Family Traditions

I hiccupped as a penetrating shriek came from the basement. A small tear traced my cheek as I looked up at my mommy. Her jet black curls bounced on her shoulders as she chopped carrots. A small smile tugged at her rose lips as she hummed a soft, gentle melody. She always hums when she’s cooking.

The screaming grew at the buzz of an electric saw. “It’s alright little fella, everything’s going to be okay,” a voice soothed from the basement.

More tears streaked my pale skin as I tugged on my mommy’s black skirt. “Mooooommy! Why can’t I help him? I want to help Daddy!” 

Mommy, with the countenance of pure sweetness put down her knife and leaned towards me. “I know you may not understand it Ash, but you’re too young to help Daddy. You can’t help him now. Come help Mommy cut some carrots instead. It’ll be good practice.”

Rage pulsed through my body as I started crying. My tiny hands curled into fists and I stomped my left foot. “But I want to help him now!” I yelled.

At that, the soft buzz of the electric saw stopped. The petrified screaming faded into heavy puffs. “Let me go! Stop! Pleas…” The loud cry became muffled, almost inaudible.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the basement as a rugged figure climbed the stairs. Anger was replaced with curiosity. Daddy never left the basement until the screaming completely stopped. I turned to the basement door just as the knob jiggled. The dark wooden plane swung open to reveal a tall, slender silhouette. Mommy just resumed cutting the carrots.

The dark figure stepped into the house, now fully emersed in light. “Daddy!” I screamed, running to him with open arms.

He looked at me and crouched down, pulling me into a hug. “Hey Ashie,” he replied happily. He released me and stared into my eyes, his smile crinkling his shinny eyes. “I heard you’re giving Mommy a hard time.”

At that a small shiver rattled my chest. My head drooped to the floor. “I didn’t mean to.” I sniffed, blinking back tears. “I just… I just wanted to help you,” I managed before crying again.

Daddy just sighed and shook his head. “I suppose you can help me. I’ve already done the hard part anyway.”

“Yay!” I cried, jumping up and down. I looked at Mommy. She just rolled her eyes as she walked over to Daddy. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and swung her into a kiss. I scrunched my face, “Ewwww!” I screeched. 

Daddy just chuckled and released Mommy. “I’ll be back, wait here Ashie.” At that, he dragged his boots towards the staircase and stomped up to his room.

I ran to Mommy in the kitchen, unable to contain my excitement. I tugged on her skirt again. “Daddy’s gonna let me help him! I get to help Daddy! Did you hear that Mommy!”

She smiled, and dropped her knife again. She reached down with two hands and picked me up into a hug. “I did hear Ash, I’m so happy for you. You’re joining the family tradition.” She then set me down on the counter next to the cutting board. “Take this,” she gave me the handle of a small knife. I took it excitedly, my feet bouncing in the air as they hung off the side of the counter. “Now grab a carrot, and move your hand like this, in a sawing motion.” I quickly grabbed a carrot and copied Mommy’s hands. My tongue traced my chin in concentration. After a while of struggling, I managed to cut the carrot in two.

Mommy smiled, “That’s wonderful!” She exclaimed. I wiggled my head, holding it up with pride. A huge smile lit my face. She picked up my broken carrot and looked at the edges. “It’s a bit jagged, but you’ll learn.”

Daddy’s feet stomped back down the staircase and into the kitchen. “Here you go Ashie.” He held out the handle of a small saw. “My dad gave me this saw when I was just a little older than you. I was gonna wait until your birthday, but…” He chuckled and shook his head, “You seem so eager.” 

My eyes widened at the saw. My tiny hands grasped the handle. “Thanks Daddy!” I exclaimed, picking it up and using it to cut another carrot. “Does this mean I can help you?”

Daddy chuckled again and nodded. “Yeah, follow me little one.” He put me down onto the floor and slowly walked to the basement door, while I bounced after him. 

Mommy smiled. “Have fun you two!” She yelled from the kitchen as she turned on the oven to pre-heat.

I followed Daddy down the creaky stairs and into the basement. A skinny figure trembled on a stainless steel table. Red liquid dripped everywhere. “Now you wear this,” Daddy put a piece of string over my head and tied a piece of cloth to my torso. “We don’t want this red stuff to stain our clothes.”

He them picked me up and put me on the table. I towered over the pale figure, smiling wildly. “Now we’re going to start on this bit here,” he pointed to the only remaining finger on the person’s hand. “Here you go,” He helped me position the saw over the base of the finger. The figure beneath me trembled again, his eyes widened in desperation as he attempted to scream through the bunch of cloth shoved in his mouth. “Now you just move it up and down. Just like the carrots.” He helped me slowly break the skin of the crying figure. I suddenly jerked my hand back when I saw the familiar red liquid ooze from the cut I made. “It’s okay Ashie, the red liquid is good.” I slowly nodded and put my hand back on the saw. After a while, daddy let go, “there you go, you’re doing great!” He then reached over to the cloth bundle that muffled the man’s screams. “It’s funner if you can hear him.” He then yanked it out of the man’s mouth and the basement echoed with petrifying screams one again. I continued sawing. My heartrate elevated in excitement.

“HELP!” The man yelled. I just sawed faster. A rush of adrenaline took over my actions. I only stopped when the finger broke off. 

Daddy smiled. “There you go Ashie!” I smiled and bounced towards him. I jumped off the table and into his arms. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered into the hug. “I wish your grandfather was here to see this.”

He then released me and put me on the ground. He picked up the finger and put it in a stainless steel bowl. He shoved the cloth back into the trembling man’s mouth and untied our aprons. Then he leant down towards me and handed me the bowl. “Go show Mommy,” he whispered with a smile.

I nodded and bounced up that stairs. “Mommy! Look what I did!”

Mommy crouched down and looked into the bowl. “What a great job Ash, you’re finally apart of our family tradition.” She examined the finger. “Yes, it’ll do nicely.”

Daddy followed me into the kitchen with his own bowl. A huge chunk of red meat inside. “Here you are darling,” he handed the bowl to her with a short kiss.

Mommy took the two bowls and poured a few nice smelling things onto them, then put them in a tray and shoved them into the oven.

After an hour or so, Daddy and I set the table, and Mommy brought in the big chunk of meat and a bowl of vegetables.

“Dig in” Mommy whispered to me excitedly. I poked my fork into the meat and shoved it into my mouth, savoring the flavor.

Daddy chuckled again at my excitement. “Just think Ashie, now that you have your own saw, you can help me all the time.”

I nodded enthusiastically and shoved another piece of meat into my mouth. I stared at the small saw sitting on the table next to my plate.

Best toy ever.