Saving Grace

18

"And that is why Samuel doesn't go into the woods anymore."

I snuggled closer to my beloved father, curled up the crook of his arm as the soft, warm light from my bedside lamp illuminated the words of my bedtime story. Dad looked down at me, kissed my hair.

"Alright, buddy. Time for bed."

"No," I whined, "Come on Daddy, just one more story."

Dad slipped out of my bed, pulled the covers up to my neck.

"Richie, we've already read two stories tonight."

"But they were really short."

"No they weren't."

"Yes they were! Come on, Dad. Just one more. Please."

I smiled up at him, wide-eyed, hands pressed together as if I were praying. Dad rolled his eyes, smiled.

"Fine," he sighed. "But just one more, then go to sleep."

I nodded furiously. Dad sat down on the edge of my bed, laced his fingers together.

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Stan. Stan lived in a giant castle, complete with knights and horsemen and a king and queen. He led a privileged life, but he was the only child in the whole kingdom, which meant he had no one to play with. His closest companion, another young boy, lived in the kingdom next door. His name was Phillip and like Stan, he lived a very extravagant and lavish lifestyle, but was also the only child in his kingdom. The two boys, in their loneliness, sought comfort in one another. They would spend hours riding horses, playing in the fields, building forts and pretending to wage war. The boys grew up as brothers.

"One day, when they were eight years old, another young boy moved to town. Stan, Phillip and the new boy were quick to make friends and so the three of them became, more or less, brothers."

My father paused and I saw a sliver of darkness spread in his weary eyes. He cleared his throat, strained a smile.

"His name was Godric," he managed. "Godric, Phillip and Stan. They spent every waking moment together, climbing trees, reading comic books, riding their bikes and playing pretend. But soon, Stan started to notice that there were very distinct differences between the boys. See, Phillip was always a good boy – he never lied, never stole, and always did the right thing. But Godric... well, Godric was a naughty child, and he always did the wrong thing. Sometimes, the differences didn't matter; the boys could forget them and just enjoy being together. Other times, they couldn't.

"When the boys were fourteen, another family moved to town. In the family, there was a boy who was two years their senior. His name was Henry. Because he was older, Henry thought that he could pick on them, because the three boys weren't big enough to defend themselves. So, he called them names, made fun of them at school, told lies about them and did other horrible things. This went on for a whole year and caused a series of intense fights between Godric and Phillip. See, Phillip wanted to do the right thing – tell their parents, teachers, and other adults who could help stop the bullying. Godric wanted to do the wrong thing. He wanted to fight Henry himself, despite being much smaller than him. Over the next year, the two boys would argue and fight over which course of action to take, while Stan was stuck in the middle of everything. The bullying got worse and the trio became divided.

"One day, in the following summer, Phillip got a terrible cold and Godric skipped class, meaning Stan had to walk home from school by himself. While he was walking home, Henry spotted him and decided to do something terrible: attack him. When he had finished, Stan had to drag himself home, where Godric was playing out the front of his castle. He saw Stan's black eyes, his bloody nose, his swollen jaw and he demanded to know who had done that to his friend. When he found out it was Henry, he also decided to do something terrible: return the favour.