join him. It’s still pretty early in the morning, my brain isn’t fully awake yet so I have no idea where to even start the conversation, I wonder if he feels the same. So I decide to just cut to the chase. The shower. But he beats me to it, without turning around he says

“I would just take a basin of water and a bar of soap to have a quick wash if I were you. I know that you probably would love a long, hot shower but you’re just going to get dirty again soon, you’ve got a lot of work to do today.”

“Why? What do I have to do?” I reply, the sound of disappointment clear in my voice

“Well, my M
om will be here in the next 30 minutes or so to start teaching you your housekeeping duties. So, go and wash up then we’ll have something to eat so you are prepared” he tells me as he leaves his seat and takes a loaf of brown bread and butter from a cupboard. The bread looks homemade, I can smell it, I am hungry and look forward to eating, but I need to shower first before I do anything else.

I grab the pitcher of water that we drank from yesterday and
head into the shower room, the promise of food has successfully distracted me from the hot shower.

Taking the rough washcloth and soap
from the shower, I gratefully strip off all of my filthy clothes. To my delight I found a comfortable looking set of sweats neatly folded on the stool that held the basin in the shower room, and I go to work on scrubbing myself clean, it feels amazing! I cannot believe how dirty I really am, by the time I am done the water in the basin is a dark, rusty brown color. I hastily throw on the outfit and head back out to eat with Keagan.

The bread
is just as delicious as I thought it was going to be, it has a dark, hardened crust and a soft, chewy center. The butter is slightly sweet and goes with the bread perfectly. I enjoy every bite I take; it has been too long since I have had homemade bread. While we eat Keagan and I do not talk, just as I am finishing my last bite there is a knock on the door, Helen enters the house, without waiting for the door to be answered.

“Keagan, Trish
. What a beautiful morning!” she greats us with a warm smile as she closes the door behind herself. She is wearing a blue cotton dress that has a small white daisy sown right underneath her left collarbone, her hair is braided into two French braids and she is carrying a hand-woven basket. She takes a seat on one of the chairs and puts the basket down on top of the table.

“Alright Keagan, now that I am here to instruct Trish on her womanly duties, you can be on your way
dear. Your father could use some help with the horses this morning.” she tells him.

“I was actually planning on sticking around here to make sure t
hat everything runs smoothly and you don’t encounter any issues with her.” Keagan replies.

“Oh hush! Trish and I will get along just fine
. Don’t worry yourself about us!” She turns to me before continuing “You won’t cause me any trouble, will you Trish?”

“I promise to be a good little girl” I tell both of them.

“Good, good. It sounds to me like you can be on your way, Keagan.” Helen says as she waves her hand, shooing her son towards the door with a smile. They both get up and she gives him a big hug before ushering him out.

She
then turns and starts walking towards me with a friendly smile “I am really looking forward to our day together dear, it’s beautiful outside, are you ready to get started?”

I return her smile
with one of my own and get up; it is impossible not to like this woman.

I pick up
the dishes from the table. “Let’s start with these!”

She walks over to the kitchen area, takes
the basin and some soap and starts walking towards the front door. This takes me by surprise a little, who does dishes outside? I remember seeing ladies doing it out there yesterday though, so I put the dishes on the floor while I quickly slip on my shoes, a pair of flip-flop looking shoes made from some kind of plant leaf, and follow her outside, picking up the dishes as I go.

I am met by beautiful, bright sunshine as I step outside. I am remin
ded of just how beautiful this little town is, the house that Keagan and I are living in is one of a set of eight, four on our side of the dirt road and four on the other. The houses are roughly twenty feet apart, making the closest house to ours the one across the road that belongs to Keagan’s parents. Trees are everywhere along the road, their canopies provide some much needed shade from the sun. We must still be in California, surely?

Two small blue birds sit in the tree that is right in front of our house, chirping happily. It’s one of those perfect days, lots of sunshine and not a si
ngle cloud in the sky. There is no noise from cars or any other vehicles outside; just the sounds of nature all around us. There is the faint smell of freshly baked bread in the air. That aroma and that of wild flowers keep drifting into my nose on the light breeze that is also stirring my long red hair. As you can tell, I have always enjoyed completely taking in my surroundings and appreciating them for their natural beauty, regardless of the situation. I just can’t help but enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that surround me.

“Are y
ou coming dear?” Helen asks me.

I look over at her and notice the twinkle in her eyes, a smile on her face, it would seem that she saw me looking around and enjoying our surroun
dings.

We walk down the road and keep following
it for about one hundred yards before there are no more houses, the road narrows and begins drifting into the woods. There are trees everywhere, blue and purple wild flowers line the dirt path. We are surrounded by more birdsong.

We
remain on the path until we hit a fork in the road; Helen leads the way in taking the left turn. This path is much narrower still and the trees are thicker, forming a canopy over our heads. There are many large boulders on my right; I notice that we are heading down a hill that is getting steeper. A small spring appears, cascading downhill and as we follow it, it too becomes larger.

We walk for around twenty minutes or so
, the dishes begin to feel heavy in my arms now and I constantly have to switch them between arms as one gets tired.

I can see a large clearing with boulders all along its right hand side in the distance, the spring we followed is now a large stream where it meets a huge, deep blue pool in the center of the clearing. I can make o
ut some figures in the distance near the pool, and as we get closer they become clearer. They are all women of various ages, but all of them look to be hard at work.

Some of them are washing bowls and glasses just like we have come to do. Some are also washing clothes by hand. I can’t help but stare at the women doing
laundry; they really are living in the past as they wash clothes using large ceramic basins, bars of soap and a wooden washboard. As we arrive at the pool I see that the boulders are covered in clothes, presumably put there to dry in the sun. The thing that catches my attention the most though is how these women all seem genuinely happy. They are laughing and joking around with each other, some even throwing soap suds at their friends.

Helen has not uttered a single word to me since we left the house. She is just letting me take everything in and I am grat
eful for her patient approach.

I break the silence, meeting her attentive gaze “I really cannot figure this place out Helen, I mean I’ve been told so much but I feel like there is so much more that I need to learn.”

“Ask away dear, I will do my very best to answer all of your questions to the best of my knowledge.” She tells my while she leads me over to the water, where she is greeted by several of the women. She politely smiles and waves at them all but her attention is fixed on me.

“When I first arrived here, the way I was treated made this place seem extremely oppressive,
several people, including myself, were punished in the streets. Everyone seemed so unhappy. But then dinner with you and your loving family and now seeing these women, working but having so much fun doing so, has shown me that there is joy here too. I just don’t understand.” I take a plate and start rinsing it of in the shallow part of the pool; both of us take off our shoes and slip our feet into the cool water. It feels great on my toes.

“This is definitely not an easy place to live in, or to unde
rstand for that matter. But if you find your way, you will find happiness” she replies.

“OK, and that means?” I ask searching for a more detailed explanation from her.

“It means that you will eventually find your own path in life and only if you follow it with all of your heart will you find true happiness, dear.”

“Wow, well
that clears it up. Thank you!” I say sarcastically and shake my head. But Helen doesn’t respond as she can sense my frustration with her answer.

We continue washing the dishes until they are all clean. Helen signals for me to put my shoes on again, soon we are heading back t
owards the town.

As we are out of ear
shot Helen begins “Sorry dear, I could not speak openly in front of the other women, but everything I said is true. This may be a hard place to live in for sure, you will need to decide how you are going to deal with being here and stick to that decision in order to make the most of it. You can either try your best to adjust, with a smile on your face and reap the benefits or if you always look at it negatively it will affect your behavior and you will have to bear the consequences of your actions. I can already tell that you are very headstrong, so you will have to learn your own lessons I’m afraid. That’s the best way. Please make sure to give this place a chance though. The men here, including my son, believe that what they are doing is the right thing.” She stops, sits on a boulder and beckons for me to join her.