Family Line

four.

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Sinner.

That is all Maria thought of herself. She was a sinner, a rule breaker, she was no longer a woman of god. She fell into the hands of the devil, and she sinned against him.

Maria sat on her bed, disgusted by herself and what she had done. She had lay with a woman, she partook is homosexuality. It was a sin. Thy shall not lay with the same gender, and she did it. That's what she did.

She sat on her bed, reading the bible. She prayed to god, begging for his forgiveness. Her hands were clasped together as she prayed, her eyes also scanning the bible.

You shall not lie with a male as a woman; it is an abomination.

Her hands shook as she flipped the page. Begging for forgiveness to God. She didn't want to burn in hell. Women love men and men love women, that was the black and white of it.

After moments of silence, as she sat in her thoughts, she got up. She walked down the stairs, then outside of her home.

When she walked out, she saw Thomas there. He stood in her kitchen, his greasy hair over his head. She stared at him as she stood there.

"Maria." He said quietly. She looked at him as he sat there. "Have a good night last night?" He asked her, she simply nodded her head, saying yes. Had he known what she done? Did he figure out her sins?

"Yes, sir." She said as she walked to the sink. She started in the morning dishes as he sat there in their home. Whiskey in his hand, and he took a swig if it.

"I found some sinners in the town." He said, sitting up straight.

Abbi and I were in the woods

Maria raised her eyes brows, nodding her head. "Really?"

"The pastor's daughter and Sarah Fier." He said, Maria looked back at him. Her stiff expression was clear to him. "The devil is in them, I'm telling you." He said, Maria simply nodded once again.

"Maybe you were seeing it wrong." Maria heard him get up from his chair. It slid against her floor, making a loud squeaking noise.

"There's not anything your not telllin' me, is there?" He asked, Maria shook her head no. He turned her around, pressing her back against the sink. He watched fear flash on her face as he stood there. "6 more days, and you're mine. All mine." He said, running his hands on her arms. HmShe nodded her head.

"I wouldn't want it any other way, Thomas." She lied, tears filling her eyes. Thomas smirked before stepping away from her. He strutted to the chair, and he sat back down. He grabbed his whiskey as Maria turned around, feeling the tears flowing down.

"Make me my breakfast, would you?" he asked her. She nodded her head, a shaky sigh coming out from her. "Make it quick."He said, Maria nodded her head.

"Yes, sir."

Maria grabbed fruit, and a knife. She began to cut, but when she did, something shocked her.

It was rotten.

Maria placed it away, grabbing another one. She then cut into the apple. It was rotten again. Why, though?

"Thomas, the fruit..." Maria said, turning around. Thomas was sitting there, slumped.

"What, Maria, what about the fruit?" He asked aggressively. Maria showed the apple, that was nearly as black as his disgusting teeth.

"It's rotten." She said, Thomas stood up, his chair pushing back. He started to laugh, manically. He took the apple from Maria's hand holding it up.

"Sinners!" He yelled, catching Maria by surprise. She stepped away from him.

"I saw them, Maria. I saw them, the devil is here!" He said, squeezing the apple. Maria looked up at him and at the apple.

your fault, maria
YOUR FAULT
YOU BROUGHT THE DEVIL TO HERE

She shuttered as he grabbed her hair, showing the apple again, the rotting mess of the apple. It was disgusting. Look at what they did to our fruits, such filth." He said, letting go of her hair. She breathed out. He took her arm, dragging her away from their home.

He dragged her outside, and to the well. Right in front.

"The dark one has come to harvest the bitter fruit of the evil we have sown. To feast on our misdeeds." He said to the town, Maria took her arm from his grasp, walking over into the crowd. She ended up next to another girl.

Abigail Berman.

Abbi looked at Maria, who stayed looking at the man across from her. "What have we caused?" Abbi whispered to her, Maria swallowed down the lump that grew in her throat.

"It was a dalliance. My brother used to say dalliances weren't ways to summon the devil." Maria whispered, hoping no one heard, and no one did hear. Abbi shook her head, staring up at the girl.

"It wasn't just a dalliance, Maria. I never felt the way I felt before you." She said, Maria looked down at her. She took a deep breath.

"You all smile, blind to the horrors around us. But you see it now, don't you?" Thomas asked, people behind him were trying to pull up the bucket in the well. Nothing was working. It was stuck down there.

"You can't lie about the things you felt." Abbi said, Maria nodded.

"I just feel you." She whispered, watching them try to bring the bucket up.

"He blocks our well, clogs it with our sin." He spoke, pacing. "He takes our water. He takes our life blood!" He yelled at everyone.

"What's happened?"

The two females turned their heads. Sarah Fier had walked over to them, curious. "What's going on here?" She asked, Maria sighed.

"We're not getting water." She said, looking over at her.

"Why not?" Sarah asked, confusedly.

"The bucket's caught on something." Abbi said, Maria nodding in agreement

Suddenly, something began to get brought up. Everyone noticed, and watched, curious to see what would happen.

Then, a tied up dog was brought up to the top.

"Dead dog in the well!" Someone shrieked, stepping away.

"Our water! It's poisoned!" yelled an older woman as the dog was taken out. Maria looked at the dog.

Merryboy.

Sarah's dog.

Her hand went to her mouth, she was in pure and utter shock.

"See? You have already drunk from the cup of darkness.

"Merryboy." Sarah gasped as Thomas pointed to the dog, and the bucket.

"This is the work of the Devil. He has come to stake our land. Who among you has welcomed the Devil to Union? Whose list? Whose sin?" Thomas asked, Abbi's heart stopped. Maria stared down, biting the inside of her lip. Her breathing shook.
"The Devil has come and cast his darkness over us. And his darkness grows within each of us like a rot."