The Sacrifices We Made

In this world, various traits and rights of a person can be sold at a public market, and are then taken away from that person until and unless they can buy them back. It sounds weird but if you read the story you'll get the hang of it.

Their mother wouldn't let them come along for the actual bargaining. She was afraid it would be too stressful. So the three Mason kids waited in the waiting room to find out what they'd lost. The Mason kids was still how they thought of themselves, but they weren't really kids anymore. The twins, Martin and Miranda, had just turned 18 and were about to start their senior year of high school. Their older sister Morgan was 20, and home from college for the summer.

The twins both had dark hair. They looked similar, but Martin's square jaw made him quite a handsome young man, while Miranda's finer features gave her a more feminine beauty. Miranda was 5'2" with a slim build. Martin was 5'9" but wore it well, with shoulders just broad enough to suit his slightly shorter stature.

While the twins were certainly good looking, Morgan was the undisputed beauty of the family. She had blonde hair with just a bit of natural curl to it and big blue eyes. Her face was similar to Miranda's, but she was much taller--at 5'10" she was even a bit taller than Martin--with large breasts and full hips.

They knew their mom was strapped for cash, especially since all three of them would be in college in another year. So none of them complained or resisted when she explained she was bringing them to the Market. It was pretty scary, though, not knowing what they might have to give up. They'd all seen other people come back from the Market, looking and acting very different. Some people didn't come back at all. It all depended on what people wanted to buy of theirs.

Soon their mother entered with a stack of paperwork and sat down across from them. "Okay," she said, "It's done."

"What did we lose?" asked Morgan nervously.

"Not too much," said Mrs. Mason, "I think we'll do okay, as a family, but there will be some adjustments."

"Well," said Martin with resignation, "You might as well go ahead and tell us. What are we losing?"