Brothers Forever

Tommy Little hated listening to his parents fighting all the time, and as difficult as it was for him to get around on two crutches, he managed to get out the back door and walked down the hill toward the park.

The park was his place of refuge, a place where he could sit under a tree and listen to the breeze blowing through the branches, and all the while pretend that he had a happy family. His family had not been happy since the accident two years ago that took his brother's life and left him on crutches. His mother had been driving, and she swerved to miss a driver that was in the wrong lane, and when she did another car hit her, shoving them out into the intersection where she was t-boned. The accident wasn't her fault, and yet she caught the blame from his father, who insisted she wasn't paying close enough attention to the road.

Tommy looked around and pretended he was there with his brother, Nick, laughing and running the way they used to, until they were both so exhausted they would fall on the ground gasping for air, or how they used to come to the park in the winter and make snow angels, and then put horns on them and make snow monsters. Nick was two years older than Tommy, and Nick was his idol.

The wind was kicking up a storm and the leaves were blowing across the tables and grass in the park. Tommy began the difficult task of getting back up and gathering his crutches so he could get back home before the rain started. There was a big hill to his house, and that took a little time for him to climb because the crutches slowed him down so much. He finally reached the top of the hill and could see his house in the distance, but that wasn't what he was thinking about. He was thinking about a picture he had painted last year in school, when he took art instead of playing sports, and in the picture he painted Nick at the end of a bridge, smiling and waving to him. The picture was hung at the foot of his bed to remind him of Nick, and to make sure Nick was the last thing he saw before he went to sleep and the first thing he saw when he woke up.

As Tommy approached his house, he could see his parents sitting at the table in the dining room, and he could hear them yelling at each other. He wondered if they even knew he had been gone, and quietly opened the back door and came inside. When he walked past the dining room, his mother greeted him with a fake smile, telling him she had wondered where he had wandered off to, since he didn't come down and eat. His father never looked up from his meal, but continued to shove food in his mouth, a big frown in his forehead, and he was flushed from yelling and arguing.

Tommy said he wasn't hungry, but wanted to go lie down, and then made his way slowly down the hall to his room. Nick had been his father's favorite, and Tommy had no doubt that he wished Nick was the one who had survived the accident. That didn't make Tommy jealous of Nick, because they were so close and did everything together. Nick told him all the time that his father was closer to him because of his interest in football, an interest Tommy didn't have, and Nick assured him that his father was equally as proud of Tommy's grades, but didn't know how to express it. Tommy knew that was a bunch of made-up stuff to make him feel better, but he loved Nick all the more for trying to spare his feelings.

Once inside the room, Tommy closed the door to try and block the sound of his parents continued arguing. He hobbled over to his bed and laid down on top of the comforter, placing his crutches next to the bed where they were handy. The room was dark, except for a small night light in the corner that was needed if Tommy had to get up at night for any reason. A tear ran down Tommy's face, and he started talking to the picture, begging his brother Nick to come and get him and take him across the bridge, where he could once again be whole. Tommy continud whispering his brother's name and trying to reach out to him.

Tommy felt a warm hand reach out and pull him forward, and he kept his eyes closed so he wouldn't feel dizzy. The hand placed him right in front of the bridge, and he knew if he got across it, he wouldn't need his crutches any more. Nick was at the other end, smiling and telling him it was okay to come across, and that he shouldn't be afraid. Without hesitation, Tommy began the walk across the bridge, which seemed much harder than he had imagined it to be. Plunk, drag, plunk, were the only sounds he could hear as his crutches dug into the wood in the bridge; that, and his brother urging him forward. Once he was at the top of the rounded bridge, a warm light shown on his face, and he began to feel strength return to his legs. He dropped the first crutch, and then the second, watching it slide back down to join the other crutch at the foot of the bridge. Slowly, he put one foot in front of the other, trying hard to remember how it felt to walk, but by the time he took the third step he was practically running. His body felt free and whole, just the way he had imagined it. This was the best dream he could ever remember having, and it seemed so real, as though he was there and not imagining it.

The next morning, his mother came into his room to wake him for school, but there was no sign of Tommy anywhere. His crutches were still leaning against the night stand where he had put them, and the window was closed, so he didn't escape outside, so where was he? She screamed for her husband, and they searched the entire room, even under the bed, but they forgot one detail. They forgot to look at the picture that Tommy treasured so much, because if they had looked, they would have known where Tommy was. The bridge in the picture was disappearing, and in the distance Tommy and Nick could be seen running through a field, laughing and falling down, gasping for breath while they lay beneath the trees and rested. Once again, they were together, and nothing was going to pull them apart now, not in this place of serenity and light. Whatever force had made the transition possible, it was the best feeling in the world, and Tommy would not ever let it end.