Fairy+Tale

** A Dark Tale of Sibling Rivalry ** Sibling rivalry. It was the core of the relationship between Parker and Peter. Though Parker was two years older than Peter, he was deeply jealous of his younger brother. Peter got everything that he wanted: the most expensive games, a new iPhone, a laptop, and a new car when he turned sixteen. Parker had to work extremely hard for everything that he received. In Parker’s mind, Peter was the son that his parents loved. He was the favored one, the perfect one. Parker was the son that struggled. In fact, he had had a job since he was fourteen years old. Peter hadn’t worked a day in his life. As the siblings grew older, the jealously grew even deeper. He often wished that Peter was no longer the younger brother, though he would never let his feelings show; otherwise he would be humiliated and defeated. What Parker didn’t realize was that the moment he decided to bury his jealousy deep within his soul, it began to grow … very slowly. As the brothers grew older, the rift between them grew wider. Soon they were barely speaking to each other, and Parker was still extremely jealous of Peter. However, he never talked about it. He watched scornfully as his younger brother received everything in life that Parker had ever wanted: the perfect wife, the perfect children, the perfect career, the perfect life. The jealousy inside of him continued to grow. While Peter’s life continued to grow in success, Parker’s life was plagued with failure and despair. He had lost his job, his wife left him and he had gone bankrupt. One stormy night, Parker stared out the window, watching the rain drip down his window pane. He saw everything that he lost, every mistake that he had made over the years reflected in the falling rain. He thought about where his life was at the moment, and rage consumed his soul and ignited the growing jealousy within him. He grabbed a vase resting on a table close to him; a vase that was a handcrafted gift by Peter. With all of his strength, he threw the vase at the rain, at all his mistakes, and completely shattered the window. A cold wind rushed into the house and knocked Parker off of his feet. He landed with a thud among the shattered glass and scattered rain drops, hitting his head. The real world swirled and swam around him as he drifted off into a completely different reality. When he opened his eyes, Parker was standing in the front yard of his childhood home. He recognized it immediately by the ornate green trim around the front door and windows. A cold breeze blew through his hair. The leaves were exploding with autumn color. A swell of reminiscence filled Parker as he surveyed the house. He took a step forward but stopped dead in his tracks as a little boy sprinted out of the house followed by a slightly bigger boy. Parker immediately recognized them as Peter and himself but much younger. “Do you recognize this day?” Parker jumped at the sudden sound of a low, raspy voice. He quickly swung around to see a mirror image of himself except darker. The hair was jet black, and dark patches circled his eyes. He wore the exact same clothing as Parker was except the colors were muted somehow. Parker stepped back slowly. “Who are you? What’s going on?” There was a quiver in Parker’s voice. “Just continue watching,” the reflective Parker said, pointing his bony fingers back to the house. Parker turned back to see his mom, full of a long-forgotten youth and vitality, run out of the house with a brightly wrapped gift in her hand. The two brothers got up from the lawn and ran over to their mother, shouting with a glee Parker hadn’t heard in years. His mother knelt down and gave Peter the wrapped gift. The young Parker stepped back in disbelief and disappointment as Peter ripped open the package. With a triumphant squeal, Peter held up an action figure like a trophy. Young Parker’s stomach dropped. It was exactly the action figure that he had wanted and asked his parents for months. He sank to his knees, his eyes tearing up and a rage overcoming his soul. “That’s when I was born,” smiled the reflective Parker. Parker’s mouth dropped. He suddenly recognized the feeling that had been surrounding him since he noticed his shadowy self. “You’re…. you’re….” “That’s right. I’m Jealousy.” He spoke this was a surprising spring in his step, a kind of cheer that Parker didn’t expect at all. It was as if Jealousy was enjoying the pain that reliving this moment was for Parker. “What’s going on,” questioned Parker with a little more vigor and frustration in his tone. A smile crept across Jealousy’s face. “Well I had to reward you. You finally decided to let your emotions out. In essence, you set //me// free.” “How did I do that?” “By destroying that stupid vase and finally releasing your anger,” said Jealousy as he skipped in joyous glee around Parker. His actions were almost child-like. “So this is my reward? To relive the first moment my brother angered me?” Parker’s voice was now filling with anger. “Of course not,” Jealousy whispered in his ear. “I just had to make you understand where I came from.” Parker grabbed jealously by the arms and pulled him closer. “What’s really going on? WHO ARE YOU?” “I’m you of course – just a different side of you.” Anger erupted from Parker’s lips. “No you’re not. This is completely unbelievable. What’s going on?” Jealousy sighed and dropped his head forward in frustration. A blinding light flashed and suddenly a little imp stood where the reflective Parker’s once stood. He was draped in a tiny black cloak with dark purple trim. “Fine. I’m not quite you, but close to it.” A fire burned in his eyes. “I am Jealousy though. Whenever I see some kind of wrong doing being done, I grow inside that person until they can finally release me. I teach people to express their anger then reward them for finally letting out the hate that has been growing inside them. It’s why I exist.” With a bit of skepticism, Parker took a step towards the imp. “A reward? Is this for real? Am I dreaming?” The imp burst into laughter that shook the reality around Parker. “Of course this isn’t a dream, but it’s not quite your world either,” he said cryptically. He began to dance around joyously. Parker watched the imp dance, pondering the situation. After a moment, Parker’s eyes widened in realization. “So what’s my reward,” he asked with a slight grin. Jealousy stopped dancing immediately, and with an evil smile that revealed crooked teeth, he turned his head very slowly to Parker. “Why, your heart’s desire of course.” “And what do you get out of it?” “The satisfaction of knowing I helped another human being.” There was a long pause. “To me, it’s all about taking away the source of your pain.” “My source is this damned jealousy.” Parker thought about this for a moment and figured that this was just a dream. “Fine,” he said with a certainty. “I want everything that my brother has. I want to have the perfect life. I want to be the younger brother.” “Perfect,” Jealousy said with a low, dark chuckle. He waved his hand and suddenly Parker was back on the floor of his house, surrounded by broken glass. Rain pounded on his face. He slowly stood up, rubbing the back of his head. //What a weird dream//, he thought as he looked out the broken window. It was still storming out. Just as lightning flashed, he thought he saw the small imp outside in the distance. He could just barely make out the crooked teeth. But then by the next flash, the figure was gone. He also made out a strange car in the driveway. It was a rather large, black, expensive SUV. //Oh man, the government’s come to take something else from me!// He quickly backed up and almost tripped on a large branch on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. He also looked around and outside but couldn’t see one piece of Peter’s prized vase. Not thinking much of it, he turned his attention back to the foreign car in the driveway Just as he was about to reach the front door, he heard thumping upstairs. It crept around the ceiling until two little children bounded down the stairs. “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy,” they screamed as they both hugged Parker’s legs. One of the little boys peered up. “We heard a crash daddy, and it scared us.” Parker was completely awe struck. His body was frozen in surprise and confusion. Before he even had a chance to comprehend what was going on, a beautiful woman descended the stairs in a nightgown, rubbing her eyes. “Parker? Parker? What happened? What are you still doing up,” she asked as one of the boys ran to her. Parker was speechless. He looked down in his hand and saw the branch. “Uh….Uh… a branch had broken the window and I came down to clean it up.” “Well don’t stay down to long,” she said with a sweet grin. “Come on Parker and Porter. Back to bed.” With simultaneous groans, the twins sulked back upstairs to bed, followed by their mother. The memory of the small imp flooded back into Parker’s mind. //Oh my God! It’s all for real.// He let out a laugh. It was his first true laugh in what he felt like was for years. He twirled around the room with boyish glee and contentment. Everything that he ever wanted was now his. He was finally happy. His wife came back downstairs. “Parker, what is it? Why are you laughing?” Her voice was so sweet and kind. Parker thought for a moment, confused about what to tell his wife. Suddenly a flash of memory exploded in his mind. “What’s going on with Peter?” “Peter?” Her facial expression was very odd and confused. “You mean your brother?” “Yes, Peter, my brother. What’s he up to now,” Parker asked with a sense of urgency. His wife walked over to him and felt his head. “Are you feeling ok? You look a little flustered. You must have hit your head harder than you thought.” He grabbed her hands and asked again, “Where’s Peter?” She looked down for a moment. There was an awkward moment of silence. When she looked back up, tears filled her eyes. “Parker… Peter’s been dead for almost twenty years. You remember? He was hit by that car when you guys were playing outside. Your mother came out to give you a present and he ran away crying. He didn’t see the car before it was too late.” Parker’s stomach dropped and his head swirled. Disbelief and pain rushed into his body and he crumpled to the floor. Tears streamed out of his eyes; his happiness shattered. The imp’s words suddenly rang true; //it’s all about taking away the source of your pain.// By taking away his brother, Parker was now truly the youngest son. He could just barely hear the sinister laugh of the imp in the far reaches of his mind. Parker had never even dreamed the devilish creature would take away his only brother. Jealousy truly had consumed his soul and destroyed his life. Parker lived the rest of his days in complete grief and despair, never to have had a true happy moment again.
 * A Tale of Two Brothers: **