Kim Scissorhands and Edward Boggs

Chapter Nine: The Brother

The car ride to Battlefield Memorial Cemetery was an extended and silent one. It was an hour's drive north of Suburbia, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There was some historical significance behind it, but Edward never payed any attention. The name itself brought up so much sadness that he didn't want to know the rest.

It had been five years since Peter died. Five, long, lamenting years.  Edward was only ten at the time, but he remembered the day like an actor memorizes a script. Edward shut his eyes, set his head against the car window, and began to dream.

-

It was a dreadfully hot afternoon in late June, the air thick with humidity. Edward, along with Erik and Troy, sat on the stoop of their house. They couldn't wait until the utility man was done installing the air conditioner.

"Man, this sucks," grumbled Erik. "Can we at least play in the hose?"

"Sorry, you know how the drought is right now. Even if we did, there'd only be a trickle of hot water." Edward exhaled with annoyance.

"This heat wave totally blows. That guy better finish with the AC, I'm burning alive out here," said Troy.

Edward got an idea. "It doesn't have to be all that bad. We could play tag, and the sweat will keep us cool."

The twins wrinkled their faces at the same time. "Ew, but okay," they both agreed. In a few moments, the three boys were chasing each other across the front yard.

"I'm it!" giggled Erik. He followed Edward and Troy around the driveway until they collapsed behind the garage. "Got ya!" He shouted to Edward, sitting on his back.

"Ouch! Stop, I can't move!" he yelled, but he couldn't stop laughing. The second brother landed on top, causing them to topple over in a mess of giggles and sweaty hair. Edward rolled over on his back. The perfect blue sky mirrored how Edward felt; It couldn't get any better than this.

"Edward!" He could hear his father's voice calling for him. He sounded stressed out.

"Right here!" Edward stood up, brushing the grass off of his khaki shorts. His dad walked down the back porch steps.

"There you are. You need to come inside immediately. Troy, Erik, you guys need to go home. Sorry."

The brothers whined, but obeyed Mr. Boggs.

"See ya later, Ed," Troy spoke quietly.

Edward followed his dad back into their one-story home. He hoped there wasn't a problem with the air conditioning installation. Edward knew it wasn't, however, when he saw a glint on his father's cheeks. He'd been crying.

They finally stopped in the living room. The first thing the young boy noticed was the brand new air conditioner in the window - there'd be one in each bedroom as well - but that was beyond the point. His mother sat on the sofa, make up running down her face, holding important-looking papers. Something serious was going on.

"Oh, Edward," she half-sobbed, leaning in for a hug. "I don't know how to say this..."

Edward held his mom tightly, thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened. He searched his deepest fears, none of which could applied to that situation. Then he saw the return address on the envelope:

The United States Military.

Edward understood automatically. It didn't have to be said aloud. He felt his eyes burn, trying to hold in the tears. He then decided just to let it all go.

Peter. His older brother... Gone forever. They never got along quite well, which he instantly regretted, with all of his heart and soul. He tried desperately to think of all the good times they had together, but none came. The hole in his heart kept constantly refilling with sadness. Edward hadn't even come to say goodbye before Peter would leave for the last time. What an idiot he felt like. Why did he dismiss having such a wonderful person in his life?

"You don't know what you have before it's gone," he said below a whisper.

"What's that?" asked his father.

"Nevermind," he quickly stated, sniffling. "S-so I was wondering, how did he... How did he..."

"Helicopter crash," Mrs. Boggs checked the paper. It was covered in tear drops. Her voice cracked. "No survivors."

The three of them huddled together on the couch. Tears streamed silently down their cheeks; No one wanted to talk. They would never be the same again.