Ellie pushed the last present toward Benjamin. He eagerly took the box, smiling slightly. It was just a simple box, but it looked older and more worn than the other gifts he’d received for his birthday. He shook it a bit, hearing something little rattle around in the box. “Mom and dad said to open that one last.” She told him, looking just as eager and curious as he did.
Their family didn’t have much, on account of their father being a farmer, so the only time they really got the things they wanted, not what they needed, were on their birthdays. It could be simple things, like a new set of clothing or a trinket they liked, or something big, like a new fishing rod for Benjamin or an ornate necklace to be worn on special occasions for Ellie.
But Benjamin’s eagerness was soon replaced by puzzlement and confusion once he opened the present, and took a letter and necklace out of the box. “What...?”
Ellie frowned, and moved over so she was sitting beside him. “What is that?” She asked as she looked at the folded paper. The only word visible while it was folded was “Benny”. “Who in the world has ever called you Benny?”
He slowly got up, holding the letter and necklace tight, remaining silent as he walked down the hall.
Ellie immediately stood and went to follow. “Ben, what’s-?”
His bedroom door was closed before she could finish her sentence.
***
Ellie spent hours, off and on, trying to convince Benjamin to leave his room. She just sat on the wooden floor of the hallway, trying everything to coax him out. She offered to go down to the river, to cook his favorite meal, or even to let him have a free favor from her, all to no avail. She wouldn’t even give up once their parents returned home from the market, going as far as to try and enlist their help.
Instead, her mother took her to the kitchen and sat her down. “Ellie, you know that Ben isn’t really your brother, don’t you?”
She gave her mom a look. “Of course I do, mom. He looks nothing like us, and he’s different. But that doesn’t make him any less my brother.” It suddenly clicked, and Ellie’s emerald eyes narrowed. “You know why he’s upset, don’t you?”
She sighed. “When his parents brought him to us, they asked us to give him a letter, along with his father’s necklace, on his fifteenth birthday. We weren’t sure how he would react, so we thought it would be best to sell dad’s crops at the market while you two opened his presents, so he wouldn’t have us prying. You two are closer than anyone, and we didn’t want to intrude.”
“Well what did it say?! He won’t leave his room!”
“They asked us not to read it.” Her father spoke up. “We don’t know any more than you. Just give him some time. He’ll share it with you when he’s ready.”
***
“Ben, don’t you dare take another step!”
Ellie was furious. She had walked out the front door early in the morning to put her clothing out to dry, only to see her brother’s back, walking away from their home.
And he didn’t even act like he heard.
“Benjamin Joseph Klosky, if you take one more step I swear I’ll beam you!” She shouted at him, holding a pebble threateningly.
That, instead of Ellie’s demand, made him freeze in place. She had a mean arm, and a near-perfect aim.
An instant later, Ben was face-down on the ground, Ellie’s arms wrapped around his waist as she hugged him tightly from behind. “What are you thinking, you idiot?!”
