It's been a long
time. My brother emailed me today, he included a picture, He's
looking really good these days. He's now a lawyer. Seems like the
total opposite of his youth. Sorry, I suppose you need background, my
brother is two years younger then I am.
My parents tell
tales of how when he was born, the first person to touch him aside
from the doctors, and before he was cleaned off was me. I nearly lept
from my father's arms to give him a kiss and welcome him to the
world. Soon after our mother had been declared unfit by the courts
and my father was given sole custody of my brother and I. We grew
from there, but, him being younger made him slightly resent me, and,
since I was a paragon, he became a renegade. Always disobeying our
father and being energetic.
He once broke his
collar bone wrestling with a cousin on a bed while going for a drop
kick and hitting the bed spring. He was always a clown, Quick with a
smile and a joke to try to diffuse the situation then too. A social
butterfly he had many friends, it was rare not to see him in the
middle of a crowd and with several people listening to his anecdotes.
Though not popular, his nature of being quick to take a dare lead him
to travel in circles far different then mine.
If it's not
painfully obvious by my writing in the first place, I'm an introvert.
The fewer people that are close to me, the better. I've always been
this way. Solitary and stoic, I let myself enjoy some of the arts,
and, writing seemed to be my passion for a while, that was before
English 2 in college that is. Interpretation of other people's works
far as books go, scanning for messages that may or may not be there
is a waste to me. Sorry, that interlude felt necessary, though for
the life of me, I'm unsure of why.
Back on topic,
Family was the most important thing in my life while growing up. No
internet or computer until middle school I had to actually make
physical friends, or, just have family for social interaction. Not
being the type who liked other people, for reasons both valid and
invalid, Family were the people I could rely on, the people I
interacted with most. So when we went to that concert…
That night, we were
on our way to the state fair. A classic rock band my father liked was
playing and he got tickets, we were going to experience our first
true concert. We were excited, but, everything just seemed to not
want us to go, my dad dislocated his shoulder, and, put it back in
within minutes, our car at the time, didn't want to start, and then…
Then at a stop light two guys ran up to the car. Both with guns. They
ordered us out, and, to leave the keys and any money in the car. My
brother, 14 at the time, tried to wrestle the gun from one of the
men.
He was shot in the
face. I held him as the paramedics were called. Though I knew there
was no hope. I watched his eyes grow dull, his chest stopped moving,
and his body, just stop, by the time the ambulance got there He was
gone. The paramedics did what they could but, they didn't try long,
after a couple of minutes they announced him dead, though, they knew
he was gone well before that. I think they just tried for our
benefit.
After that day, I
wasn't very close with anyone. I couldn't bring myself to allow for
such a loss again and so, I did the only thing I could think to do,
geared up and joined the military. I traveled the world with the air
force. My life as a mechanic on heavy aircraft had me flying across
the world, and, allowed me time to think. What would he be like now?
Where would his life be? Who would he be? I started to write stories
of a theoretical life for him.
In one story he had
been a grifter. Professionally gambling across the United states. He
had stumbled onto a massive conspiracy when a man hand openly caught
him palming the queen in 3 Card Monty only to end up stealing the
man's security ID and entering a corporate facility where he
discovered that there were cloning facilities for the world's elite.
That one was an early work, and, I am horrible with dialogue, so, I
scrapped it. Another had him as a Renown surgeon. That one was
because I had been playing WAY too much Trauma Center. Never in my
imaginings could I have been prepared for the email I received just
this morning.
“Yo Bro,
Been an Extremely
long time. Let's get together tomorrow. Lunch? Meet you around noon
at the little cafe on Broadway, Or would it be better to meet at the
Green Lounge at 8? Let me know, I really want to tell you about my
first case. Some guy is suing his wife for her adulterous
relationships. I warned him not to go for the young fillies. Anyhow,
see you soon? I really want to know, so I hope you reply.
Best Wishes, Billy”
I'm too curious to
be cautious for this one. We're meeting at the Green lounge. I'm
going to find out who is this sick, and, what this twisted person
really wants. Though, I do have to say, the photo does look like him…
Older, but, similar, who could be this cruel?
I'll make sure to
use my skills roughly honed from years of rewrite and edits to the
same stories to document all encounters with this individual. So in
closing, I'll welcome all who find this. If you get enjoyment from
this saga, great. I start this only to record my encounters with this
person that claims to be my brother. We shall see where the rabbit
hole leads together I suppose.