Another Brother - 6. Bro Ch 6

“I guess being Autistic, something in his mind also remembered that day, and when he had developed the skills to do painting, he did this as a reminder of that happy day,” I said to my friend. “Wow, that is so… weird,” George said as he struggled to explain how he felt about all of this news about me having another brother.

I had a very unsettling night of rest, waking in the morning, feeling very tired and groggy, I was about to jump into the shower to get ready for school, when I remembered that it was Saturday, so after a visit to the bathroom, I went back to bed and fell asleep again.

When I woke up next, it was to the sound of banging, and it was coming from the window, as I opened my eyes and saw George standing there outside my window. Groaning, I staggered out of bed, taking a quick glance at the clock, which read 10.07 am, and I let George into the cottage.

“Good morning… do you know how hard it is to climb that fence to get into this place, it is like damn Fort Knox,” George said to me as he entered. “I doubt it, now what’s up, I didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night,” I responded.

“Yeah, that is obvious, you look like… well you know what I mean. Go and have a shower and get dressed, we have a visit to the hospital to make, as you have some news to give to Oscar, and Mum suggested that before we go, to take a photo of that picture to remind Oscar,” George said to me, and ten minutes later, we exited the property, to find Mrs Castalia parked in the alleyway waiting for us.

“Sorry Mum, he was asleep and he didn’t look too good, so I had him take a shower,” George explained, as we climbed into the car and buckled up. When we arrived at the Children’s hospital, there was a small group of reporters near the main entrance, and avoiding them we entered, and we headed straight to the floor where Oscar is staying.

“Mrs Castalia, when can I get out of here, I am so bored,” Oscar complained when we entered his room, which made me laugh, as there was a huge stack of reading puzzle and colouring books stacked up high beside his bed, along with a number of bunches of flowers and lots of get-well cards.

“Wow, what is all of this stuff?” I asked surprised to see so many cards, “From students from all of the schools that held that protest the other day,” Oscar replied, as Mr Castalia entered the room smiling. “Good news, you can go home today, but with those reporters out the front, we may have to get a bit creative with leaving here,” Mr C announced, as he placed a small bag on the end of the bed.

“Austin, can you help me with getting dressed,” my brother asked me quietly, and I saw him blush slightly, “Sure bro, not a problem,” I replied, “Well in that case, my family will wait for you in the car, at the side entry, where we have been told you can leave from,” Mr C said and five minutes later after gathering all of Oscars books and cards, he ushered his family out of the room and closed the door.

“Austin, I have this slight problem and it won’t go down,” Oscar said to me blushing and at first, I didn’t understand what he meant, and when I did, I too began to blush. “Err, well it happens to all of us boy’s bro, so just ignore it and it will go away,” I responded.

When Oscar took off the hospital gown and his boner popped up, I gasped, “Wow dude, when did that get so big,” I commented without thinking, as I handed him some boxer briefs to put on, and I held him steady so he could put them on, feeling very uneasy about being so close as he stood there naked.

Once Oscar was dressed and his problem had reduced and was well hidden, we exited the hospital room, and at the nurse’s station, we were given directions on where to find the side entrance so as to avoid all of the media waiting out the front.

Once we were in the car, Mr Castalia drove to a nearby park, where I suggested to Oscar that we take a small walk, as I had something to tell him. “I’m too tired, just tell me here bro,” Oscar replied, and I looked at Mr and Mrs Castalia who both nodded their heads for me to go ahead.

“You know that painting that our family has had for as long as I can remember, which is now in the cottage?” I asked my brother, “The boy on the swing with a lady holding a baby?” Oscar asked me. “Yes, that is the one, I always thought that it was us, you, me and mum, but the age difference between the boy on the swing and the baby didn’t quite match.

Mr Masters came by yesterday and gave me some very unexpected news that I now have to tell you,” I said starting to get a little nervous.

I pulled out my phone and clicking on the photo, I showed it to my brother. “See the artist’s name?” I asked Oscar. “Yes, Edgar, what about it?’ Oscar asked me, “Well the signature is actually Edgar K, I didn’t realise it until I had a closer look at it earlier today, when I took this photo.

I’ve just learnt that the artist has Autism, and he had Polio as a child, and for some strange reason, this artist has painted a scene that took place for real, and when he was just a baby.

The artist is the baby in the picture, and that is his mother holding him in her arms. This was a few years before you were born, and that boy on the swing is me, while the lady holding the baby is our Mum,” I said to my brother, and I stopped there and waited for Oscar to connect all the dots to what I had just said.

When I saw Oscar’s eyes go wide, when he realised what I was saying, and I smiled. “It was soon after the meeting with Mr Masters at the Castalia house, that I realised the family connection, and why the painting is so important. It appears that we have another brother, a very talented one, who has had a few problems with life, that our parents were not sure how to cope with. Gran also knew about him, as she would go and visit with Mum once a week, while Mum went three times a week to see our brother Edgar,” I said to Oscar.

Oscar was silent when I told him this, no doubt to was still absorbing all of the information, and I too remained quiet, to let him think about what I had just announced. “Can we go and see him? Where is he?” Oscar eventually asked breaking the total silence in the car, with the Castalia family remaining silent the whole time.

I looked to Mrs Castalia, to answer that question. “Yes dear, we can go and see him, we have booked an appointment for 3 pm today,” she said to my brother. “Do you have a photo of him, I want to see what he looks like?” Oscar asked.

I saw Mrs C pick up her phone and tap on it for a moment, before a text message notification came up on my phone, and I opened it. There was a photo of a smiling teenager, that looked a heck a lot like me, but there were a few very small differences, compared to the photo of me at that age, as I showed the photo to Oscar.

“Wow, that looks like you,” my brother said to me, and I nodded my head in agreement. “According to Mr Masters, our brother has been extremely sad since the death of our grandmother, and when we learnt about Edgar, I asked Mr Masters to get the people looking after Edgar, to tell our brother that he still has family, and right away he has asked to see us,” I replied.

When we arrived at the monastery where Edgar lives, we saw that it had very high walls all the way around it, and we could see large old trees on the other side of the wall, providing plenty of shade, as Mr C rang the bell for the front gate of the property.

“Yes, how may we help you?” a woman’s voice said from a small hatch in the large solid wooden gate. “Yes, good afternoon, we have an appointment for 3pm to see Edgar Kimbolton,” Mr C responded. “You must be his other family, please come in,” the woman said, as we heard the gate be unbolted and swung open.

We were led through a beautiful courtyard and into a very old and grand looking building, with wide hallways and high ceilings, and we were directed to wait and take a seat, on what were very hard wooden benches, that I found very uncomfortable.

After about ten minutes of waiting in the hallway which was earie quiet and cold, we heard a door open and footsteps coming in our direction. Oscar and I looked in that direction, where we saw a nun and a boy coming with the boy partially hidden behind the Nun as he was a few steps behind her.

Oscar and I both stood up and shortly after the Nun and boy stopped about thirty metres away, and he peered around the Nun, and he stared at us, as we looked at him and I smiled. The boys facial expressions changed rapidly, until he looked up at the Nun who said something to him and he nervously took a few steps forward, as did Oscar and myself.

Moments later, the boy who was now clearly Edgar, started walking at a brisk pace, with only a slight hint of a limp showing, and he stopped just metres from us and looked at Oscar and then to me, before I smiled and opened up my arms, and rushed into them, bursting into tears as he did so, as Oscar joined in the hug.

“Hello little brother, it is good to meet you, I am Austin and this is your younger brother Oscar,” I said softly, and Edgar leaned back and looked at both of us before continuing with the hug.

“Hello, I am Sister Beatrice, we are so pleased that Edgar still has family, to come and visit him. You may go out into the courtyard, where it is a bit warmer and more relaxing than here in the hallway, and Edgar your visitors may stay 90 minutes, then you have to get ready for evening prayer and dinner,” the Nun announced before heading back the way that she came.

In the courtyard, which had a Spanish type of feel and look to it, we were able to sit down and enjoy the beautiful gardens and the water feature. “Brother, we did not know that you even existed until just a few days ago, and when I found out that you are an artist, I realised the significance of the oil painting that you did of you as a baby, with our Mum holding you and me sitting on the swing.

I don’t know how you did it, but it is exactly how I remember it, when I was just four years old, and it is one of the best days of my life from my early years. Thankyou for painting it, and I should let you know that the painting now hangs on the wall in my lounge room, in the cottage that I live in,” I said to Edgar, who nodded his head and smiled.

For a solid 1 ½ hours we talked, Mr and Mrs Castalia sat a little further away from us, to allow Oscar and me to get to know Edgar, and we answered all of his questions about us growing up, and we asked him a few questions bout living in a monastery.

When it was time for us to leave, Edgar started to cry, and wrapping him in a hug, I told him that we would be coming back in a day or two, so we can get to know each other much better. Both Oscar and I had tears in our eyes, as we sat in our seats in the car, for the journey back to our homes.

“Mr C, why does our brother have to live in that awful place, why can’t he come and live with us or with Austin,” Oscar asked. “We are looking into that already, but it will take some time to get all the official stuff sorted out before it can happen. I did speak to the Head Nun at the monastery yesterday, and she said that if the visit today went well, then she would allow us to take Edgar out for a day excursion somewhere like the beach, the zoo or something similar,” Mr Castalia.

When we arrived in the alley way at the back of my place, George was there waiting for me, and as soon as I exited the car, he pulled me into a hug, then took a step back and looked at me. “Are you ok? How did it go?” he asked me quietly, “It was good that we met him, but bloody hard to leave him at the end of the visit, but I promised that we would be back there soon to visit him again,” I replied.

“Ok mate, I am going to catch a ride home with my folks, will you be ok on your own?” George asked me, and I smiled and nodded my head yes, and with that George climbed into the car, as Oscar gave me a short wave, before they drove off.

I don’t remember if I had any dinner that night, but I woke up in bed feeling drained out of energy and I just didn’t want to leave the warmth of my bed, so I closed my eyes again and fell asleep. When I woke to the sound of my mobile ringing, I searched and located it, before pressing the answer button.

“Were you asleep again, man you have been doing a lot of that lately. Are you ok?” George said to me, “Yeah, I am fine mate, just another restless night that is all,” I replied. “Just checking in to see if you are fine, and if you want any company,” George asked me, and I smiled and assured him that all I needed was a bit more rest to cope with all the stresses of the past few days.

Over the next few weeks, Oscar and I made regular visits to see our other brother, and he even came out with us on a day trip for a picnic lunch, which was a huge success, with Edgar enjoying every moment of it. When my 18^th birthday arrived, we had a big party at the Castalia home, with Edgar been my very special guest, and this was the first time that he would be staying overnight away from the convent, and I too would be staying overnight at the Castalia home, so as to be close to Edgar.

A month after my birthday, we had found a suitable school for Edgar to attend, and that also coincided with Edgar now beginning spending weekends at the Castalia house, so we as brothers could spend more time together, which was always an enjoyable event, that I looked forward to at the end of each week.