Antoine's Curious Collection of Arbitrary Short Stories

Till the Rose Wilts

"She's our mom!" i cried hysterically. "No, just your mom, and she didn't even treat you as hers!" he yells, hands on my face as he look at me intently. "She tried to hurt you, do you understand this? She's a monster," he stopped. "And i saved you," he said firmly.

I'm trembling; my thoughts are in a roller coaster. I don't know what shook me better, was it what he did to our mom or what my mother was about to do to me.

I felt sick. I feel like throwing up. He took his hands off my face and stood after kneeling. I felt that he's trembling too. Was it fear or the sensation of satisfaction that he felt for what he did? I sit still, hugging my knees and cried, repeatedly, "She's gone." I cried harder. Blood. There's a pool of blood along with the shattered glass of a vase and the roses that she took earlier. She was in love with roses and now she's gone. "She's gone" I hiccupped.

"She hurt you," he said, eyes on me. I gulp down a sob. "Listen, no one will know what happened if you cooperate with me, okay?" he hushed me. I just nod. "Good." He smiled and tries to pat my head but I swat it away.

I don't remember what happened next, everything was moving fast. All I know is that he cleaned everything and now I'm helping him dig a grave for my mother. "Dig fast," he said, frustrated as it started raining. I wanted too but my body's not cooperating. I felt weak and light headed.

The rumble of sky startled me and i slip from the dirt. My back took the impact. It hurts, everything hurts. I cried again. I felt the cold of the ground, her body's now cold too isn't it?

"Fuck it!" He hissed. "This is why she hates you! You can't do anything, you're weak and stupid!" he snaps. "Just one thing and you can't even do it!" Nothing hurts me better than the words that he speaks. It feels like hearing a thunderstorm. It's my fault, he's right, this is my fault. The reason why this happened, the reason why my own mother can't love me is because I'm weak and I let her made me feel that. I let her. I tried to stand from my position. I limp, I don't know what came to me but I tried my best to summon the last strength that I have and took the first punch. He's surprised by it. He didn't need to wipe the blood from his lips. The rain helped with that I waited for the pain to return but it didn't, instead, he let out a hysterical laugh. We didn't say a word after that and started working.

We bury the body and set the house on fire, I took the rose, which was covered with blood, with me. The rain eradicates the last of it. Today, No one will know what happened, just like what she did to us. No one knows she hide her sons at her basement. No one knew that we lived, and no one will know that we took her life first just so we can. The earth lent its hands as the rain washes everything and left us only the scars of it.

The rose that i took wilted yet the memories are still there, fresh, and could still haunt me at night. I look at the man asleep beside me. He has long lashes, a pointed nose, strong features that I lack. He looked serene; I wonder what he dreams about.

He's the only one I have now: my brother. We didn't share the same blood and I envy him for that. He opened his eyes and caught me staring at him. It's the same eyes, eyes that could change from cold to full of affection. "Is it those nightmares again?" He said softly, worried, he reach my hands and interlock mine with his. "Remember when it started?" I ask bitterly. "I know" he uttered and planted a kiss on my hand. A tear rolls down on my cheeks.

The memory flashes on the day we planned to get away from our miseries. Every Sunday, our mother would leave the house to go to chapel and pray for our "sins". She would leave with her keys as she made sure that we are chained up, away from the world. We're spawns of evil and this place is the lair of sinners. Everything started when we moved to the house where I was introduced to him, my elder brother. The only child of the man my mother married. I was 9 that time and he was 11. I was sick and needed medication but my mom and i are poorer than a rat. And then his father came and offered us a roof over our heads, food to relieve our hunger, he promised us a life and my mom immediately fell in love with it. Who wouldn't? But things escalated. We found out that he's under a big debt and an alcoholic. He took all his anger to my mom, punched her and abused her with words sharp as a knife. Until it ended when he died, that's what we thought.

My mother couldn't take it. She believed I was the root of everything. She blames me, for the things she experienced. She would cry every night for the life that she believed my father and I took from her. I was the bad luck, the curse that she didn't ask for. I was the fruit of the sin of my father that she had to deal with.

I was miserable, yet he stayed, my brother. He made me feel that I mean something. He protected me from the anger of my mom.

I'm his lil brother, until i wasn't. She caught us one day sleeping together on a couch, our hands interlocking. My mother shrieked of horror. We we're woken up because of it. Disgust, hate and surprise were written in her face.

She caged us up in the basement, afraid to infect others. She promised us freedom if we learn from our mistake. "Do you believe her?" he asked, weariness obvious in his voice. "She'll change her mind" I said, hopefully." She's still our mom, she'll change." "When," he sounds annoyed. I look away. "Till the last of roses wilt?" He snickers.

My brother got tired of it and encouraged me to go along with his plans. He gave me no choice, it's either I'll go with him or he'll leave me alone, forever.

Every Sunday, she would leave the house to ask for our salvation and that's the day we chose to get free. Everything's going on the plan until she comes home unexpectedly. We're on the way to open the door of the house. Surprisingly, she was on the other side, waiting, ceramic vase on her hands. Hatred was radiating from her. She tried to bat it with me, shock i couldn't move. My brother was fast, before it could hit me he pushed her, hard enough to fall on the steps of veranda.

"Hey" he said and i woken up from my thoughts, "you're safe now," he said as he sealed it with a kiss. 

A/N Antoine here. Thanks for reading the story. If you like the story please vote and comment. I want to hear from you guys.