The Brother

He worked harder than his brother. He woke earlier. He stayed later. It did not close the gap.

The argument started over a fig.

Miriam had saved one from the morning meal. Set it aside on the high shelf, wrapped in a cloth, because Simon had been sick all week and she wanted him to have something when he woke from his nap. She was eleven. She had been mothering the younger ones since before she could name what she was doing.

James found the fig. At…