Short Stories || Original

EZRA

Written for - School Assessment
Year written - 2019
Word count - 1015

Throw.

Ezra's raised hand forced the heavy hemp rope to soar over the rafter nearer to one end of the barn than the other. With the quick tying of a knot a foothold was created at the bottom for the young boy to stand on. Ezra, the elder, smiled as he helped his little brother drag the rope up the ladder to the upper section, the young boy tumbled forward and grabbed the rope from his brother. The elder stayed below as he stood at the top and positioned his foot on the knot at the bottom of the swing.

Leap.

The young boy went swinging forward. He soared just above the solid dirt ground pushed by the invisible force of his brother. Laughter erupted, ricocheted off the walls of the great building as the boy moved backward and forward through the air. Ezra's smile of pride only grew upon seeing the pure joy on his brother's face; the authentic sense of bliss seeped out and wrapped itself around Ezra, blanketed him in a sense of wonder and satisfaction.

Snatch.

Ezra's hand wrapped around the hemp and he moved with it, slowing the trajectory of the young boy to stop his swing. The boy simply laughed, cheered for an encore. While the elder saw possible danger, as any protective person would have, he allowed it. The young boy leaped down and ran at full speed towards the wooden ladder they had used previously. The rope was handed up, he prepared to swing again.

Fumble.

The placement of his foot just wasn't quite right. He paused, tried again. After one hop then two and he was right on the edge of the loft. Ezra yelled out, "Be careful!" and the young boy simply teased him, insuring he'd,

"Be fine, chill Ez." The exchange fell on the ears of their mother, who had silently slipped into the building from the outside world to see what joys her sons were enjoying. The young boy went to step again, his grip and balance failed him.

"Jesse!"

Faster than their mother's shout of fear, Ezra had already reacted. Air rushed up from around. The sheer force at which it surged under Jesse created a pillow below him. His shirt billowed. His hair rippled. Ezra took a breath, opening his clenched fist as the wind died away, allowing the boy to be placed to the ground; albeit he was dropped to the ground, but not from a height at which you would be concerned for injury.

Run.

Their mother ran to Jesse's side where she helped the young boy up; dusting off his jeans and holding his face. The young boy was shaken, but okay. The elder was instructed to, "Wait in the kitchen". The brothers locked eyes and shared a pair of looks that spoke to each other. They said they knew what was coming, and one reassured that it was okay. Ezra slipped out of the barn, walking back to the home across the gravel.

Slam.

His mother met him in the kitchen. Her emotions were a tangled mess, frustration read on her eyebrows as they knitted together and lay above eyes filled with thankfulness, yet disappointment mixed into the hazel shades as well. He began to try to reason with her, but no matter what he said she had that very same look in her eyes.

"You know the rule," her voice was forced and pained, "I only asked for this one thing and you..." Her voice dissipated and faded into the silence of the air that settled around them. Her grip tightened around the strap of leather she held in her hand, likely borrowed from her late husband's wardrobe.

"Was I supposed to let him fall?"

"Yes."

Ezra couldn't speak; the nature of his mother's answer shocked him to the core and his mind completely wiped blank. How was he supposed to watch his brother fall and get hurt when he had this ability to stop it; it was like standing beside a raging fire and sending the firefighters away.

He turned around, not even a moment passed and the belt came down hard across the bony ridge of his back - his thin cotton shirt doing nothing to protect him. His eyes clamped shut as he took the pain, this was what he deserved for what he did, he couldn't risk letting himself be found out.

"You know what will happen if they find you," his mother began as the belt came down again, "you know they'll take you if they know what you can do." Her voice was stern and unshaken, the opposite to what her eyes would have shown Ezra had he been turned the other way.

"I know," Erza could only murmur as the belt came down a third and final time. Three lashings across the back was his discipline for allowing himself to slip up and use the abilities he had; the abilities he could be killed for. "I'm sorry, Mum."

"Don't even think about using it again," finally a shake started to come out in the woman's voice, some humanity. There was love there, a twisted mangled love that was almost unseeable except for in these moments. His mother left, throwing the door to slam as she made her exit. Ezra fell to the floor, breathing heavily to move on from the events just unfolded.

The kitchen door creaked back open, a set of little fingers curled around the edge of the wood before a body followed. The saved boy from before slipped into the kitchen, bag of peas in hand.

"Mum always hits you when you help me," he said in a mumble from the door, both hands holding the cold, pea-filled plastic, "I got these."

"Jesse-" Ezra tried to stop his brother's sorrow, however he wasn't able to speak as the young one slunk around to place the bag on Ezra's back.

"This is where she hits you, right? That's why you always lie on your front."

"Yeah," he hated admitting this to his brother, "Thank you, Jesse."

They smiled.