Father Keeper

In a giant glass aquarium that sits on a table against the wall in a living room, sits an old man, his back pressed up against the glass. A multitude of small children jockey for position to get as close as they can to the old man. Behind the small children are older children and behind them are all the mothers. The aquarium is loud with the sounds of excited children. The old man raises his twisted hand above his head and the tank falls silent. To the right of the old man sits an old woman and next to her sit a slightly younger old woman. These two are the only ones who remember the days before Father Keeper. The old man has scars all over his body as do the two other women. The woman to his right is missing her right eye, her arm is twisted and useless; she has scars all over her face and body. The woman to th her right is the old man and woman’s first-born daughter who cares for them now. The daughter softly strokes the old woman’s long grey hair as the man begins to tell his children their story of creation. The old man looks towards his woman as he puts his arm around her, then looks out over all the faces looking back at him. He looks towards the back where his older children sit and knows most of them will be taken away shortly. He can hardly believe he has fathered so many children in his life. “It never gets easier when them come for the children.” He thinks to himself. He thinks too himself how much younger the new women look and how old he must look to them. He knows that his children are highly sought after, and Keepers send their women for a chance at one of his offspring. He only hopes that once his children are taken, they have a good life like he has; and pass the creation story down to their offspring, if they are lucky enough to have any. He knows it won’t be long now for about twenty of his children to be taken. Once they stop nursing, the picking starts. If they don’t get picked at this point, they will stay until they are old enough to breed. If they don’t get picked for breeding, they go into the feed tank, just the way it is. This is why he stopped naming them years ago. The old woman never gets taken even though she has no use anymore. The old man believes it's because Father Keeper knows she makes the old man happy, and he has served Father Keeper well over all these years. Once the old woman was taken away, and the old man refused to eat or drink. Father Keeper returned her to him and never took her again. Their first-born daughter is the only child they were allowed to keep, and now she cares for them. The aquarium is as long as five football fields and around thirty feet high. The bottom of the aquarium is filled with bedding. There are bowls that are filled with different types of food, and bowls filled with drinking water. There is one big bowl in the conner filled with water for washing. Most keepers don’t do this, but Father Keeper knows how much the old man and woman like it, so he does it for them. The old man feels that Father Keeper loves him, and in a strange way, he loves Father Keeper. Leaning over to the old woman, he looks at all the faces and says in a quite voices, “We did good.” She looks back at him and smiles, then motioned him to start the story. The old man cleared his throat and began. “I can remember the days we lived free. When we could go outside anytime we wanted. We could feel the sun on our skin, the breeze in our hair, the grass under or feet. We could go and do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.” He said as all the children gasped. “We lived for more than just breeding or being food for others. We learned and loved. We created art. We sang and danced. We built things, planted things, and it was good.” He said. “And out there somewhere, is the place where we come from, and maybe one day some of you might make it back there to live free. Maybe, right now as we sit here, our kind are on their way to save us and take us back home!” he said as all the children cheered. He raised his hand again and all the children settled down. “Remember! you must listen to this story, learn it, so you can pass it on to others, so we never forget where we came from!” He said in a loud voice.