Willa's story
Chapter One
I was born and raised in a very religious family on a small farm in Manitoba. One brother was several years older, but my other brother, Sam, was my twin.
We were home schooled by Mama so we had very little contact with other children. As a result, Sam and I were very close. We played together and quite literally grew up knowing only each other.
The result of that closeness occurred one spring evening with awful results. Sam had been pestering me for a long time to see what my boobies looked like, and how they felt. To be honest about it, I was equally curious about the thing he carried between his legs, so we made a promise to each other. I promised to let him see my bare chest if he would drop his pants and let me see his thing.
One thing led to another until that awful evening. We had promised to meet in a secret place only we knew about down by the river. I'm blushing as I tell this, but the awful truth is, Sam and I were looking at each other when we heard a roar, "What the hell!!!?"
Papa was standing, like a bearded avenging Jehovah, on the edge of our secret clearing, a tree branch held over his head. Sam turned white and attempted to cover himself with his hands while I instinctively closed my eyes and curled myself into a tiny ball.
I heard the swish of the branch coming through the air and braced myself for the blow. Sam cried out instead as the heavy limb fell across his bare chest. He attempted to roll out of range of the next blow, but Papa was demented with rage, and as he pursued Sam, I quickly leaped to my feet and snatching my dress off the bush, began to run for home.
When I was out of sight of the two struggling men, I slipped my dress over my head, and continued to run for the safety of Mama's kitchen. The kitchen proved not to be so safe, after all. Mama knew something was wrong the minute I ran through the door and closed it as if the demons from Hell were after me. "What's wrong, child?"
I didn't know what to say. How could I explain what had happened? I turned and ran up the stairs to my room, but she followed me. Her voice had a harder edge as she strode through the doorway. "You'd better tell me what happened, child!"
I still couldn't find the words. The enormity of what Sam and I had been doing was beginning to surface in my mind. I threw myself into Mama's comforting arms and began to cry. "I've been awfully bad, Mama," I sobbed. "God will strike us both!"
Mama was not a fool. "Us? Who is 'us'? Just who are you talking about, child?"
"Me and Sam," I whispered.
Alarmed, she held me at arms length and studied my face. "What did you and Sam do?" I couldn't respond. The shame was simply too great! "You'd better tell me, girl, before your father comes home!"
For the first time, I wondered if Sam was still alive, and began to cry anew. This time I was mourning my lost brother. "Papa was beating Sam and I ran away," I said.
Mama suddenly realized I was wearing no undergarments. "Did you two have your clothes off? " Her voice was hard with suspicion. Dumbly, tears streaming down my face, I nodded.
SMACK!!
A white flash of pain accompanied the jolting blow as Mama slapped my face! SMACK!! Again, she hit me, and yet again and again. My nose was bleeding and my cheeks were numb. She eventually tired. "You're to stay in your room until I tell you you can leave," she ordered as she left, slamming the door behind her.
I flung myself on my bed where I cried myself asleep. The door burst open. ". . .RIGHT NOW!
The room was dark, but I could see it was Papa standing in the doorway. "The Deacon's waiting for us downstairs, you little Jezebel," Papa said contemptuously. "That's your mother's doing. If it was left to me, you and Sam would no longer belong in this house! But she sent Fred for the Deacon before we got home, and since he's a good Christian man, he came to see if either of you is worth redemption."
I was stunned. The Deacon, I understood. But Papa had never spoken that many words to me before in a single conversation. He turned and left. I padded silently behind him.