Unspoken Bonds

My feet pounded on the well-kept sidewalk as I raced toward the low-hanging sun. Houses were mirror reflections, staggered in a continuous, predictable pattern. Mom taught me to look for the one tree in our front yard that made our house unique. I had... no, I needed to be close.

Don't slow down. The echo of pursuit whipped at me, demanding more speed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that he was getting closer.

Three more yards to go, I counted. In the distance, the distinct tree and its fiery red leaves waved me home like a third-base coach.

Two more. Don't let him catch you. I thought, darting left and over the neighbor's waist-high stone wall. Movement from the corner of my eye sent my mind shrieking.

So close, almost there. I leaned forward to avoid capture, just as fingertips grazed my shoulder. The contact drew my attention, and I saw my chaser windmilling to save his balance. I barked a laugh. Dashing across the finish line, I ducked under the Japanese Maple in my front yard. Maple announced my victory with a whoosh and rustling of leaves.

"I almost had you." My brother panted from where he fell.

Walking back to the lawn, I jeered at him. "Lo-o-o-o-ser."

"At least I was closer to catching you than you were to beating me in Duck Hunt today." He stood brushing off his pants.

"Blah, blah." I mocked, crossing my eyes.

He started walking toward me. "You just wish you–"

I cut him off. "Wish I could be as slow as you? Nah." I backpedaled.

He passed me, barging through the door, giving me a nudge with his elbow. "I'm still older."

"By twenty-two minutes!" I spit back.

I pushed him while he bent over to get his shoes off. "You can't even count to twenty-two."

He reached out to steady his balance. "Knock it off." He warned.

I slid off my shoes without leaning over. "Or what? You're going catch me?" He shook his head and dropped it.

The high ceiling echoed the sounds of our return. "We're home." We both said in unison. Mom answered back from in the kitchen. That meant two things: Dad was on his way home, and food. My stomach rumbled, echoing like a hollow drum. Sliding an arm around my brother's shoulder, I pulled him closer.

"You'll run point on distraction. I'll grab the snacks. Can you accept the mission?"

He gave a simple response. "Yea, sure."

With stealth mode activated, I slithered through the family room. Slinking between the sofa and off-white walls adorned with photos, I passed the kitchen and hid behind our rustic wood-burning stove.

My brother poked his head out of the kitchen. He whispered Mom's location. "Stove."

The moment had arrived: time to spring into action. Tiptoeing over, I placed my back against the wall and glanced around the corner. Mom stood in front of the white four-burner electric stove, wooden spoon in hand, tending to dinner. I stepped out to make my move, and a loud, sneering voice rang out from the family room.

"What are you doing?" The voice demanded. The sound carried into the kitchen, causing Mom to look up and smiled.

"Hi, Sweety."

My brother came over to join me, wearing a frown. We both stared at Ms. Bossy Boots, her hands on hips, standing next to the couch like she owned us. Moving closer, she commanded me to answer. "Well? What are you doing?"

"You're not our mom," I said, louder than needed. My brother jumped in. "Oh no!" He mocked. "You caught us!"

"Doing what?" Mom chimed in.

Turning her way, my brother flung his hands down. "Nothing. She just ruined the surprise."

I gave my sister a little smile before I turned away. "I was going to surprise you and say I love you."

Mom smiled. "I love you mostest." She turned to look at my sister. "Sweetheart, don't pick on your brothers."

I shared a grin with my brother, and we turned back to my sister. The icy cold glare made me swallow. She started to lean forward when a creak from the garage door saved us from her contempt. We used the short distraction to run away.

When Dad walked in, we jumped on him. He dropped his briefcase to push us back. Snatching up my sister, he charged into the living room. My brother and I gave chase. We howled with laughter as he tossed us on the couch, pinning us down to tickle. Dad let us go an eternity later, promising a giggle brawl after dinner. When we returned to the kitchen, dinner was ready. Dad laid a smooch on Mom, and we all sat to eat.

Everyone shared their day. Dad discussed inventory control, Mom engaged, and my sister even spoke, though I missed it. Rounding the table, my brother and I chose to one-up each other. Mom kept going on about eating our vegetables, so I had to negotiate a settlement. We had to eat half our green beans and clear the table. Not too bad of an outcome.

While Mom did the dishes, we ran off to hunt Dad down. When he came out of his room, we sprung an ambush. Sometime between trying to surrender and crying with laughter, Mom broke up the fun.

She handed us the trash and pushed us out the front door. The dim porch cast a darker mood on Maple, turning her leaves blood red. Shadows under her branches promised monsters waiting for little boys. Keeping my eyes on the sidewalk, I set a fast pace. Reaching up, I lifted the lid, and my brother tossed the bag in. When I turned around, he was already scurrying for the door. I dashed away, almost catching him. At the door, I pushed the traitor through and slammed it behind me.

My brother shoved me back. "Why'd you push me?"

I lunged forward, wrapping him in a tight bear hug. "Why'd you ditch me?" I grunted, trying to pick him up and smash him into the ground.

Mom, out of nowhere, pulled us apart. She lifted her arm and pointed down the hallway. With just two sharp words, she pronounced our fate.

"Bath time."

We grumbled and whined, pushing each other as Mom herded us down the hallway. I should have seen the betrayal coming. The cream-colored tub was almost full when we arrived, a dead giveaway. We undressed next to the wood-paneled sink. Mom stood ready, soap in hand, just waiting to torture us.

"Hey, Dee. Movie or TV tonight?" Dad said while Mom scrubbed my hair.

"Mmm, just TV." She replied, dumping a glass of water over my head.

Bert and Ernie barely finished their rubber ducky song when we were wrapped in towels and pushed out of the bathroom. Shivering and dripping water down the hallway, we marched single file, one by one, like prisoners heading for lockdown.

Two beds butted against opposite walls waited for us with our inmate uniforms laid out. After one story, the warden kissed us and turned out the lights.

"You ready for sleep?" I said in a hushed voice.

My brother sat up. "Nope."

We got out of bed for our nightly shenanigans, sneak and annoy. It was time to put our secret agent skills to the test. Our mission: See what Mom and Dad were watching.

I went to the door and cracked it open to peek out. A dim flickering light from the living room illuminated the hallway. We passed Bossy Boots' Witch Hut with our backs to the wall. She must have been asleep because there was no ritual chanting. I bent low at the entryway closet, and my brother leaned over just above me. In unison, we both peeked around the corner. Mom sat on the blue cloth couch, TV remote in hand, clicking through the channels. When she stopped, I was not disappointed. They were going to watch Cops tonight. I loved to see the bad guys get tackled when they ran.

My brother tapped my arm and whispered, "Dad." I swatted at his prodding. "I don't know. I can't see him." I whispered. The prodding continued, more urgent than before.

I froze at the sound of Dad's voice from around the corner. "Get. In. Bed!" Each word punctuated with a deep, calm voice. Maybe he just saw my brother, and I could still sneak away. I backed away from the wall so he would not catch my movement.

"Now!" Dad said, somehow in a deeper voice than before. My brother and I ran. Dad's firm voice chased us down the hallway. "If you get out of bed one more time—"

I slammed the bedroom door shut and jumped under my covers. I didn't need to hear the threat to know what would happen.

Once I dared to speak, I got my brother's attention. "Psst."

"Yea." He whispered back.

I leaned up on an elbow. "What happened?"

"Popcorn. Dad must have seen me when he came out of the kitchen."

I licked my lips. "Popcorn sounds good."

"Yea, it does. Think there's any left?"

My only reply was, "Wanna?"

After another unsuccessful expedition culminated with warm bottoms and a closed bedroom door, we found ourselves locked down.

My brother leaned up on one elbow, wiping tears away. "How could you fall?"

I propped myself up to face him, tears streaming down my cheeks. "I... I wouldn't have if... if you hadn't pushed me!" I managed to say between sniffles.

"Push you? You've gotta be the clumsiest–"

"Clumsy?" I cut him off questioning.

He rolled away to face the wall. "Ugh. Leave me alone!"

"It's not my fault." Fresh tears welled up in my eyes.

"Go to sleep!"

I laid there alone, twirling my hair, trying to stop crying. At the edge of sleep, a scratch at the window sent a wave of panic through me. Heart racing, I searched the darkness outside. The wind whipped the shadows into an uproar. What started as a slight whistle increased to a monstrous howl.

I backed up against the wall, pulling my blanket over my head. The spooky whistling just kept going, getting louder and softer, up and down. I curled into a ball, remembering what Mom had told my brother and me. "If you stay under the blankets, the scaries won't get you."

My Brother! I panicked.

I risked a peek to check on him. I couldn't see his face through the darkness. My ears strained to hear past the moaning at the window.

Was there something in here? The sound wailed like a ghost, mourning my coming death.

Did it have him? Calm down. I willed myself. Should I call for him?

I held my breath and listened. Past the screeching terror at the window, past my hammering heart, a rhythmic snoring murmured back.

How can he sleep in this?

Sinuous tentacles whipped across the ceiling, reaching for me. I rolled away, shutting my eyes tight. Pulling my covers over my head again, I muttered to myself.

It can't get me. The shrill cry came again, like a flying beast plummeting for the kill. It can't get me. I resisted. A crash at the window jolted me out of bed.

Monster. It's real, it's real! My mind screamed.

My covers were off, and I was up in one quick movement. I took three steps and leaped into my brother's bed.

He let out a scream, arms flailing. Pushing and kicking, he tried to defend the terror that had woken him. I clung to him with everything I had.

"It's me. It's me." I whimpered.

A few seconds passed while he swung, fought, and then relaxed. With two hands pushing my shoulders back, he looked down at me. "What is it?"

A simple declaration was all that I offered. "I'm scared."

His hands relaxed. Instead of pushing at me, they pulled me closer. Worry fled as my brother squeezed me tight. I fell asleep to his breath's steady cadence and unwavering support.

The following day, Mom woke us. "Boy's. You need to sleep in your beds!" Despite being warm and comfortable, I was also, unfortunately, wet and smelly. My brother must have had an accident; bond or not, it was time to blame.

"Dude, what'd you do?" I pushed my brother away from me. He punched me hard, and I fell onto the floor. "Pee in your bed next time." He said with disgust.

Mom stepped in. She pulled us apart and set us to work. While we got the bedding, Mom started the bath. Stripping off our contaminated clothes, we walked them to the washer on our way to the tub.

"Why'd you jump on me last night?" My brother asked, hovering over the too-hot water.

Reluctant to sit down, I crouched over the water as well. "Didn't you hear the howling? The crashing outside?"

Settling down in the hot water, he sucked in sharply. "Ouch. Erm-no." he groaned.

I let it go. There were more important things to talk about. I handed my brother the soap. "You still mad at me."

He tilted his head. "For what?"

"Getting us caught last night."

"Nah, I get us caught plenty." He shrugged.

I did a double-take. "Really? You're not mad?"

"Nope." He set the washcloth aside. "You think we will get to do some more Duck hunt today?"

I stared at him for a moment. "Dunno." I finally responded. Just like that, my concerns were freed, forgiven, and forgotten.

During breakfast, we schemed to get our sister back for spoiling our mission yesterday. The planning left us chuckling, with "bugs" being the recurring theme. I cherished having someone by my side, someone constantly chasing me, someone providing a moving target to aim for. But above all, I just loved him. Unconditionally, no matter.

We kissed Mom and ran to meet our friends. Clear blue skies and cool morning air met us outside. I navigated the flower bed to where everyone gathered on the dew-covered grass.

My brother turned to me with a wicked grin and called out, "One, two, three, not it!" And like that, I was elected the first chaser of the day.

He may have got me this time, but he was no match for my speed.