Ha. And you thought WW's story was messed up. I just kind of wrote this while listening to student presentations in class, so yeah...quick and strange. Here goes nothing!
__________________
The wind swirled around, and Maya’s hair flew into her face. She didn’t appear to mind, or even to notice. Her eyes were focused on the scene unfurling in front of her.
Stone by stone, her Brothers pulled apart the wall that had separated the Family from the world for so long. The wall was only three or four feet tall, but it had represented so much for so long. It had been meant to keep them in as much as keep others out—it had been meant to set them apart from outside life. Although there was a gate, still it was torn down. The stones represented their oppression.
But no longer. Maya felt a soaring elation-her stomach felt like it was falling, but her heart seemed to be flying. Father was dead—she finally allowed herself to believe this for the first time since hearing the news three days prior. The Family was falling apart, same as the wall.
“Do you know what this means?” a voice behind Maya asked. Fingers intertwined with her own as Brother Stefan joined her, taking a break from his labors. Maya could feel the dirt and grit on his hands, and it strengthened her. She squeezed his hand and smiled at him, finally brushing her hair out of her face with her free hand.
“It means we’re finally free,” she whispered. The wind had blown her hair back into her face, but she relished the feeling. A few of the Sisters around the camp still wore their hair pulled back severely, fastened into place with pins, but others, like Maya, allowed theirs to fall loosely around their shoulders.
Maya shivered, noticing the chill the wind brought along with it for the first time.
“Aren’t you afraid, Brother Stefan?” she asked. His face was impenetrable, strong—unreadable as always.
He removed his hand from her grasp. For a moment, Maya worried she had offended him, but he instead put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
“You don’t have to call me “Brother” anymore, Maya. He’s gone—he has no power over us anymore.”
But he was wrong. Maya saw the wall being torn down, but she also saw the swollen bellies of many of the Sisters, the squalling babies held close to their mothers’ breast. Father may be gone, but his influence was still there. They were free, but they weren’t. Unconsciously, her hands went to her own abdomen, cradling the undeniable bump. She wasn’t free.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said softly.
The hard line of Stefan’s mouth softened as he looked down at her out of the corner of his eyes.
“Of course I’m scared. I’m terrified. We’ll have to figure out how to live our lives for ourselves now. But I’m also excited. We won’t be forced into this sick semblance of a family anymore. There is no Father to keep us here anymore. Now, we can choose our own families.”
One of the Brothers called to Stefan. No, Maya thought. A former Brother. Stefan kissed her forehead before heading back to help the others with the wall.
She watched him work, hands still resting on her belly. Every now and again she would feel a sharp kick, reminding her that she would never completely escape the bonds of the Family. But with Stefan, she could try.
With Stefan, she could finally be happy.
