New Title 1 by River Fiction

Author:River, Fiction
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: WMG Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2015-05-21T04:00:00+00:00

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The first time I remember learning about the aberrants was while my mother and I were preparing chickens for a Sunday celebration. I was maybe four or five years old, and my uncle and his wives were visiting from Reno. My father wanted to show off for his brother, so a third of our brood was going under knife, as well as two of Father’s prize lambs. Father had only taken one wife, saying he had never loved another woman like he loved Mother. As I grew older, I would realize that he probably was never able to afford another wife, but he did love Mother with all his heart. I never doubted that.

Mother’s sister was an aberrant, so Mother’s dowry had been small, giving her a choice of fine men. She chose my father, she said, because he had kind eyes and gentle hands. I loved him for the same reasons.

Mother told me of the aberrants as she walked through the coop and picked a hen. She explained how my sisters and I would all have a chance to be chosen, that our blood would tell who we were. I asked if my blood could say anything now if we asked it, and she laughed and explained that it wasn’t like saying, “How do you do?” or “May I have a biscuit?” but was more of a test. I said I was good at tests, and she kissed my cheek and said yes, I was.

Mother stretched out the chicken. The soft sound of its delicate bones and rustling feathers grew cacophonous as it jerked a wing free before Mother pinned it down, and I grabbed the head in my small hands. “Hold fast,” she said, and in one swift motion, she pulled the body away from my hand and brought the hatchet down between us. As she let go of the body, it jumped to the ground and stumbled to its feet and ran a few steps before falling still. I looked at the head still in my hands, but its flat eyes told me it was only a memory of living that animated its limbs.

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