MYSTober 2024

31 vignettes based on single-word prompts. One story.

13. Brothers

"I don't want to go to church," Jacob complained to his mother.

"Look, I know you don't enjoy it, but it's our tradition. Every seven days, we go to the church."

"But why?"

"Because we've always done it. Like the Bible the priest reads from says: six days of work, one day of rest."

"It's not rest to me."

"I like it!" chimed in his brother, Simon. "The man's up there talking, and singing, and moving around on the stage... it's fun!"

"I don't like it."

"Well," his mother answered, "sometimes we have to do things we don't enjoy. It's how we keep the town going."

Simon bumped his shoulder and added, "Besides, you get all that extra time with the man – it must be so cool and fun! He seems really smart."

Jacob felt a shiver coming on at the mention of his extra time with the priest, and stood up to try and hide it. He knew he mustn't let anyone know why he didn't want to go there. "You may think it's fun, but it's not, for me."

"Why not?"

Rather than answer, Jacob turned towards his father, who was standing beside the couch and looking out the window. "Dad, can I stay home today?"

His dad leaned down to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry, little buddy, but this time is really important to your mother. We're a family, and that means doing things for each other sometimes."

Simon grabbed Jacob's wrist and pulled him to a corner of the living room. "You always do this. Why don't you ever want to go?"

"It's just... it's not what it looks like."

"Is it the extra time? Because I can do that."

"No!" He caught sight of his mother and father turning towards him in response to his outburst, and flashed them a smile to make them stay where they were. "It's not what you think it is. It's... not fun, it's boring. Just talking about Bible stuff."

"But I like the stories in the Bible. They're exciting!" Simon's smile matched his enthusiasm.

Jacob frowned, then pasted a smile on his face too. "Okay. Let's go."

MYSTober 2024

Table of Contents

13. Brothers