The Family Read Online Free PDF

the Family.
    If your thoughts were impure, you were supposed to banish them or confess them. But how could she not have confusing thoughts today? The memory of the day before had the strange force of a dream. She’d been so excited to hear that she would be marrying Adam, but then the doubts had crept in. How could she marry the man she always looked to as a father? Twig always had trouble expressing herself in meetings, always struggled with thoughts she wanted to keep to herself. She liked to escape to the rainforest to be alone. These things were forbidden in the Family—as Adam’s wife, she would need to be the perfect Family member, mother of the collective. She wouldn’t be able to keep anything to herself or escape from scrutiny.
    Then there was the woman last night and the purification ceremony. What if she was infected and Adam hadn’t gotten all of the virus out? What if people treated her like she was sick and wouldn’t get near her? Twig wanted to scream. She knew she wasn’t supposed to think about this stuff on her own, but she couldn’t talk to anyone about it either. She felt like she might explode. How was she supposed to deal with all of it?
    She would make a painting. She would chase the thoughts away with action. Distract herself.
    When the leaves were finally sorted to her satisfaction, Twig pinned her dress up around her thighs and began to wade out to the middle of the stream.
    She carefully laid the leaves down in a thin ribbon of color where the stream stood still. Deep greens gently became sage and then burst into hot, yellow-greens. Purple leaves the color of figs with waxy red veins cooled into muddy browns and finally greens so dark they almost seemed black. A perfect painting of nature. The current started to seduce the leaves away from her. Her thoughts continued to beckon for attention with a similar unavoidable pull.
    Twig wished she had a camera. They were strictly forbidden on the compound. She only knew about them from her classes and the slides they studied. Usually, letting nature take the leaves away was part of the process. But today, she wanted something to mark the moment. Everything was about to change. She would be Adam’s wife. Last night with the woman was just a preview of what life might now be like for her. She made her hands into a frame and cocked her head to the side. Click.
    The leaves dipped and bobbed away from her.
    Did her marriage mean the end of her private self for good?
    She sensed movement behind her before she heard it. Footsteps. Her heart caught in her chest. This was strictly forbidden, being out in the forest like this on her own. She’d been doing it for the last year, but she’d never been caught. She couldn’t run or hide—she was knee-deep in water.
    Sophie came through the trees holding a thermos and a picnic basket. “Happy birthday, Twiglet,” she whispered nervously. Twig let out a deep breath. This was very unusual; Sophie never broke the rules.
    “You scared me! What are you doing here? Did you follow me?” Twig’s heart was racing. In the Family, even children told on their parents. It would not be surprising for one friend to betray another. They were supposed to betray one another to prove their loyalty to Adam. “Is that coffee?” Twig added, trying to sound friendlier.
    “Yes and yes.” Sophie smiled anxiously. “Now that I’m here, get out of that water and come break bread with me.” She spread out a small blanket and unpacked a meal of warm croissants, cheese and oranges. “You really should not come out here alone. What if you get caught?”
    The girls bent their heads over the food and said, “Praise, Adam.”
    “You’re right,” Twig said. Sipping her coffee after a bite of flaky croissant, Twig looked up at Sophie. Sophie’s eyes were full of light, a warm brown with specks of gold and copper. Her skin was the deep brown of honey. She had a sweet round face and a head of curly dark brown hair. She looked like