The Family Reunion by Hannah Lickey
It happened on a Tuesday in September when the leaves had begun to change to spotted yellows and reds, and the wind carried the smell of damp earth. It was in the late afternoon after the large meal with pies and honey glazed ham and grown-ups that talked too loudly with wine glasses in their hands, that he lead me outside into the cool damp evening air It felt wrong, him taking me so far from the house. to the edge of the property, past the corn fields into a small thicket of woods but still I followed loyally It began as a wave of panic when he gripped my arm and pulled me towards him. Valiantly I fought, resisting at every oppression Kicking, scratching, biting and fighting I drew blood. But so did he. the pain was nothing compared to the compression in my chest his thin adolescent body had the weight of the world on top of me as he dug his dirty fingernails into the Earth and ruined me. It happened quickly, but took so long If I tried to remember, to tell you what happened, It would only come off as a child’s misinterpreted imagination.
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