Promise

Having returned to their search for the old man, the three of them entered a secluded forest located near the perimeter of the town.

With the help of a map they’d collected from one of the town’s merchants, they navigated through the brush.

“You know the way, right?” Brauch questioned his father.

“Oh, of course. Of course.” Straits reassured him with a wave.

With that, they continued for a little while longer until eventually stumbling across a fork in the road; separating in two completely different directions.

Puzzled, Straits inspected the map again, rotated it several times, and then turned back to his two sons, proclaiming, "The map doesn’t go this far. So, we’re officially lost now.”

“I knew it.” Brauch muttered, to which Straits put a finger to the older boy’s lips. “Shh. Shh. Shh. Don’t worry, young one. Daddy’s got a solution.” He said, before fishing something out of his pocket.

Bewildered, Brauch and Than then watched as their 7-foot behemoth of a father calculated their next move with the flip of a coin.

“Gotcha!”

He opened his palm. “Tails!” He exclaimed. “We go left from here on out, boys.”

With a hopeless look in his eyes, Brauch pulled on the cart and began trailing behind his father once more. 

“This is going to take a while.” He grumbled.

******

“This is it.” Straits announced as they stood in front of a worn-down little house; sandwiched on both sides by a grove of slightly overhanging trees.

With lumbered shoulders, Straits approached the door, took a deep breath, and knocked on its moldy suface.

A brief silence followed, before eventually the sounds of crashing furniture began to emerge from within the shack's interior.

With a thunderous clap, the door swung open.

Swinging a small lamp back an forth, an old man, with an eyepatch covering his right eye, stepped outside and began to scream. “I told ya already! I don’t do taxe-” He paused, noticing the three individuals waiting at his doorstep.

“Well, I’ll be.” He angrily muttered “What the hell are ya doing here?”

Straits hesitated for a moment, before opening his mouth to speak. “I … I uh … I came here to deliver you the kids.” He mumbled under his breath.

Uttering those words, the atmosphere around the quartet suddenly turned sour.

“"What?!”” Brauch and the older gentleman exclaimed in unison.

“Listen, Brauch.” Straits tried to speak. However, before he could get a proper word in, the frustrated boy shook him off. “I knew it! Mom died and now you're trying to get rid of us!”

Than listened-in. Suddenly the lack of a motherly figure in this new incarnation made sense.

"It's not what you think.”

“No! I don’t want my younger brother to grow up isolated! If you don’t want me, then at least take him with you!” Brauch pleaded.

Straits sighed, before dropping to his son's eye-level. “Please, hear me out, son. I love you, and I’m not abandoning you. I’m leaving you in the care of someone that I trust.” He reassured him.

“What’s the difference?! You still won’t be here!” Tears began welling up in Bruach’s eyes.

“It’s okay. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.” Straits desperately tried to comfort him.

“I believe I also deserve an explanation.” The old man interjected, to which Straits harshly whispered “Not now, father!”

Turning his attention back to Brauch, Straits elaborated. “Look, son. Perhaps this is a decision that I will come to regret in the future, but I can't afford to do that right now. I have certain duties that might potentially put you and your brother in danger. So please, stay with your grandfather for the moment. I promise you, I will be back. So be tough boys, okay?”

After hearing his father's explanation, Brauch calmed down somewhat but maintained a tired expression on his face.

With that, Straits returned his attention to the older man. “Hey! Dad. Been a while, huh?" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Should’ve been longer.” the old man muttered.

Even though Than was only related to these people by blood, he was mentally old enough to recognize a cruel tension when he saw it.

“So … Here to unload the consequences of fucking around with that princess bitch of yers, are ya now?” The old man prompted, to Straits’ displeasure.

“C’mon dad. Don’t talk about your grandchildren like that.” He tried to reason.

“Don't give me that shit! Ya think I’m living in some fucking woods out in the middle of nowhere because I want to?!” The old man retaliated.

To this, Straits lowered his head. “I get it, I made a mistake.”

“Well, that’s putting it lightly.”

Straits continued. “Regardless of that, I’ve turned over a new leaf, I swear!”

At that moment, Straits procured an object from his back pocket and handed it to the old man. The old man stared at the object for a moment, his expression slightly lifting as he did so. “Huh. I guess ya didn’t run away empty-handed as I'd believed.” He mumbled.

“I’m dealing with something bigger now, Dad ... So, will you help me?”

With his mood somewhat altered, the old man replied with a nod.