The Tale of the Three Brothers

"Leo, when I go away this weekend, I'm going to take you up to stay with your grandfather, ok?" Leo shuddered heavily at his mother's suggestion, then froze, desperately hoping his mother wouldn't notice the shivering from a moment earlier. Leo hadn't spent much time with his grandfather, and found him rather intimidating.
"Why?" he asked, fighting with all he had to keep his voice from shaking.
"Because I thought it would be nice for the two of you to spend some time together. Your grandfather wants to get to know you."
"Oh," said Leo, his face falling a considerable fraction. "Ok." There was a pause. "I guess." He finished finally, his voice a whisper.

As they pulled up to the house, Leo's eyes went wide. And he had thought his grandfather was scary... This house looked like something out of a horror movie. Not that he'd ever seen one, of course. Well, he may have caught brief glimpses of horror films. In any case, he'd seen enough to know that the house the idlying car sat in front of now, looked like it could have come from one. It was tall, possibly three storeys high or so, dark, both in the colour of the outside walls and the shadow cast on the house by the forest of surrounding trees, and gloomy, again, the trees, and the shadows they cast.

Leo could no longer control the intense shivering as he reluctantly followed his mother out of the car and up the drive. They reached the doorstep, and his mother raised her hand, forming it into a fist and tapping it lightly a few times on the door. Leo looked at his mother, than up at the tall doorway, taking a deep breath before gulping hard.

Finally, there was a clicking sound as someone turned the door handle from inside, and the door opened, as if in slow motion, to reveal a slender, towering figure. At the sight of the man, Leo took a few steps backwards, not falling backwards over the steps for his mother's sudden, strong grip on his arm, forcing him back upright.

She let him go and stepped forward as the man bent down a little to allow Leo's mother to kiss his cheek. "Hello," she said, smiling,
"So nice to see you again," he said, stepping aside to allow them in. "Hello Leo," he said, giving the shivering boy a sharp nod as he passed him coming through the doorway.
Suddenly, Leo's mother was near him, hands on his shoulders. "Don't you remember your Grandfather Leo?" she asked gently. "It's ok. Say hello."
"Hi," Leo said quickly, struggling to make himself look up at the older man.
"Hello my boy," A large smile spread across the man's lips and he stepped forward, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder so hard that it made him jump.

Leo stood beside his grandfather on the front verandah, trying desperately not to tremour uncontrollably as they waved his mother goodbye. "Well, My Boy," said his grandfather, an eerie sort of smile stretching across his face as he placed his hand with a great thump upon Leo's shoulder once more. "Shall we go inside?"
"S..sure" said Leo, unable to stop his voice from trembling. He scurried quickly inside and his grandfather stepped in behind him, carefully, slowly closing the door so as not to let it make the thunderous sound he knew it would if he let it slam. This young boy was scared enough, he could tell.

As his grandfather turned around, Leo finally looked slowly up at him, gulping hard as his eyes reached the older man's. "Sir. where should I put my things?"
"Sir?" His grandfather asked, sounding taken aback. "My boy! You needn't call me Sir! I'm your grandfather for heaven's sake! Call me Grandpa."
"Ok," said Leo uncertainly, "Grandpa."

Leo was just about to hop into bed when his grandfather appeared in the doorway. Leo let out a small scream at the unexpected sight. There was not much light behind his grandfather and it had taken a moment for Leo to recognise that it was him, and not something out of a waking nightmare.
"Did I give you a fright?" his grandfather asked softly. Leo, still shaking slightly, nodded in silence. "Oh I'm sorry. I just thought I'd come and see if you wanted me to tell you a story."
"You tell stories?" Leo asked in a small voice, clapping his hand hard over his mouth as he realised what he had asked.
"Your mother never told you?" asked his grandfather with a gasp. "Oh well, I'll have to tell you one of my stories then."

Quickly, Leo scrambled on to the bed and under the covers. Leo's grandfather pulled them up further, so that Leo's head was the only thing not beneath them and sat on the edge of the bed. He put a book in his lap. Leo squinted to read the name of the author. Names. Plural, for there were two.
"Frank A. Allen, and Patrick H. Allen," he read aloud quietly. "Who are they?" he asked, looking quizzically at his grandfather.
"Well, that's me," his grandfather started, pointing to the first name printed on the book, "and that's my brother, your Great Uncle Patrick," he said, pointing to the other name. "He's coming to stay tomorrow, you'll meet him then."
Leo couldn't help the fear that entered his eyes, but quickly shook his head in the hope that it would disappear, unbeknown to his grandfather.

"Alright," said his grandfather, opening the book. "Once, long ago, there was a young boy, probably a little older than you. This young boy wandered the woods late at night, when it was dark and deserted for miles around." Leo gulped at the frightening image his grandfather was painting. "The young boy was scared, but he was determined. And stubborn. No one but him knew of his fear. He was the eldest and thought it his duty to be brave."
"He had siblings then?" asked Leo.
"Yes," answered his grandfather. "Two younger brothers. He was 14 years of age to be exact. His younger brother was eight,"
"A little younger than me," said Leo, nodding.
"Yes," agreed his grandfather, "And their baby brother would have been around 3 or 4 years old."

Carandini often ventured into the wood at night, even though his mother hated the thought. His brother, Sidney, sometimes followed him, though not always. He got more easily frightened, and his mother protected his more than she did Carandini. She'd lost her youngest son, see. So Sidney took his place as the baby of the family, not that he approved. But that was the reason Cardini and Sidney went to the woods. They wanted to see if they could find their lost baby brother who had one night been stolen into the woods. 

"Did they find him Grandpa?" Leo asked sleepily. "You'll find out soon enough my boy. Perhaps your Uncle Patrick will tell you more of the story tomorrow. But for now, sleep." Leo's grandfather rose slowly to his feet and took the few steps to the doorway, pausing long enough to turn out the light before he left the room.

"Patrick," said Leo's grandfather delightedly the next day at the sight of a man on the doorstep. "I've been quite looking forward to your arrival!" From his place on the stairwell, Leo looked round cautiously to study his great uncle. Like his grandfather, Great Uncle Patrick was tall and slender, a little frightening too if you asked Leo. At that moment, his grandfather turned around and beckoned for Leo to come closer. "This is my grandson, Leo," said his grandfather, pulling Leo round in front of him once he had joined the two men. "he's staying with me the weekend." Then he turned to the young boy. "Leo, this is the brother I was telling you about, your great Uncle Patrick."
"Hello," said Leo, only chancing a momentary look at him before staring at the ground and his nervously twisting foot.

"So Patrick, I was telling young Leo here a little of the story of the three brothers last night," said Leo's grandfather later that night when the three of them were huddled round the lit fireplace. "I thought you might like to tell him a little more."
"Well!" said Patrick, happily rubbing his hands together. "I never say no to telling a good story! Where did you get up to, dear brother?"
"The part where the youngest brother had been stolen into the woods," Leo answered for his grandfather.
"Ah yes," said Patrick, a smile on his face as he settled back. "I remember it well..."

Their mother was still quite upset at the loss of their baby brother Carlton. While Carandini wanted to be the hero that saved the day, all Sidney wanted was to see their mother smile again. But, while they had differing reasons, both brothers wanted the same thing. To see their baby brother home again. So every night, much to their mother's protest, one, if not both of them would venture out into the wood in hopes that they might be lucky that night. They might find their baby brother.

The more time Leo spent with his grandfather and his great uncle, the less scared of them he became. He came to think of them as being very cool. If anything, you could have called them perhaps a little eccentric at most. But both of them told the best stories, and Leo was completely hooked on the tale of the three brothers. But, the two older men were teaching Leo an exercise in patience, for they only told him a little at a time, and often, thry'd make him wait until night time to tell more of the story.

So they didn't tell him anything more until the night his mother arrived. "Mum!" Leo said, dragging her into the lounge room where the two older men were sitting by the fire. "Did you know Grandpa tells stories?!" he asked excitedly. "And Uncle Patrick too!"
His mother laughed at her son's enthusiasm and eyed the two men in turn. "What tall tales have you been telling him?" she asked.
"Only the best, my dear," said Patrick.
"Our favourite, the tale of three brothers," finished her father. And so his mother joined Leo on the floor to hear the end.

Little did they realise the cause of their mother's concerns. When she had been a girl, her own brother had been attacked by a wolf in the wood. That was why she was so scared of the woods, and didn't want her own sons going out there. It had happened once, and she strongly suspected that that was what had come of her baby boy. 

For all his daughter acted at first uninterested, he could tell she was hooked on the story now. As she always had been when she was a little girl, and he couldn't help but smile as he took over the story telling from his brother.

So every night, the brothers would go out. Carandini tended to be joined a lot more by Sidney as they got older, and soon it became their tradition. But sadly, every night they'd return home to their mother with nothing to show for their efforts. 
"We're sorry Mother," Carandini would say, "we haven't found him yet," 
"But we'll try again tomorrow night," Sidney would promise solemnly. 

"Did they ever find Baby Carlton?" Leo asked, and his mother braced herself, knowing well what was to come next.

"No, I'm afraid not," Patrick answered sadly, a faraway look in his eyes.

Though the brothers searched and searched, venturing out every day until their mother died, they never had any luck at all. Their baby brother remained lost.

"Do you think they'll ever find him?"
"Don't be silly Leo," said his mother, hastily wiping away a tear. "It's only a story, the three brothers never existed."
"Not yet," said Leo's grandfather quietly.

"We've never seen Timothy, Not since the night he was stolen away," said Patrick, and Leo's mother gasped, tears falling rapidly from her eyes.
"The story was true?" she asked.
"The entire time my dear," said her father.
"But we haven't given up hope," said Patrick, "we'll see him again one day."
"Do you still go look for him?" asked Leo.
Patrick and his brother looked at one another, then back at Leo. "Always."   
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In memory of the late greats Christopher Lee & Alan Rickman. Two wonderful English actors who left a great mark on this world. RIP.