Amazing Grace

She had always been close to her brother, and she knew he would always be there for her when she needed him most. An experiment with characters.

Fantine fell back onto her bed with her arms stretched out and stared at the ceiling. Her brother was in one of his moods again; some poor idiot must have set him off again. She hated when Matthew was like this because it always meant he would want to be left alone. While her brother preferred to be left to his own devices when he was unhappy, Fantine craved companionship, specifically his. It had always been her coping method; something she could rely on. With a heavy sigh, Fantine closed her eyes, where she could picture herself ten years ago, as an eight-year-old girl.

 

She was only a small child, but her lift had already been altered dramatically. Fantine ran to her mother, asking to play with her best friend, Kayley. Her mother explained through teary eyes that Kayley wouldn't be able to play anymore. This only angered Fantine and she stamped her foot on the kitchen tile.

 

"Why not?" she demanded.

 

"She's with God in Heaven now," her mother answered.

 

At first, Fantine had been confused. Why was Kayley in Heaven? She wasn't old like Grandma, or sick like Uncle David. She was nine and played with Fantine the day before. Her mother sat Fantine down and explained to her what had happened. Kayley and her big sister were in an accident and God took them to Heaven so they wouldn't be in pain anymore.

 

Upon hearing this, Fantine ran out of the kitchen and into her room. She slammed the door behind her hand flung herself onto her bed, sobbing heavily. Her tiny body trembled and her heart ached. Not ten minutes had passed when she heard her bedroom door open softly. Fantine turned and saw through teary eyes the neon-green hair of her fifteen-year-old brother, Matthew. He was in a 'rebellious stage', as their mother had put it. She had once heard her father say, "That boy is somewhere between raising Hell and Amazing Grace."

 

Matthew sat beside her on the bed and wordlessly lifted her onto his lap. Fantine clutched his dark blue shirt tightly in her little hands while he wrapped his arms around her in a comforting manner. For a while, they said nothing. In fact, they never spoke of Fantine's feelings until a year later, when she was finally ready.

 

Fantine opened her eyes and stared up at her ceiling again, which was still painted the color of the sky from when she was a child. She'd never painted over it because she'd wanted to a piece of her childhood to remain with her. More than anything, she wanted Matthew to help her again.

 

As if hearing her prayer, a light knock came to the bedroom door and it opened a crack. Fantine looked over and saw half of her brother's face peering in, silently requesting permission to enter. She sat up on her bed, crossing her legs, and nodded slowly. Matthew stepped into the room, carefully shutting the door behind himself, and took a seat next to her on the bed. Fantine glanced at him, giving a faint half-smile at his brown hair�"the rebellious stage had left when he was seventeen.

 

"I'm here when you're ready," Matthew murmured. Finally, Fantine let her tears fall and leaned on her brother's shoulder. She didn't know when she'd be ready, but was comforted in the knowledge that Matthew would be there when she was. He was her Amazing Grace.

Author's Note

Short, but I thought it was cute. Please review with your thoughts.

Reviews

[Axel Wright]

Yeah, definitely like it. The depiction of the brother-sister relationship in this particular time of hardship, is in fact, pretty cute.