Honor Thy Father

First Warning

The community needed someone to adopt me. There wasn't enough room for someone of my age anymore. If there wasn't a family interested, then I would have been sent to go live in foster care. I wouldn't forget the day that he decided to adopt me. They were a couple, but it was him that decided to take me.

I'm not even sure why they wanted to adopt anymore kids. After they brought me home I found out that they already had twelve children – all of which were theirs. They were just as shocked as I was when I was introduced to them. I didn't know if any of the children had any protests of me being there – none spoke out of line. They had seven daughters and five sons from ages three to seventeen. They all had the same blond hair and bright blue eyes.

The eldest, Mary, was already engaged, ready to be married as soon as she turned eighteen. Her soon-to-be husband, Nathaniel, thought highly of her father and agreed to move into the house next door on their farm. The farm that he, John, owned was over 75 acres of farmland. Currently, it only ten acres was used for actual farming, while the rest was untouched. The actual house that I stayed in was surrounded by a thick forest, deep inside the property. By car, it took a good fifteen to twenty minutes to reach the main road.

Most of the children were too young to do much of the work around the farm, so John decided that he either needed to hire a worker or find other arrangements. After the news of my parents dying, John's wife was so stricken with worry over me, that they came to a mutual agreement to adopt me. I was 15 at the time and perfect for farm work. Most of his daughters were focused on their studies, which were taught at home. When they weren't studying, they were milking the cows, feeding the chickens, or cleaning the house – fairly menial work.

John's two oldest sons, Peter and James, who were only fourteen and twelve at the time, tried their best to help around the farm. They helped their father plant, maintain, and harvest the assortment of crops that they grew. This year, John decided that he wanted to use another acre of his land to expand his farming operation and thus needed the extra help.

It was difficult being around so many children at once. Even though John had made a house that more than accommodating for fifteen people, I often found myself bumping into people. Sherry makes fun of me, saying it's just because I'm clumsy. She's only thirteen, but she's quite the character. She's very smart and can perform more of the strenuous labour on the farm compared to her sisters.

"If you want to survive at our house, you can't let everyone push you around." She sneers, tying her soft blue head cap onto her braided hair, "Wait here a moment, I have to grab something."

I wait awkwardly on the wooden staircase; I'm not allowed a foot inside any of the girl's rooms – no matter how hold they are. John had made it clear from day one that since I am not related to any of his daughters, that if I am caught spending too much time with them or in their personal space, I will be punished accordingly. That was a few weeks ago, and even though I feel more comfortable around the family, I won't dare cross that line. I keep to my space on the third floor.

Sherry returns, holding a small basket, "Ok ready!" she races down the stairs and out the door. The sky was already clear, the sun just peaking over the hills. It was bound to be hot today which is unfortunate. The work on the farm tends to work up quite the sweat, especially when you're required to wear jeans and a long sleeved, button up shirt. Sherry and I walk down the beaten path to the barn. She often feeds the horses first thing in the morning and then tends to the other animals. She believes the horses are the most important animal on the farm – they do all the work ploughing the land and are the only source of transportation other than the truck.

She waves me goodbye and I continue to walk past the barn and to the edge of the corn rows. The plants were growing quite high and the corn just barely beginning to form. The other two staples – wheat and barely were growing quite well. I could see my two new brothers waiting on a wagon for me.