Tommy and the Monster

Chapter Three

 Tommy was beginning to grow about Roy's absence. Why, he didn't know. They were both grown men and could take care of themselves, but this was the first time either one of them had been away for so long a time. They only had each other; there was no one else anymore.

 Wanting to keep himself busy, Tommy was almost glad to do everything himself. He cooked meals, swept floors, cleaned clothes and dishes. He even watered those stupid dead flowers Roy refused to get rid of. He was exhausted at the end of each day, and had no idea how his brother could cope with these chores every day. He wouldn't know, though, because after a few bad incidents, Roy decided it was best if Tommy spent his time doing work outside, and Tommy was usually banned from the kitchen until mealtimes.

 Though Roy had only been gone a few days, Tommy grew anxious. It was strange, wasn't it, that one of their ships should suddenly show up after two years? How many people in the city even remembered the merchants Karevik and Khan anyway? Everyone probably thought they were dead or moved to another country. What if Roy was setting himself up for trouble?

 No. He didn't want to think about anything terrible happening to his brother. Roy was the one who moved them to this house after their misfortunes. He taught himself how to cook, and how to patch and mend any torn clothes. Through everything, he has always been the more optimistic one. And it was a stupid thought, anyway. Why would anyone want to lure them back to the city after all this time?

 The only thing about Roy being gone that was possibly good was that everyone seemed relieved when Tommy came alone to the market. Tommy had many times been witness to the way his brother bargained and argued with the vendors, and he would always temporarily wander off, pretending to be interested in something else.

 Tommy was outside, trying to pull the new weeds which had sprouted, when he heard the sound of hooves and the wheels of a carriage. He looked up to see Roy coming down the road, alive and well, or at least it seemed so from a distance.

 "Roy!" Smiling, he leapt over the fence and waved. "You see? I told you I would-"

  He stopped, and his smile disappeared when the cart came to a stop, when he saw his brother's face. "Roy?"

 "Tommy." Roy looked afraid; there was no other way to describe it. His hands shook, and his eyes were widened with terror. He stumbled as he got down from the cart, and Tommy caught him.

 "Come inside." Tommy took him by the wrist, and was surprised by how cold his brother's hand felt.

 "Let me make you some tea," Tommy said, rifling through the cabinets. "You're cold, and your hands are shaking."

 "I'm not cold, Tommy," Roy said, his voice so quiet Tommy almost didn't hear it. "Something happened."

 "Is it about the ship? Was any of it true?"

 Roy groaned. "Oh, the ship. Yes, that was true. But I didn't get there in time. The letter took such a long time to get to me, and most had already assumed we were dead, so our old partners divided it up amongst themselves. We still have nothing left, and after all the faith your father had in me."

 Tommy pulled his chair over. "Is that it, then? Roy, the end of the company came two years ago. Father would have understood. You know he would've. Is that...everything that happened?"

 He shook his head. "No. I didn't have enough money to stay anywhere for the night, so I began to come straight home. It was night, and I was lost. I came upon a castle, in the forest. I didn't think anyone lived there, but there was a fireplace and food. I slept on the couch by the fireplace until morning, but I never saw anyone, not a soul. I said a thank you and began to leave.

 "But as I was leaving, I saw rosebushes, and I thought about what you had said. I should bring back flowers so no one would have to know that I murdered the ones I planted. I thought we could at least have a laugh about that. I...picked a few from the bush."

 Tommy nodded. "All right. What happened then?"

 "Someone-something grabbed me and dragged me back into the castle. It looked to be a woman, but it couldn't have been. It was more like a monster. I remember...she had me by the shoulders, saying that after she had opened up her home to me, I repaid her by stealing her flowers. And then...she saw this."

 Roy pulled something off from around his neck and held it up so Tommy could see it. It was a locket, one that Tommy had seen before. He had a memory from years ago, when he was still a child, of his mother giving it to Roy, telling him to take care of it.

 He took it from Roy's hand and opened it. Inside was a miniature portrait of their mother with a man Tommy knew to be Roy's father. He remembered another day when he was a child, and when exploring the house, he had found an old portrait of his mother and Roy's father. Roy must have been upset by it, because he remembered the older boy turning away from it and saying, "Don't show it to me again."

 On the other side of the locket, however, was a miniature of Roy and Tommy themselves. It looked to be recent, and could not have been painted more than five or six years ago.

 "What about this fascinated the monster?" Tommy asked.

 "It was you," Roy said, pointing the Tommy in the portrait. "It wants you, Tommy."