Just A Tiny Spark

A/N: Hey, thanks for being patient. Some craziness happened recently that kept me away from my computer, but I've managed to get this chapter out. And sorry it's short. I wanted to get one out so you would know I hadn't abandoned the story. It was banged out kinda fast, so if I made any typos, feel free to point them out so I can correct them.

Oh, and I wanted to clarify something. The religion that Meggie was raised in is not a main-stream religion. I didn't want to come right out and say it, but I based it largely on the FLDS (if you don't know what that is, Google it). It's not exclusively FLDS, though, I brought in elements of others as well. But I want you all to know, Meggie was raised in a cult. Her father, and the town she's from, are not meant to portray any real thing. I made it up using research I did on fundamentalist cults. She's from a cult, kiddies, so please, no flames about how I'm bashing people's religions. These aren't even necessarily my views, they are all for story purposes only, okay?

Chapter 3: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Meggie was awoken the next morning by a light hand on her shoulder. Her confused, sleeping mind thought it was her brother Tobias, just three months older than her, the son of her father and his third wife, Mina. Meggie's own mother, Resa, was dead, lost to the bout of flu that swept the town when Meggie was just a toddler. Mina, being her mother's younger sister, had raised Meggie as her own, and Meggie and Tobias had become very close. Or, as close as their father would let them become. Girls weren't allowed to be too friendly with boys, even the ones in their own family. It wasn't all that uncommon for a young woman to be married off to her own uncle or cousin. Just about everyone in the town was related in one way or another.

But when Meggie opened her eyes, expecting Tobias's laughing green gaze and dark, messy hair, she instead let out a gasp. A woman was sitting next to her on the cot she slept on. She remembered then where she was, what had happened. The woman smiled, and Meggie took a deep breath, sitting up.

"Good morning, child," the woman said, her voice warm. "My name is Angela; I'm Joseph's wife."

"Oh, hello," Meggie said quietly, wishing suddenly that her hair was brushed.

"Joseph asked me to take you shopping for some clothes and things and show you around the carnival."

"No!" Meggie jumped off the bed. "I can't go into town, he'll find me!" She began pacing, unable to think, unable to breathe past the panic welling up in her.

"Meggie, Meggie, it's alright!" Angela gripped Meggie by the wrists, forcing the girl to look at her. Angela's eyes were like warm, dark honey, and despite herself, Meggie began to calm. "Darling, it's alright," Angela continued. "We're not even in the same state anymore."

"Wait... what?" Meggie's mind was having a hard time catching up.

"Sweetheart, we packed up and left the moment you settled in with Dustfinger. We're not in Utah anymore."

"Oh... then, where are we?"

"We're in Nevada. Just outside of Las Vegas, in fact."

"Outside of where?"

Angela hesitated, and when she smiled again, there was a sadness behind it. "Las Vegas is... you know what? It's probably a little much for you right now. We're staying in a little town called Coyote Falls. We'll shop there." Angela pronounced the "e" in "coyote", unlike the people in Meggie's town. Meggie thought it sounded better that way.

*************

It only took about two hours for Meggie and Angela to buy everything she needed. Meggie felt overwhelmed walking into the first clothing store. She'd never seen such short skirts or low-cut tops before. Angela steered her away from those, however, and over to a section with long, flowing skirts in colorful patterns. "If you're going to be our resident palm-reader," she said with a smile, "you should look the part." She bought the girl a dozen of the skirts in a rainbow of colors, than took her to the underwear section. Meggie had never worn a bra before. She barely knew what one was. But the saleswoman was very nice and helped her choose some that weren't too uncomfortable.

But when it came to the shirts Angela picked out, Meggie was hesitant. Angela called them "spaghetti-strap tops", but Meggie thought they looked like just more underwear. Angela said she was slim, and should show off her shoulders. Meggie finally agree on the condition that she also have shawls or scarves to wear if she felt too exposed. Angela said it would just add to her "gypsy mystique", and bought her a set of ten gorgeous silk scarves. The finished off the day with several pairs of strappy sandals and some jewelry, which Meggie had never worn before. There were bracelets and anklets, but when Angela suggested she get her ears pierced, Meggie turned pale. The woman then hastily said, "Never mind, the bangles are enough," and the two checked out and headed back to the carnival.

Angela led Meggie around, telling her all about the people and attractions the carnival housed. There was a petite blonde named Claire who swallowed swords, slept on nails, and walked on beds of broken glass. There was the strong-woman, Nikki, and her husband D.L., an escape artist. A man with a round, smiling face named Matt guessed people’s ages and weights and dress-sizes. There were two men, both with dark hair and beautiful black eyes, who ran a magic show. Peter, his silky hair hanging in his face, did tricks and illusions. Gabriel, his eyes intense, his smile unsettling, was a hypnotist. The sign for their show read “Brothers of Magic,” but when Meggie asked if they were twins, because they looked to be the same age, Angela laughed and said, “They aren’t really brothers. But no one’s going to come see ‘The Two Magicians Who Also Happen To Be Gay Lovers’, are they? The sign may say ‘Brothers’, but those boys are in love.”

Meggie wasn’t sure what to say to that. Unlike most of the other kids in her town, she knew what homosexuality was. She knew because she’d been there when her father had caught two of his younger wives in bed together doing, in his words, “What only a man and his wife should do.” She’d never seen the two women again, but Meggie was curious and did some research over at Fenoglio’s bookshop. She’d read that being homosexual, or “gay”, was no different than being born with red hair. It was just a part of you. Of course she never shared this view with other members of her family, as her father and other church members were adamant that it was a mortal sin, worthy of the fires of hell. Meggie wasn’t even sure she believed in hell.

In fact, when Meggie stopped to think about it, she wasn’t sure she believed in anything anymore. The picture her father painted of God just didn’t gel with the idea of God as a parent. Why would a parent accept so few of his children? Meggie felt suddenly like a curtain was being drawn open, and she was seeing things for the first time.

For instance, why would listening to music be sin? Does it hurt anyone? Why wasn’t she allowed to go swimming with her own brothers? Why were boys sent away once they were teenagers, yet the girls stayed behind? Meggie felt her father’s web of control unwinding from around her, and the sudden freedom made her head spin. She sat down on a bench set out for carnival visitors, only dimly hearing Angela calling her name.

The more she thought about it, the less sense it made. Why would a God who created things of such breath-taking beauty, like the sun setting all red and indigo and violet over the hills, or a baby laughing, or a wolf howling in the night, also punish most of the population? How could God possibly be at once both beautiful and cruel?

Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe everything her father had ever said was a lie.

It was all too much to take in at once. Meggie shook herself, finally seeing Angela kneeling in front of her, looking concerned. “I’m fine,” Meggie said, staving off the woman’s questions. “I was just... thinking.”