Storytelling: Brotherly Love (Week 4)

The Apis bull, photographed by Michael Holford

Ben watched the cattle grazing on the hill.  Most of the herd were cows, but there were a few horses and an ox.  The ox was his favorite.  It lounged lazily under the shade of the ancient sycamore tree.  Ben loved to watch the animals roam throughout the pasture.  There was nothing more peaceful.  Occasionally he wished that he owned the land himself, but he was honestly content working the land for his brother.  He even helped him with his work from time to time.  In fact, Ben was waiting for his brother to meet him at that moment.

He was standing against one of the fence posts when his brother walked up to him.  Andrew carried a post hole digger in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.

“Hey, bro.  Ready to rebuild some fence?”  He walked over and set the digger down on the ground.  “I brought some sandwiches.  Sally made ‘em.”

Andrew untied the plastic bag and dug around until he found one of the sandwiches. 

“Hey, will you run back to the house for me?  I forgot the water bottles.”

“Yeah, sure.”  Ben pulled off his gloves and dusted off his pants.  The house wasn’t too far, just over the hill a ways.  He walked in the door of his brother’s house not ten minutes later.  His sister-in-law sat at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cherries and reading a magazine.  When she heard him enter the room, she smiled.

“Did you get the sandwich I made you?  Egg salad is your favorite, right?”

“Oh, yeah, it is.  Thanks!”  He turned his attention to the refrigerator and opened it.  He grabbed a couple of bottles from one of the shelves and closed the door.

“Will you stay with me for a little while?”  Ben looked toward her from his place by the door.  She had a pouty look on her face and her shoulders slumped a bit.

“Are you okay?  I’ve gotta head back and fix the fence soon.”

Sally stood and walked slowly toward him, looking more feline than feminine.  She walked toward him until he was stuck between herself and the wall.  When she reached him, she reached out with her hand and touched his face. 

“Sal, what are you doing…?”

She kept leaning closer and closer until Ben finally had to grab her and hold her away from him.  It was then that Andrew walked in the house with the intention of finding out why his brother had not returned.  When he walked in, what he saw stopped him cold.  Sally was the first to react. 

“Andrew!  Make him let me go!  He’s hurting me!” 

Ben hands let go almost instantaneously.  Before he could tell his brother what really happened, he came at him swinging.  Ben tried to back away and tried to explain the truth, but his brother could not be reasoned with.  He was forced to run.  Andrew chased him all the way to the creek.  Ben was only able to escape by crossing the water and praying that his brother still had his fear of water.  Once on the other side of the water, his brother yelled curses at him.  Ben sat down on the bank of the creek and prayed.  That night, he walked to the neighbor’s house and slept there. 

Not long after Ben had crossed the creek, Andrew had returned home.  He wanted to believe that everything that had happened was not true, but he wasn’t sure what to believe.  He slept on the couch that night and dreamt.  His dreams were filled with memories of his brother.  He had several of them, but the last one was the most important.  In the dream, Andrew sat on the couch and watched the exchange between his brother and his wife.  He woke up sweating.  Though he had been confused when he had fallen asleep, nothing seemed clearer than his brother’s love and loyalty. 

It took him a few days to find his brother.  When he found him at the neighbor’s house, he begged for his forgiveness.  Ben looked at his older brother with the biggest smile and just nodded.  

Author's Note:

I chose to write about the tale of the two brother's because it really stuck out to me when I was reading about it.  I tweaked the story a little bit so that it was a modern retelling.  I did this because it is something that I could easily see played out today.  In fact, I'm sure that there a tons of pop cultures references to this kind of thing.  

Bibliographical Info:

The Two Brothers from Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).