The stranger under the willow tree

The family

My parents always told me that family was everything. But I never imagined that my family would be the local crime gang. I was adopted by them when I was just a baby, and I grew up surrounded by guns, drugs, and violence. It was all I ever knew, and I never thought anything of it. But then, I got into trouble at school. I beat up another kid, and the school called my parents to come in for a meeting. And that's when I knew I was in trouble. My parents didn't take kindly to anyone messing with their family, and they were not about to let a bunch of teachers and administrators tell them how to raise their kid. So they came to the meeting, with all their muscle and all their power. And suddenly, the school was faced with "The Family". They were all there, my parents and my uncles and my aunts and my cousins. They were all dressed in suits and sunglasses, looking like something out of a movie. And they were all there to defend me, to make sure that no one ever crossed me again. They talked to the school officials, in their own way. They made it clear that they were not to be messed with, and that they would do whatever it took to protect their own. And then, they took me home, where I was safe and loved and protected. It was a strange kind of love, but it was the only one I ever knew. And I couldn't help but feel grateful for it.