The Harvesting (ON HOLD)

Chapter Twelve

As Jonathan rose from bed, he was reminded of the plans his father made for them that day. Though he had doubts about if he wanted to follow through with them in the first place, it was too late to change his mind now. He walked up the stairs to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, brushing his hair and teeth and throwing warm water on his face. He went downstairs and looked at the clock atop the wall in the living room, its arms showing the time as 8:14 AM. His parents didn't normally wake up until 9:00 am on the weekends, so he'd have a little alone time.

He ate cereal for breakfast and fed Ava, which only occupied him until 8:35 am. Stuck in the house and not sure what to do, he went back to his room until he heard commotion down the hall. He opened the door and walked out into the hallway between the living room and kitchen, where Esther was making herself breakfast.

"Good morning," Jonathan says, scaring her.

She turns around and smiles at him, replying with "Good morning, Jonathan. When did you get up?"

"A little past eight. Did you sleep well?"

"Yea. Did you feed Ava?"

"Yea, don't worry about her."

"So, mom told me you were going out to do some work with dad today?"

"Yea."

"That's nice."

"I guess. It seemed like he wasn't going to let me say no, but it'll probably be fine."

"Yea." She turns back over and continues preparing her food, and Jonathan walks back into his room.

Jonathan's relationship with Esther and Mary wasn't very close-knit and most of their conversations didn't last more than a few minutes. It felt like his parents were attempting to separate him from them, but he couldn't tell for certain. Though Mary was only a year younger than him and they went to the same school, they barely hung out, and his parents barely tried to make them become closer. He was even less close with Esther, mainly because of her young age. At only twelve, he found it difficult to hold a conversation with her, despite how physically close they were at home. He wasn't aware of her interests, or if she even had any.

Though he did think that Mary's school situation was similar to his, he couldn't be certain because of their different grades and classes. People probably assumed they weren't siblings because of how distant they were, and he would never bother to tell anyone.

Jonathan spent the rest of the morning before his parents woke up in his room, reading the Bible and looking out the window. Soon, he heard heavy footsteps from above him slowly come closer towards him and next to his door. It was opened and in walked his father, once again, who told him that they could begin working after he ate breakfast.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're gonna need the energy. I'll let you know when we can head outside."

He walks away and Jonathan continues to read the Bible, unsure of what else to do. Eventually, his father calls for him to come out and they immediately begin work. Jonathan starts off collecting eggs and moves onto picking the vegetables afterwards. He works for several hours until 12:30 pm and goes inside for a lunch break. As he prepares himself a sandwich, Ava walks into the kitchen and rubs his leg, whining. Assuming she wants to play, he takes his lunch outside with him and eats it while playing fetch with her.

After he finishes eating, he spends the rest of his time brushing their only horse with his father and is soon let inside for a shower; his father taking over the rest of the work. As he washed himself, he found his mind traveling back to the gruesome thoughts that had previously filled his mind. He thought he'd been doing well about avoiding them for the time, but it was most difficult when nothing was occupying him. Once again, he began reciting Bible verses in his head to push them away, reminding himself of what the Bible says about sinners. He wasn't destined for hell, he told himself, which seemed to help.

He finished washing up and went back downstairs, where his mother was stirring a pot of what smelled like vegetable soup. They had been growing a surplus of vegetables this year, and his father was not intending on throwing any of it out. They would be having lots of it for the next several weeks, which Jonathan didn't like the idea of.

The family soon sat down around the table to eat and were served their bowls after a brief prayer. Dinner was once again filled with bland conversation regarding the weather and church, and Jonathan went off to his room as soon as he could, though there wouldn't be much more entertainment there. He laid in bed, staring at the white ceiling while the sound of birds happily chirping came through his closed window. He walked over to it and opened it, hoping for some way to entertain himself.

As he laid in bed, he could feel himself drift off to sleep, and eventually became completely unconscious. While he slept, he had a dream, mostly unclear and nonsensical, but occasional flashes of gory murder, similar to the ones shown in those films appeared alongside them. He was abruptly interrupted by his father, sternly saying his name and shaking his arm.

"It's time for Bible study, Jonathan. I was calling for you, get up!"

"Sorry, father. I'm coming," He says, quickly getting out of bed and composing himself before going out into the living room, where the rest of the family sits impatiently, his mother subtly glaring at him.

Jonathan awkwardly sits down beside his two sisters on their large, tacky couch, turning his Bible to where his father directs him. After nearly an hour of boring discussions of stories and morals, they all go their separate ways, Jonathan's father heads outside to feed the dogs, his sisters to their bedrooms, and Jonathan to his own room. His mother stays in the living room to relax and read, and Jonathan spends the rest of the evening before bed looking out the window, watching the birds fly and the grass blow.

Eventually, when the clock above him on his wall reads exactly 9:00PM, he gets into his pajamas and says goodnight to his parents before brushing his teeth and going to bed. He was especially tired because of the work he did that day, and found it very easy to fall asleep. He wasn't plagued with any dreams, at least that he could remember, and woke up the next morning refreshed.

After eating breakfast with his family, he got himself dressed for church. His outfits for that occasion weren't much more formal than his casual wear, the only difference being his pants and an added tie and jacket. His mother calls for everyone to get into their car, and they begin driving down the road in silence. It was a dreary day and it was apparent rain would be coming soon.

They made it to church extra early as they always did to get the best seats, and Jonathan was once again pushed into an unwanted conversation with an older gentleman, who didn't have very many interesting things to say. Jonathan was relieved once everyone gathered into their seats and he could get out of the bland conversation. He walked over to his family and sat beside Mary at the very end of the wooden and uncushioned pew.

That day's sermon was regarding ungodly entertainment, and Jonathan felt as if a huge spotlight had been put over him. He was uncomfortable the entire time, and the less than ideal seating wasn't helping at all. In the middle of the sermon, the sound of thunder came from outside, and eventually rain, that hit the shingled roof of the church. Once everything was over, Jonathan's father suggested that they leave nearly immediately to avoid having to drive once the rain gets too bad. They all run out to the car and are soaked by the time they get in.

The remainder of the day is spent inside, the rain unrelenting. Jonathan goes about his day as normal, despite wanting to go outside to play with Ava. He takes a nap mid-day and wakes up at around 5:00PM, which means dinner should be ready soon. He goes out of his room, where his mother is preparing another vegetable based meal.

They eat dinner and soon after do family Bible study, where Jonathan once again inadvertently spaces out, and for a moment forgets even why he's in the living room. The rest of the evening goes by quickly and eventually, the entire house is silent and asleep. He isn't looking forward to the remainder of the week.

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Hey guys! Sorry it took a bit longer to get this one out. The rest of the chapters should be coming out as usual from now on. Hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to vote and comment if you did (:

Bye now!