A Brother For A Foe

Before this time, a brother for a foe would be a terrible thing. However, in this setting, it is expected. There is no sympathy, nor fairness in fight, when a villain was once beloved. These relations are especially the worst in war. It is during this war that brothers have been pitted against one another, and their endings have never been well. For example, we see a pair of such villains: Here dwells the Jones family, upon the porch of their farm. In the rebel borders of Maryland, the summer air weighs heavy with conflict. The crops wilt from the farewell that is taking place, but are also rigid in tension. This is for the Jones brothers, in being donned in different uniforms, have taken separate sides. The young James and Elmer stand unmoved, their faces grim with hate. Their poor mother, the Lillian Jones, readies the boys with their packs. The woman sobs with all of her heart, blessing her sons to return. However, this tenderness is ignored, for the boys continue to glare.

The Miss Jones is weary from this lack of emotion, and reverts to a bitter nagging. She begs the boys to show passion, for their march to death was near. With further silence, the woman demands her devotion:

“Oh, come now, boys! Won’t ya jest shake hands? Shake hands fer all that might come!” she badgered, but this as well was met without words. Miss Jones huffed in vexation, placing her hands on her hips.

“I jest be askin’ ya to shake hands! That be all! Shake hands before y’all have to go, fer ya may never come back agin’, an you’ll never be able to say: ’I love him, that’s my dear brother!’ Not ever! That bein’ so, shake hands!” she ordered. Despite these rants, neither stirred. The boys were fixed in ire of the other, for too many things were remembered. The mother darted between each son, badgering and nagging with fury:

“Now I don’t believe this! Y’all ain’t even gonna shake yer hands? Not even for a second, here? Do ya two even hear? I tell ya, if ya two don’t shake hands right this second, you’ll regret it somehow! If y’all don’t, I’ll grab ya by the ears an make ya stay!” she threatened.

For a moment, panic traced through the eyes of the boys at this bluff, but the feeling passed. Neither brother yielded, proving in stubbornness the loyalty to their cause. Miss Jones threw up her hands in frustration, grumbling at this stance:

“Well my, Lord! Blasted, you two! So be it then if ya don’t wanna be civil! I be so worried ’bout what’s to come of my boys, but y’all still be stubborn of one ‘nother, and I’m tired of it! Y’all should just scram! Go on! Take a move before they leave without ya! Remember everythin’ I told ya ‘bout, an don’t git in any trouble! I be thinkin’ of ya all my time out here, but I mean it when I say don’t get in any trouble, an don’t forget to remember ya poor Mother, ya blessed dears! At least say’s that you’ll come home! At least say that ya do love yer Mother with all of ya heart!” she pleaded, sniffling for good measure. With this final smothering, guilt appeared upon the sons, for James rested a hand on the woman. The boy cleared his throat, making an effort to be sympathetic, yet remain a disciplined soldier:

“Don’t ya cry now, Mother. I promise I’ll be good an won’t get meddlin’ in trouble. You’ll see me come home fer sure, an in good time!” said the honorable James. In seeing how pleased the lady was with this comment, Elmer voiced an envious surpass:

“Why, I’ll come home too, Mama! I be better’n sure of that! Ya don’t need to go worry’n or think’n ’bout me ’cause I’ll be mighty fine on my own! Yes Ma’am, I can take good care of myself!” he crowed.

“Oh, how much I’ll miss you, dear boys! I think my boys be mighty brave! It breaks my heart to see ya go,” Lillian cooed. With her weeping, the mother embraced the two, sending them off with sad goodbyes. The boys, now properly men, set off down the road with their packs. In silence, the soldiers shuffled side by side. This bitterness continued until the path forked, which at the edge, the men turned and faced the other. They struggled for words of parting, and for several moments, stood in the humid dirt. In finding nothing to be said, the Jones men blinked their acknowledgements, and trudged past the other in discontent. In gray fabric, the young Elmer turned left, marching further south. In blue, the elder James marched north.

The brothers went on to strive in their armies. The experience of a soldier was common, despite their different views. In fact, it could be said that the only difference between a soldier and his opponent, is simply their loyalty. This can be seen from their younger years, where the trouble began to brew. In their youth, it was noticed how madly they quarreled, as well as their fury in play. As with night and day, the brothers disapproved of the other’s likes. It was Elmer Jones who enjoyed socializing and games, as well as harassing county Negroes. The

Brother James, who was a mature boy, looked down upon these activities. In time, the elder began to voice his distaste, and was marked a Negro-lover. There was nothing more he hated than this name. However, Elmer and his troupe loved to taunt him with it. They reveled in the misery of poor James, and the boy was made an outsider. Along with this, further events drove them apart, and these memories could not be forgotten. Their hate was too powerful, and was impossible of healing.

However, the brothers grew through war. After witnessing the barbarity of battle, they return home for a short-term leave. Weary and relieved, they trudge the roads to the farm, taking with them their wounds. These souvenirs were flaunted with pride, for they were the badges of manhood. Elmer received a bullet nick in the left shoulder, and boasted of his victory at Chancellorsville. James perished a more rotten injury- a bullet in the leg. He was nurtured by his mother with affection, as well as praised for his promotion. The now Officer James was a lieutenant. The man was happy to campaign this achievement, especially around his envious brother. Elmer was fit with this position, mainly for not having one of his own, and attempted to surpass James when possible. This was done in the work of chores and boasts. However, when this labor was complete, the rivals sat together on the porch.

After long discomfort, the two finally agreed to the naggings of Miss Jones, and tried for a conversation. The Officer James, with his leg on a pillow, faced Elmer in a cross atmosphere, for neither brother wished to speak first. It was only when the Miss Jones emerged from the kitchen, and in giving a harsh wrench on their ears, the discussion began. Elmer cleared his throat, and with a bitter sigh, the man progressed:

“How long did them doctors say ya be on crutches for?” he asked sternly. The cautious James shrugged his shoulders.

“Not long. One ter two weeks,” he replied.

“Well them doctors told me I better be careful in three weeks or more, ’cuz my shoulder got it bad,” Elmer called, looking to the kitchen for his pitying mother. Officer James rolled his eyes.

“Ya only got nicked by a bullet. It warn’t take that long,” he said.

“It will too! That Doctor Harrison said I got real lucky compared to all the other fellers, but that I got’s to rest if I wanna go back out… which I do!”

“Aw, come off it. Bullet nicks happen all the time, an I know jest ‘bout a hundred other fellers who had nicks like yourn, and they’re still out fightin’ like nothin’ ever happened,” James asserted. Elmer’s eyes blared from this judgment.

“Is that so?” he coldly inquired, “‘cuz them bullet nicks ain’t nothin’ to carry lightly. Ya gotta be real careful ’bout ‘em if ya ever’s unlucky to get one. Ya gotta be careful with everythin’ ya do, ’cuz one tough move an yer dead.”

“That ain’t true,” said the irritated James.

“Oh, yes it is! That’s what they told me!” Elmer urged, “them doctors said it right as well! They said it was just ‘bout one of the most serious things ya can get out there, an boy does it sting for a healin’!”

“Well it ain’t as worse as my leg. No way, no how!” James retorted, smirking from out-wounding his brother.

“I warn’t sayin’ it was worse than yer damn leg. I was sayin’ that a nick is jest as bad when ya think ’bout it. If it were anywhere near my brain, I’d be dead as a doornail by now,” Elmer sneered, causing his brother to frown.

“But it ain’t as bad if ya do think ‘bout it!” James countered, making the envious Elmer steam, “that entire bullet went right through me, an I felt it bad in my leg, but I kept on fightin’ ‘cuz my regiment was going to hills! Yes, I jest kept right on a fightin’, until a good man told me to get out of there since I was fightin’ too hard. Then they pulled that bullet right out of me, still in a whole darn piece, an almost cut off my leg too! Darn me, if I don’t think that as bad as a bullet nick!”

“You be full of it! If that bullet went right through ya, an if it felt as bad as it did -so as what I felt- ya would’ve stopped fightin’ and ran. Ya couldn’t keep fightin’ with somethin’ like that,” Elmer spat.

“Well fer sure you would run, but I had a duty to serve. I be an officer now, an a lieutenant’s got to stay with his men! It don’t matter how much somethin’ hurt!”

“What da ya mean that I would run?” Elmer snapped, “are ya callin’ me a coward, Brother?”

“I ain’t ever said ya a coward,” answered James, “I jest said I had a duty to serve, since I be an officer now, an that’s what’s expected of an officer. Ya just wouldn’t understand if ya weren’t an officer.”

“Why, ya think yer so great now, don’t ya!” his brother growled, “ya think yer so high an mighty now that ya too good ta run? Ya think yer too damn good ta get killed like errybody else?”

“What are you harkin’?”

“I be sayin’: ya think yer great shit now since yer a stupid lieutenant!” Elmer snarled. James’ face went red.

“It ain’t stupid, ya dolt! I’ve got responsibilities now, unlike yerself! I stood an fought like a man ’cuz it be my duty!” he retorted. Elmer scoffed in response.

“Horseshit! Ya stood an fought ’cuz ya thought ya was better’n errybody else an wanted ta prove it, jest like ya wanna prove yer better’n me! Well, horseshit if I ever heard some! I tell ya- ya ain’t better’n me! No matter what flimsy prermotion ya got, yer still not as damn good as I be!” he jeered.

“Why, ya’s still fed up on out proven’ me? Well I say- if ya want’s a squabble, you’ll get one fer sure! Ya always wanted a squabble, didn’t ya, Elm? Say that ya did!” James called.

“I ain’t ever did! It was always yer shenanigans that started it!”

“Why, can’t ya hear yerself! Yer obviously jealous of me gettin’ ta be an officer, an yer jest a dumb soldier takin’ orders from all the other fellers! Yer jest mad ’cuz ya be a damn cretin!” James taunted.

“I ain’t a damn cretin, ya fool!” Elmer returned, “and I tell ya agin: It don’t matter if ya’s got some stupid title er not! It’s only a stupid title, an jest damn words if any! I be a real soldier, an real soldiers get to fight their victories an win ‘em! Yer jest some empty lieutenant who’s got’s some papers to pack. Yer nothin’ fer that, so there ya have it!”

“Good grief, that be the stupidest thing I ever heard!” James exclaimed, “ya can’t say that a soldier higher than an officer! Do ya even understand what a lieutenant do? Course ya don’t! Ya got no idea how important it is! Yer just jealous of me fer havin’ it!”

“Shut yer mouth!” Elmer exploded, springing from his seat, “I ain’t jealous of ya, an I never were! Stop sayin’ it so!!”

“Ya always been jealous, ya halfwit! Ya always been jealous ’o me ’cuz yer so stupid!” James shouted back. Elmer began to roar:

“I SAID YA STOP ’CALLIN ME JEALOUS! I ain’t ever been jealous of ya- don’t ya listen? Not then, not now, not ever! I ain’t got a good reason ta be, since yer such a halfwit yerself!”

“I ain’t a halfwit! And if ya ain’t jealous, then why do ya keep talkin’ ’bout my promotion, ya dunce?”

“I told ya I ain’t jealous of that! And if anybody be a halfwit, it be yer damn self! Ya think yer so great, but ya never really was! Ya ain’t even a real officer if ya ain’t fightin’ fer the right side, which ya ain’t! All ya be is a damn traitor!” Elmer cried. James narrowed his eyes at this deep-worded wound, frustrated in his seat.

“I ain’t a traitor!” he called, “if there be any traitors here, it be the rest of y’all!”

“Horseshit agin’!” Elmer blared, “ya be such a damn hypocrite fer sayin’ that! Yer a traitor fer leavin’ yer place in this new cuntry, and yer angry at me ‘cuz I’m callin’ ya on it!”

“This ain’t my rightful country! It never damn fitted me so, more ’cuz it be the wrong place in this world! Y’all be wronged by the Lord, and I choose ta have no part of it!”

“How dare ya say that? This be the right side, goddamn it, an rightful by the Lord too! I should go tell Mama what ya jest said since she’ll slap ya fer sayin’ it warn’t!” Elmer threatened.

“Fine, then! Go an git Mother jest like the crybaby ya are! And what a damn crybaby yer bein’ now since yer such a jealous, dimwitted, Confederate!” taunted James.

“Damn yerself, ya damn Yankee! Ya got nothin’ ta be proud of! We hate all of ya down here! YER DAMN HATED!” Elmer roared back.

“Good then, ’cuz I hate y’all too! I ain’t choose ta been born here with all ya slow an stupid southerners!” James retorted.

“WHY DON’T YA JEST GIT OUTTA HERE THEN!” Elmer cried, “git outta here if nobody want ya! Git outta here ’cuz errybody hates yer Yankee guts! Nobody wants a Negro-lover!”

“What did ya call me?” James growled, glaring in fury.

“I said: Yer a damn Negro-lover!” Elmer taunted.

“You sonuvabitch!” James called, “don’t ya dare tell that name ta me!”

“I’ll say it all I wanna! Ya damn, dirty, Negro-lover! Yer a traitor since yer such a Negro-lover! Traitor!” Elmer repeated.

“Lord, I wish I coulda seen that bullet nick ya in the shoulder, ya sonuvabitch!”

“An I wish I coulda seen that bullet go right through ya! I wish I coulda seen ya run fer the hills like the liar ya are sayin’ ya didn’t! Negro-lover!”

“I WISH I COULDA SEEN YA DEAD!” exploded James, “I wish ya were dead an done so ya’d stop bein’ jealous of me!”

“I AIN’T JEALOUS!” Elmer yelled, stamping his foot, “AN I WISH YA WERE MIGHTY DEAD TOO YA DAMN NEGRO-LOVER!”

“But ya are jealous, an ya prove it with how red ya are! Look at yerself, here! Yer red in the face and rowlin’ up a storm since yer so jealous of me! Ya dirty, jealous, Confederate!” James mocked.

“SHUT YER MOUTH!”

“I DON’T HAVE TO! I can say yer jealous all I want ’cuz it be the damn truth! Jealous! Ya were always jealous o’ me!”

“I SAID SHUT IT!” Elmer raged.

“JEALOUS!” James shouted back, making Elmer reach for his belt.

“I’M WARNIN’ YA, JAMES! STOP IT!” he yelled, as the man unlaced his pistol.

“ER WHAT?” his brother taunted, eyeing the gun, “yer gonna shoot me? Yer gonna make me dead jest like ya wish? Go ahead, ’cuz I know ya won’t!”

“I WILL TOO IF YA DON’T STOP!” Elmer threatened.

“BUT I KNOW YA WON’T! Yer a coward!”

“I AIN’T A COWARD!” Elmer answered, aiming the pistol.

“YA ALWAYS BEEN A COWARD! YA FER SURE WERE ONE WHEN YA RAN FER THE HILLS FROM ONLY A BULLET NICK! COWARD!” James shouted.

“STOP IT!”

“I WON’T! Yer a jealous coward, and I know ya won’t do it! I know ya won’t pull that trigger ’cuz yer afraid! Like I said, COWARD!”

“I DARE YA TA SAY IT AGIN’ AN I’LL DO IT!” Elmer wailed, trembling with the trigger.

“Then do it! Do it, I say!” James urged.

“IF YA SAY IT AGIN’, I WILL!”

“NO YA WON’T! No ya won’t, since yer such a damn, stupid, jealous, coward an-”

“BANG!”

At this sudden shot, the bullet flew from it’s barreled home. It went straight through the brain of Officer James, who with a last expression of shock, fell back from his seat to the ground. Elmer conquered over him, as blood spilled and reeked. He was now a vicious killer, and fixed in realization. With terrible regret, he was the murderer who ruined this scene. It was for pride that made him horrible, and disband the love of his brother. Fear then overtook the man, for he saw his future punishment: For this sin, the people would send him to the rope, banishing him to Hell! In an eternal opposite, he would suffer while his good brother was in peace. With this in mind, the frantic Elmer took to the floor. He gathered his victim, contemplating how the corpse should be hid, and how to snuff the crime away. His hands flew over the body, hoisting the heap by the straps. In deserved timing, Miss Jones emerged to the scene.

Having been far out in the fields, the woman heard the shouts from the porch, and knew her sons were quarrelling again. In grumbling heed, the woman labored to these roars, until hearing a loud hit. As if the bang of a racket, the sound frightened her heart, for immediately afterwards, the quarrel had ceased. In motherly worries, she rushed to the house and found the tragedy: Her lovely officer son, lying in his blood- being dragged by her other born murderer. The Miss Jones cried out in hysterical screams, collapsing to the floor. With this reaction, Elmer dropped his brother and fled to his mother. The killer pleaded to calm her suffering, for it was concerned the neighbors would hear:

“Oh, Mama! Please, oh please, Mama, do be fair with this happenin’! Oh please, let me say what I need to say!” he begged, as the woman choked on her sobs. The lady trembled in fury, unable to reply with her mourning. Elmer continued to coax:

“Oh, Mama! I be so sorry! I be so sorry fer what I did! Please, Mama, please! I need yer help! I need ya to help me er they’ll hang me fer what I did!” he cried, but to these selfish words, the mother released no pity. Miss Jones glared at her cursed son, her eyes reflecting ire. She rose in rage, unleashing a wicked slap across Elmer’s cheeks. She then beat the villain with harsh blows, relentlessly pummeling. When the blood drained from her face, an anguished shout escaped:

“IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU! YOU TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, BOY!” she cried, and slapped the son once more. In agony, the woman fled from her evil spawn. Away from the dreaded house, she ran to the fields. She came upon the farm shed, as well as a tall oak tree. In blinded woe, she entered the shed and emerged with rope. After tying a harness, the cord was swung around a branch. From the support of a stone, the woman ascended the rock and donned the loop, taking a leap of heartache. In moments of struggling, the lady was soon no more.

Meanwhile, Elmer recovered from his battering. Unaware of the other murder he had just committed, the man continued to bury his brother. The body was dragged away, deposited into a hole, and shoveled in good riddance. The blood was not bothered to be cleansed, for the man was anxious to flee. He mounted a steed and rode with haste- never to return. He considered his justice would be avoided, determining fate with the speed of his horse. However, fate will judge all sinful acts. This soul will be sentenced in time, especially with cruelty. Dear Elmer Jones, your end will deservedly come, for thou hast made a brother thy foe.

THE END