Happy Thanksgiving

My family seems pretty normal, normal last name, normal first name, and normal house. Except for the fact it’s always dirty, but that's besides the point. Every year we have a tradition, like a holiday. Instead of gifts we kill one another. It might seem rather abnormal to others, but it’s not like they’d find out, right?

Today is November 25th, also known as Thanksgiving. It was a typical day, with the wind swaying the trees and the sun blocked off by the grey clouds. Jill Murphy, my mother, brought out a huge plate of turkey and placed it on the table before calling out to us. 

“Julie, John, Baby J! It’s dinner time!” Baby J, real name Joshua, was the first to run down from the stairs, his stubby legs leaving behind loud sounds as he went. He then proceeded to fall, but that's besides the point. I held Baby J, so he’ll be able to sit on the chair easily since his short legs wouldn’t be able to reach up that high. 

Next Josh runs down the stairs with his long thin legs and awkwardly leans over as he walks. Still getting used to his new tall body, he basically grew a foot overnight with his recent growth spurt. He sits down in between me and Baby J, eager to eat.

We start off normal, we sit at the dining room table to enjoy a delicious meal. The table is decorated with white cloth, plain and basic. My mother, Jill, is an excellent chef and places all of her food on the table. We have turkey, broccoli, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and more. Of course she makes everything so each of us can eat like it's our last meal. Which it could be….

I shook away those thoughts before grabbing my fork and immediately going for the turkey, but my mother stopped me. I glanced up at her in confusion only to see her shaking her head at me. 

“You know what comes first, Julie.” Almost forgot the chant.

“Sacrifice we know we might

Sacrifice who we will

On today for those who fight

Sacrifice who we will

Sacrifice on thanksgiving.”

We chanted in unison before my mother allowed us to start eating. I immediately went for a piece of turkey, which my mother had cut for me. I stuffed the turkey into my mouth and almost choked on it. Baby J handed me a cup of water, which I gulped down before breathing heavily. 

“Oh my god, I almost died!” I choked out, causing my mom to look at me weirdly.

“Don’t say that or you’re actually gonna die,” Jill said sharply, causing me to pause. Recently, she had been acting extremely weird around me and it made me uncomfortable. My father, Jack, looked at me with sympathy. I glanced at my brothers, who paid no attention to the words my mother spoke. Baby J was happily munching down the mac and cheese, which was his favorite food, while John ate his broccolis like the healthy boy he is. 

I stabbed a mashed potato with my fork before dipping it in a gravy and taking a large bite. For some reason, I had a strange feeling about this. My stomach was churning and my palms began to feel sweaty. I felt extremely anxious and my usual big appetite wasn’t there. I still continued forcing down the food as if it was my last. 

“Jill, who are we going to..you know,” Jack asked nervously. Jill looked at him lovingly. I immediately knew that look since she wore that face every Thanksgiving. There was a sinister intent behind that look. 

“Jack sweetie, it has to be Jules.” Jack shook his head defensively and looked at his wife with pleading eyes.

“Can’t I sacrifice myself?” Jack begged. They’ve yet to sacrifice one of their own children but the time has come. At this point, it was a routine. Jack would try to argue Jill’s decision and exchange himself, but Jill wouldn’t allow that. 

“Honey, we need to kill the second youngest person,” Jill sternly concluded. She wasn’t going to back down. 

“Why?” Jack’s eyes started to tear up before almost whining, “why must we torture ourselves and our children like that?”

 “It’s the way it's always been done,” Jill said. “My mom, your mom, our grandparents, the list goes on and on.”

“So, why must we continue it?” He asked. “Why did our ancestors do it? If we didn’t have this idiotic tradition then they could’ve had grandparents, cousins, a real family. Why can’t we make the change. We can stop!” At this point Jack is practically bawling. He bent down on the floor next to his wife and held her hand. “We can make a change.” He gazed into her eyes with fear, sadness, and a glimmer of hope.

“We can’t and you know it so quit whining. Enjoy your last day having a daughter,” she said firmly and powerfully. Almost like she threw a dart at my heart.

“Ok answer me one question. How did this start?” He looked at his wife, but no longer felt the love. All he felt was a cold and stone heart.

She looked back at her husband. “My mother told me, there was a war and the opposing side would choose one person each night and send them to war. In order to learn more about us. It was an idiotic plan and did not work well. However our culture built a tradition around it.”

He looked at Jill in astonishment. “That's why I killed my mother! That's why all I have for a so-called family is you! That’s the best you’ve got. You gave birth to her. How can you not love her the same, more than I do. You grew her, now you want to destroy her?”

“You knew this when you married me. You knew the day would come,” Jill said strictly.

John stood up. “Sweety, Jules, honey come here,” John said, shaking.

“Ok..” I stood up cautiously, not knowing what to expect. I stood still for a moment until I realized what was happening.

 “Trust me Jules, we need to get out of here fast.” He said while taking Baby J out of the highchair. At this point Josh was already standing next to dad. I took two steps until. 

I heard footsteps behind me. They were slow and loud. My father had tears streaming down his face. My brother Josh had his mouth wide open and his face was almost as red as a tomato. 

“Ju-” My dad called out.

I turned quickly and saw my mother holding an axe. It was right above my head. Her stone cold expression told me exactly what was about to happen. Then everything went dark. All I could see was a flicker of light out in the distance, too far to reach. Happy thanksgiving….