their plants grow faster while a king, or what we would consider a king, could burst through the fabric of reality into our world. But don’t worry, it’s not them or the farmers you have to worry about, it’s the truly evil ones in between. They look for the thin spots because they can’t get through on their own. When they find one, they try to tear a hole in it so they and all their evil little friends can walk right through into our world and do whatever they please.”
The sickly sweet syrup in my stomach was trying to come back up. So David was a king? What did that make Jordan? And what would my aunts do if they knew about them? I took a sip of water to calm my stomach and nerves. Minnie came over to get my dishes and I almost hugged her for interrupting the conversation.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked. It was easier to be nice when I had big secrets to hide.
Viola gave a mean little smile. “Well, speaking of farmers, today we show you the farm and how do to the work. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
My morning was filled with sheep and chicken and cow poop. The amount was unbelievable. Every time they turned me around to look at something new they were also telling me about additional excrement I had to clean up.
“You can’t tell me the three of you did all this by yourselves?” I huffed, shoveling more dirty straw into a wheelbarrow.
“Of course not, we have farmhands,” Viola said, raking more of the vile stuff out of the corners of the pen.
I threw my hands up, dropping my shovel. “Then why are we doing this?”
She paused her work and pursed her lips. “Because it doesn’t do any good to be lazy. Work needs to be done so we’ll do it.”
“Okay, so while I’m here I have to be homeschooled, learn all about Gatekeeping, run a farm and be Amish?” I asked. “You don’t think that’s a little much?”
“It’s not,” she snapped. “And we’re supposed to be Mennonites.”
“Okay, I still don’t get that. Why can’t you guys just be kindly old spinsters that take in foster kids?”
She glared at me, presumably for using the word spinster then gave a defeated sigh. “There’s more to it than that. We genuinely only take in family members but we don’t always get to keep them.”
I stared in horror. “You mean they could come get me and take me back to that hellhole?”
“No, no.” She looked around at the messy barn. “Come on; let’s go get a cup of tea. There is some more about our history that you need to know.”
We left our disgusting boots out on the porch and cleaned up in the kitchen. I tried to ask a few questions as we washed and then as we waited for the tea kettle to boil but she kept shaking her head, making me wait.
Finally we sat at the little breakfast nook with our tea and some cookies.
“Gatekeeping has been in our genes for a very long time,” she finally began. “It started with one particularly ugly event between one of our ancestors and a very powerful jinn. He wanted her desperately and she refused him.”
I flushed a little, thinking of Jordan.
“He continued to pursue her, using every trick he could think of but nothing worked and when she married the man she had been in love with since before that jinn had ever even laid eyes on her, he was furious. He cursed her and her entire blood line.”
I shifted in my chair, my tea getting cold in front of me. “So Gatekeeping is a curse?”
Viola shook her head. “No, it was her response to the curse. This wasn’t the first disastrous run in with a jinn and our ancestor knew it wouldn’t be the last. Because of her unwanted connection with that jinn, she was able discern the thin spots and guard them against more jinn coming through. She was the first to guard one, the very one her tormentor had come through. She was the first Gatekeeper and it was through her bloodlines that Gatekeeping was passed on.”
Hollow footsteps on the porch startled us both but
The sickly sweet syrup in my stomach was trying to come back up. So David was a king? What did that make Jordan? And what would my aunts do if they knew about them? I took a sip of water to calm my stomach and nerves. Minnie came over to get my dishes and I almost hugged her for interrupting the conversation.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked. It was easier to be nice when I had big secrets to hide.
Viola gave a mean little smile. “Well, speaking of farmers, today we show you the farm and how do to the work. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
My morning was filled with sheep and chicken and cow poop. The amount was unbelievable. Every time they turned me around to look at something new they were also telling me about additional excrement I had to clean up.
“You can’t tell me the three of you did all this by yourselves?” I huffed, shoveling more dirty straw into a wheelbarrow.
“Of course not, we have farmhands,” Viola said, raking more of the vile stuff out of the corners of the pen.
I threw my hands up, dropping my shovel. “Then why are we doing this?”
She paused her work and pursed her lips. “Because it doesn’t do any good to be lazy. Work needs to be done so we’ll do it.”
“Okay, so while I’m here I have to be homeschooled, learn all about Gatekeeping, run a farm and be Amish?” I asked. “You don’t think that’s a little much?”
“It’s not,” she snapped. “And we’re supposed to be Mennonites.”
“Okay, I still don’t get that. Why can’t you guys just be kindly old spinsters that take in foster kids?”
She glared at me, presumably for using the word spinster then gave a defeated sigh. “There’s more to it than that. We genuinely only take in family members but we don’t always get to keep them.”
I stared in horror. “You mean they could come get me and take me back to that hellhole?”
“No, no.” She looked around at the messy barn. “Come on; let’s go get a cup of tea. There is some more about our history that you need to know.”
We left our disgusting boots out on the porch and cleaned up in the kitchen. I tried to ask a few questions as we washed and then as we waited for the tea kettle to boil but she kept shaking her head, making me wait.
Finally we sat at the little breakfast nook with our tea and some cookies.
“Gatekeeping has been in our genes for a very long time,” she finally began. “It started with one particularly ugly event between one of our ancestors and a very powerful jinn. He wanted her desperately and she refused him.”
I flushed a little, thinking of Jordan.
“He continued to pursue her, using every trick he could think of but nothing worked and when she married the man she had been in love with since before that jinn had ever even laid eyes on her, he was furious. He cursed her and her entire blood line.”
I shifted in my chair, my tea getting cold in front of me. “So Gatekeeping is a curse?”
Viola shook her head. “No, it was her response to the curse. This wasn’t the first disastrous run in with a jinn and our ancestor knew it wouldn’t be the last. Because of her unwanted connection with that jinn, she was able discern the thin spots and guard them against more jinn coming through. She was the first to guard one, the very one her tormentor had come through. She was the first Gatekeeper and it was through her bloodlines that Gatekeeping was passed on.”
Hollow footsteps on the porch startled us both but
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