My Town Exiles One Family Every Year To Stay “Perfect.” My Father Just Got A Promotion, And Now We Are Standing At The Border With Nothing. But Someone Is Waiting For Us In The Dark.

Finding Community

The next morning, Rodrigo showed up at our mobile home with a girl about my age. She had dark hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and wore jeans with holes in the knees and a faded t-shirt. She smiled when she saw me standing in the doorway looking confused and tired.

Rodrigo introduced her as Thea Harvey and explained her family got exiled two years ago. I nodded and tried to act normal, even though I felt like my brain was still foggy from everything that happened. Thea suggested we walk around the exile town so she could show me where everything was located.

My mother was sitting at the kitchen table staring at nothing, and my father had already left with Eli to look at some construction project. I grabbed a jacket and followed Thea and Rodrigo outside. The morning air was cold, and I shoved my hands in my pockets as we walked down the street past other mobile homes and small houses.

Thea pointed out the community center where meetings happened and the school building where I’d be going starting tomorrow. She talked fast and made jokes about how the exile town didn’t have a movie theater or a mall, but at least nobody pretended to be perfect here.

I asked why her family got exiled, and she said her mom got pregnant outside marriage, which the old town called a moral failure. She laughed when she said it, but the laugh sounded bitter. Her mom had the baby, and now Thea had a little brother who was almost 2 years old. She said getting exiled was probably the best thing that ever happened to them because her mom met someone nice here who actually wanted to be a father to the baby.

We sat on a bench outside the community center, and Thea asked about my family’s exile. I told her about my father’s promotion and how we got targeted because we threatened the wrong people. She nodded like she understood completely.

Then she said something that made me stop and think. She said maybe getting exiled saved us from turning into the kind of people who stayed in that town—the kind who watched families get destroyed and did nothing. I’d never thought about it that way before.

Sharing Scars

We talked for hours about the old town and all the horrible things we’d seen happen there. Thea remembered when the Hendersons got exiled and how Mrs. Henderson died two weeks later. She said her mom cried for days after hearing that news.

We talked about how the founding families never were chosen and how everyone knew the votes were fake but nobody said anything. Thea said fear makes people into cowards, and the old town ran on fear. Being around her felt strange because she wasn’t destroyed by what happened to her family. She seemed almost happy here in the exile town. That confused me because I still felt broken and lost.

After lunch, Rodrigo took me to meet Bridget Science, who ran the Exile Community School. She was probably in her 50s with gray hair and kind eyes. She sat down with me in her small office and asked about my grades and what classes I’d been taking.

I explained I was supposed to be a senior this year and I needed to graduate on time. Bridget smiled and said that wouldn’t be a problem. The school here was small, with only about 30 students total, but the teachers actually cared about helping kids learn. She said I could start tomorrow, and she’d make sure I stayed on track to graduate in the spring.

I felt relieved hearing that because I’d been worried about falling behind. Bridget asked if I was okay, and I said I was fine, even though that was a lie. She looked at me carefully and said it was normal to feel numb and distracted after exile. She said having structure and routine would help my brain process everything. I nodded and tried to believe her.