Fiction: The Chosen One
Two brothers sat at the table. They both knew what they had to decide, but neither wanted to make the decision let alone go along with the unsaid plan. Only one of them could go on to school. Only one. The other had to stay behind and help his brother pay. One would live everyday with textbooks, quizzes, and examinations; the other with hard-work, no lunch breaks, and only live meagerly off his salary while sending the rest to the other brother.
They both knew what each consequence entailed. When one brother finished his education, he would work to put the other through college. But who would be first, who would make the first sacrifice?
Roger spoke first: "We should just flip a coin. Neither of us can make this decision on his own." Scott nodded in agreement, and with a brief pause he got up and went to his room. A minute later he came back with the shiniest coin either of them had seen. Roger nodded in agreement to the symbolism of using a new coin. Scott showed a side to Roger and said, "Heads, you go to school and I'll pay. Tails, I go to school and you pay." And without waiting for confirmation or agreement he flipped the coin in the air and let it fall on the table. It spun wildly on its edge. The coin slowly started to wobble and within a few breathless seconds it fell flat. Both brothers looked at the coin. Heads. Scott look at Roger and with conviction announced: "Well, Doctor Larsen; it seems you have to start studying now." With that he pulled out of his pocket all the money he had, $1.32, and left the room. There was no anger in his voice or emotion, just pure conviction.
The next morning Roger picked up an application to the local community college while Scott submitted an application to the local factory. Even before Roger got accepted to attend Scott was giving him nearly his entire paycheck. "You do need books, you know?" he said with a smile.
The years had passed. The first four years Roger took biology courses and graduated top of his class; in the meantime Scott worked sixty-plus hours a week at the factory. Every two weeks Roger would receive in the mail Scott's entire paycheck, minus what Scott needed to live on. Throughout their ordeal Roger wrote letters to his brother explaining what college life was like, how much studying needed to be done and even a few biological terms and definition "so you'll be ahead of the class when you go". Throughout the four years of undergraduate study the two brothers only met once. It was after Roger's first year in school and he went to see Scott at the factory.
He saw Scott drenched in sweat, his clothes stained in grease, and his eyes blood-shot from lack of sleep. His tired look instantly, and sincerely, disappeared the moment he saw Roger and they shook hands, so as not to make dirty Roger's school uniform. Roger could not see his brother like that and never came back to see him again.
When Roger explained in a letter that he now graduated with honors and was accepted to medical school, only hesitantly did he say that it was more expensive and the money he was receiving wasn't enough to pay for the tuition. Within a month Scott wrote back, with nearly twice as much money included in the envelope, with the explanation "I found a better job that pays more." It took two years before Roger realized that the "better job" was as a coal miner, doing the most dangerous part of dealing with explosives. With the risk came additional pay, enough to send his brother to medical school.
For five years he worked the mines while his brother worked the books. For five years he fought death everyday so his brother could learn how to fight it properly. For five years he sacrificed so his brother wouldn't. It was near the completion of those five years that Roger wrote the words Scott had waited to hear. Roger mailed the note on Tuesday.
--
My Dearest Brother,
My examinations have been completed and next week Thursday is graduation. I would love for you to attend so we can celebrate together. You have worked too hard for too long and I promise it is now my turn to repay the debt.
Sincerely Yours,
Soon-to-be-Dr. Roger Larsen
--
On Wednesday morning Roger received a call:
"Mr. Larsen?"
"Yes."
"This is Mr. Alof, the foreman for the mines you brother Scott has been working with."
"Yes."
"There has been an accident, an explosion. Scott is alive, but I'm afraid he doesn't have much longer to live. He wanted me to call you to see if you can come down."
"Of course, I'll be there immediately."
For the next week Roger sat next to his brother at the hospital. The explosion had shattered his leg beyond repair and had to be amputated. His entire body was cut, bruised, and burned. Scott could not move, or even talk without agonizing pain. His eyes followed the people in his room and Roger could tell the smile in his eyes when he first arrived.
The following Thursday the pain was too much to bare and Scott passed away. Walking to the mines Roger realized that today was his graduation and that Scott did indeed live to see it. A smile of small satisfaction shown on his face.
Roger looked into his brother's room. The room was not much bigger then the bed it contained. Looking around the room he realized how much his brother had sacrificed. The only furniture that was in the room, other then the bed itself, was a small table. The table lay on the other side of the room by the foot of the bed. It was too small to eat on or even to use to write. The only purpose Roger could see that it had was to keep Scott's entire wardrobe - two pairs of clothes off the floor. Roger walked the few feet to the end of the bed, the entire length of the room, and just as he was to turn around to walk back he noticed a small box under the table. The box was old, dusty, and most likely was the shoebox for the only pair of shoes that Scott seemed to own. He reached down to pick up the box, and with it in his hands he sat at the edge of the bed.
He wiped the dust off the top of the box and opened it.
The only possessions Scott seemed to own were two pairs of clothes, a pair of shoes, a bed, a table too small to use, and the contents of a dusty shoebox. Inside Roger gazed at the letters he had written his brother throughout the years. Each one was there, every single letter. They were opened, had been read, and then put back in the envelope to be saved. He read the top most letter, the latest, dated some months ago, explaining how examinations were coming up and soon everything will be over with. Scott never received his most recent letter of graduation and the promise he made. Roger flipped through each envelope in turn, turning back the pages of time. Letters he wrote while working in Hospitals, while studying for Medical School, upon completion of Undergraduate studies, and even his first week as a freshman. Beneath the first letter, dated ten years earlier, he saw a sliver of light. He moved the letters onto the bed and held the shoebox with both hands. The only thing the box contained now was a silver coin.
Roger placed the box next to the letters on the bed and pick up the coin with every delicate motion he could master. Memories flashed through his mind, his brother saying ten years before: "Heads, you go to school and I'll pay. Tails, I go to school and you pay." He imagined the flip of the coin through the air in slow motion. The coin going so slowly that it seemed that it itself did not want to decide for them. The sudden thud the coin had when it hit the table and the perpetual spinning it had before it finally landed. Heads. He briefly smiled at the recollection it was him that had won, that would become a doctor first. He glanced down at the coin his brother had saved. He understood that had the coin made half a flip more it would have been Scott sitting here. It would have been Scott writing letters to him telling him about medical school and the studies he had done. It would have been Scott to send Roger an invitation to graduation. It would have been Scott who became the doctor, while Roger laid in the hospital. It would have been Scott.
He rubbed the coin with his thumb and index finger and flipped the coin the half-flip it needed to change everything. To reverse the rolls. He held onto the coin just long enough to realize everything before he dropped it to the ground. His life shattered before him at what he saw, not so much as what he saw but what it meant. There laid on the floor was the coin heads side up. It would always have landed heads side up. Both sides were heads. Hours seemed to pass like minutes. Every memory he had of the past ten years individually ran through his mind. He replayed every laugh he had made in past ten years, every drink he had with a friend, every paper he submitted, the acceptance letter he received to medical school. For hours he relived his life, and the life his brother never had, while staring at the coin that laid on the ground. Heads.
He did not know how long he was there, or how long he would have been there, if it wasn't for a knock on the door. Mr. Alof, the foreman for the mines, stood by the door. Roger turned to look.
"Mr. Larsen."
"Doctor…" He did not know why he said it. It was the first time he had corrected someone, and he knew with that correction it would be the first time someone would call him doctor. Within the brief second before Mr. Alof responded Roger gave a half-smile. There was nowhere else in the world he would rather be the first time he was called Doctor then in the small room of his brother.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Dr. Larsen. this letter came today for your brother. I thought you might like to have it." With that he held out his hand containing an envelope. It was the last letter Roger had written to his brother. The last one Scott never read.
"Thank you." He took the letter and went back to staring at the coin on the floor.
"Your bother was a good man. A hard worker. He was family to all of us." No response came from Roger. The foreman left and Roger just sat there.
The next day was Scott's funeral. The mine closed for the day and all the miners came to the funeral. Each miner had sacrificed a week's wage to pay for the funeral. The casket was the best wood they could find with the money they had. Out of respect, Scott laid in the better of the two pairs of clothes he owned. No suit or formal attire would ever touch his skin, as none ever had. He worked hard his whole life and hard work was all he knew. Roger came up to the casket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter Scott never read. Standing in front of the casket he opened the envelope and read the letter to his brother. He then paused and read the last line again, with great solemnity: "You have worked too hard for too long and I promise it is now my turn to repay the debt." A lone tear rolled down his cheek as he folded the letter back up, put it in the envelope, and placed the envelope in the casket on his brother's side. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the coin. Taking great care he unfolded his brothers arms and placed the coin between the two hands. "It's tails, now". He turned away from the casket and walked to the guests sitting. Upon reaching Mr. Alof he gave him a piece of paper and continued on his way. It wasn't until after the service did Mr. Alof open the folded paper and read the promissory note from a Dr. Roger Larson to be the sole doctor at the mines, without pay, indefinitely.
-Mike Sheppard
They both knew what each consequence entailed. When one brother finished his education, he would work to put the other through college. But who would be first, who would make the first sacrifice?
Roger spoke first: "We should just flip a coin. Neither of us can make this decision on his own." Scott nodded in agreement, and with a brief pause he got up and went to his room. A minute later he came back with the shiniest coin either of them had seen. Roger nodded in agreement to the symbolism of using a new coin. Scott showed a side to Roger and said, "Heads, you go to school and I'll pay. Tails, I go to school and you pay." And without waiting for confirmation or agreement he flipped the coin in the air and let it fall on the table. It spun wildly on its edge. The coin slowly started to wobble and within a few breathless seconds it fell flat. Both brothers looked at the coin. Heads. Scott look at Roger and with conviction announced: "Well, Doctor Larsen; it seems you have to start studying now." With that he pulled out of his pocket all the money he had, $1.32, and left the room. There was no anger in his voice or emotion, just pure conviction.
The next morning Roger picked up an application to the local community college while Scott submitted an application to the local factory. Even before Roger got accepted to attend Scott was giving him nearly his entire paycheck. "You do need books, you know?" he said with a smile.
The years had passed. The first four years Roger took biology courses and graduated top of his class; in the meantime Scott worked sixty-plus hours a week at the factory. Every two weeks Roger would receive in the mail Scott's entire paycheck, minus what Scott needed to live on. Throughout their ordeal Roger wrote letters to his brother explaining what college life was like, how much studying needed to be done and even a few biological terms and definition "so you'll be ahead of the class when you go". Throughout the four years of undergraduate study the two brothers only met once. It was after Roger's first year in school and he went to see Scott at the factory.
He saw Scott drenched in sweat, his clothes stained in grease, and his eyes blood-shot from lack of sleep. His tired look instantly, and sincerely, disappeared the moment he saw Roger and they shook hands, so as not to make dirty Roger's school uniform. Roger could not see his brother like that and never came back to see him again.
When Roger explained in a letter that he now graduated with honors and was accepted to medical school, only hesitantly did he say that it was more expensive and the money he was receiving wasn't enough to pay for the tuition. Within a month Scott wrote back, with nearly twice as much money included in the envelope, with the explanation "I found a better job that pays more." It took two years before Roger realized that the "better job" was as a coal miner, doing the most dangerous part of dealing with explosives. With the risk came additional pay, enough to send his brother to medical school.
For five years he worked the mines while his brother worked the books. For five years he fought death everyday so his brother could learn how to fight it properly. For five years he sacrificed so his brother wouldn't. It was near the completion of those five years that Roger wrote the words Scott had waited to hear. Roger mailed the note on Tuesday.
--
My Dearest Brother,
My examinations have been completed and next week Thursday is graduation. I would love for you to attend so we can celebrate together. You have worked too hard for too long and I promise it is now my turn to repay the debt.
Sincerely Yours,
Soon-to-be-Dr. Roger Larsen
--
On Wednesday morning Roger received a call:
"Mr. Larsen?"
"Yes."
"This is Mr. Alof, the foreman for the mines you brother Scott has been working with."
"Yes."
"There has been an accident, an explosion. Scott is alive, but I'm afraid he doesn't have much longer to live. He wanted me to call you to see if you can come down."
"Of course, I'll be there immediately."
For the next week Roger sat next to his brother at the hospital. The explosion had shattered his leg beyond repair and had to be amputated. His entire body was cut, bruised, and burned. Scott could not move, or even talk without agonizing pain. His eyes followed the people in his room and Roger could tell the smile in his eyes when he first arrived.
The following Thursday the pain was too much to bare and Scott passed away. Walking to the mines Roger realized that today was his graduation and that Scott did indeed live to see it. A smile of small satisfaction shown on his face.
Roger looked into his brother's room. The room was not much bigger then the bed it contained. Looking around the room he realized how much his brother had sacrificed. The only furniture that was in the room, other then the bed itself, was a small table. The table lay on the other side of the room by the foot of the bed. It was too small to eat on or even to use to write. The only purpose Roger could see that it had was to keep Scott's entire wardrobe - two pairs of clothes off the floor. Roger walked the few feet to the end of the bed, the entire length of the room, and just as he was to turn around to walk back he noticed a small box under the table. The box was old, dusty, and most likely was the shoebox for the only pair of shoes that Scott seemed to own. He reached down to pick up the box, and with it in his hands he sat at the edge of the bed.
He wiped the dust off the top of the box and opened it.
The only possessions Scott seemed to own were two pairs of clothes, a pair of shoes, a bed, a table too small to use, and the contents of a dusty shoebox. Inside Roger gazed at the letters he had written his brother throughout the years. Each one was there, every single letter. They were opened, had been read, and then put back in the envelope to be saved. He read the top most letter, the latest, dated some months ago, explaining how examinations were coming up and soon everything will be over with. Scott never received his most recent letter of graduation and the promise he made. Roger flipped through each envelope in turn, turning back the pages of time. Letters he wrote while working in Hospitals, while studying for Medical School, upon completion of Undergraduate studies, and even his first week as a freshman. Beneath the first letter, dated ten years earlier, he saw a sliver of light. He moved the letters onto the bed and held the shoebox with both hands. The only thing the box contained now was a silver coin.
Roger placed the box next to the letters on the bed and pick up the coin with every delicate motion he could master. Memories flashed through his mind, his brother saying ten years before: "Heads, you go to school and I'll pay. Tails, I go to school and you pay." He imagined the flip of the coin through the air in slow motion. The coin going so slowly that it seemed that it itself did not want to decide for them. The sudden thud the coin had when it hit the table and the perpetual spinning it had before it finally landed. Heads. He briefly smiled at the recollection it was him that had won, that would become a doctor first. He glanced down at the coin his brother had saved. He understood that had the coin made half a flip more it would have been Scott sitting here. It would have been Scott writing letters to him telling him about medical school and the studies he had done. It would have been Scott to send Roger an invitation to graduation. It would have been Scott who became the doctor, while Roger laid in the hospital. It would have been Scott.
He rubbed the coin with his thumb and index finger and flipped the coin the half-flip it needed to change everything. To reverse the rolls. He held onto the coin just long enough to realize everything before he dropped it to the ground. His life shattered before him at what he saw, not so much as what he saw but what it meant. There laid on the floor was the coin heads side up. It would always have landed heads side up. Both sides were heads. Hours seemed to pass like minutes. Every memory he had of the past ten years individually ran through his mind. He replayed every laugh he had made in past ten years, every drink he had with a friend, every paper he submitted, the acceptance letter he received to medical school. For hours he relived his life, and the life his brother never had, while staring at the coin that laid on the ground. Heads.
He did not know how long he was there, or how long he would have been there, if it wasn't for a knock on the door. Mr. Alof, the foreman for the mines, stood by the door. Roger turned to look.
"Mr. Larsen."
"Doctor…" He did not know why he said it. It was the first time he had corrected someone, and he knew with that correction it would be the first time someone would call him doctor. Within the brief second before Mr. Alof responded Roger gave a half-smile. There was nowhere else in the world he would rather be the first time he was called Doctor then in the small room of his brother.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Dr. Larsen. this letter came today for your brother. I thought you might like to have it." With that he held out his hand containing an envelope. It was the last letter Roger had written to his brother. The last one Scott never read.
"Thank you." He took the letter and went back to staring at the coin on the floor.
"Your bother was a good man. A hard worker. He was family to all of us." No response came from Roger. The foreman left and Roger just sat there.
The next day was Scott's funeral. The mine closed for the day and all the miners came to the funeral. Each miner had sacrificed a week's wage to pay for the funeral. The casket was the best wood they could find with the money they had. Out of respect, Scott laid in the better of the two pairs of clothes he owned. No suit or formal attire would ever touch his skin, as none ever had. He worked hard his whole life and hard work was all he knew. Roger came up to the casket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter Scott never read. Standing in front of the casket he opened the envelope and read the letter to his brother. He then paused and read the last line again, with great solemnity: "You have worked too hard for too long and I promise it is now my turn to repay the debt." A lone tear rolled down his cheek as he folded the letter back up, put it in the envelope, and placed the envelope in the casket on his brother's side. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the coin. Taking great care he unfolded his brothers arms and placed the coin between the two hands. "It's tails, now". He turned away from the casket and walked to the guests sitting. Upon reaching Mr. Alof he gave him a piece of paper and continued on his way. It wasn't until after the service did Mr. Alof open the folded paper and read the promissory note from a Dr. Roger Larson to be the sole doctor at the mines, without pay, indefinitely.
-Mike Sheppard
posted by Mike | 6:51 PM
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