Which Path Would You Choose?

Only Mason made it out. The trees swayed back and forth as the rain roared on. Mason, fourteen, remembers the loud sound of the rain against the roof of their small home, the sound of the tree branches tapping against his window, and the sound of his father crying. They lived in the small town of Chester, Vermont, and had lived there all their lives. The town was small, and everyone knew everyone. Everyone knew everything that happened between families or with other people. It was a quiet town, but drama spread like wildfire. He remembers watching his twin, Oliver, lay so peacefully as their innocence was ripped from their hands; their mother was leaving them and Charlie, their father.

It was not long before everything turned from happy to miserable. As Charlie was drowning his sorrows in booze, Mason and Oliver did not know why she left. Charlie did not care how much he drank. He lost his job as a police officer soon after. He worked as a police officer for 20 years, and let the craving of easing the pain get the best of him. Charlie had no way to support Oliver and Mason, except the unemployment he got for a short amount of time. He did not buy food, did not support the children, and the unemployment checks he got, he spent on booze to ease the pain. He came home late at night drunk, and the boys would find him passed out on the kitchen floor the next morning. Oliver felt bad for his father, and always put a pillow under his head, and a blanket over him before they left for school. Only Oliver felt bad for his father; Mason hated the path his father chose. Mason knew that his father was a good man, but he knew that his father made a choice that ruined his life. Mason excelled in school. He went above and beyond his classmates and impressed all of his teachers. On the other hand, Oliver had difficulties in school. He had a hard time reading and writing, and his math skills were below those of a typical eighth grader. Oliver was always being compared to Mason and was bullied by his classmates. Oliver resented his brother for always being better than him.

Oliver was devastated when he found out about his mother. Although Oliver was closer to his father, he was easily amazed by his mother. He loved the way she cooked, the way she sang to him, her tight hugs, embarrassing kisses, and every single memory they had made together. He wondered what could have possibly happened. Had he done something wrong? Was it his fault? He blamed himself. Oliver was having a harder and harder time with school, and eventually decided that he was no longer going to attend. He dropped out and never looked back. Oliver tried to get a job, but no one would hire a fourteen year old, especially since he wasn’t in school. He laid at home and did nothing. Eventually Oliver started to have one beer with his father, then one more, then one more, and soon they would both be drunk, on the kitchen floor, passed out. They fell apart together.

Charlie had not expected his wife to leave him. He worked hard and loved harder. He fell in love with her everyday and had always felt this way about her. They met in sixth grade and were together ever since. They had a beautiful home, two great kids, great jobs, and had a great relationship. This is why it was uncertain to him why she had just left out of nowhere. He was in love and wouldn’t stop loving her. Charlie had not touched alcohol a day in his life until that night. He did not believe in using alcohol to make you feel good, but it made him feel good. It made the pain go away, and made her go away. He drank to get rid of her, but had not realised what it was doing to his sons. He noticed that Oliver was not going to school, so he asked him if he wanted a drink, and that one drink led to a lifetime of drinking, blacking out, and loss of memory for the both of them. Charlie loved his sons, but he loved the booze more. Charlie wanted the pain to go away, and one day everything went away. He had been drinking with Oliver, and left him to go to the bar that night. Charlie staggered outside of the bar, and looked down at the puddle of water, and he didn’t know who he was looking at; his reflection was unfamiliar to him. He drank so much that night, he passed out, and fell face first into that puddle of water. Charlie drowned in that puddle. This made it harder on the boys; Oliver drank more, and Mason had to get a job to support them both.

Mason had been very close to his mother. He always helped her cook and clean. They watched movies together, she taught him how to coupon and save money, and he loved her with all his heart. Mason was hurt when she had left and not taken him. He wondered why it all happened, and if he could have prevented it, but he knew it wasn’t his fault. Mason hated seeing his brother falling into the path his father took. He always wanted the best for his brother, and tried to help him. Mason tried to tutor Oliver and help him in school, but Oliver was too stubborn to accept the help. Mason was a straight A student and was very good in all of his subjects. He excelled and impressed many of his teachers. Mason was moved up a few grades and still excelled in every class. He received multiple letters about going to college, and becoming something, and that he did. Mason applied and got into college. He started to attend classes, and had no trouble with any of the material. He had come home one weekend to find Oliver drunk on the floor. Mason knew that he would have to support them both, and that he did. He went to college, had a job, and took care of Oliver. They only way Mason thought Oliver could survive, was if he was there. He took care of Oliver, financially, but Oliver refused to have him take care of him mentally, and physically.

Although Mason took care of Oliver, Oliver wanted nothing to do with Mason. He still hated the fact that Mason was better than him at everything and refused the idea of Mason taking care of him. Oliver drank early in the morning, passed out in the afternoon, and woke up in time for him to get drunk that night. He would wake up the next morning hungover, and would repeat the cycle. He only wanted the best for his brother, but the path that Oliver was on would lead him to where their father ended. Mason tried, and tried to help, but Oliver still refused, so Mason left; Mason went to finish college. While at college, Mason met a girl and fell deeply in love. They got married a year after they graduated, and Mason heard nothing of Oliver since then. Mason hated that he left, but knew it was the best for him. Oliver loved that Mason didn’t tell him what to do anymore but hated that he didn’t send money. Oliver needed money to support his habits; He mainly got money from begging, but always resorted to stealing. Oliver needed booze, and would do anything to get it. Oliver hadn’t heard from Mason and was glad about it. He did not need Mason bossing him around, he would be just fine.

Mason hadn’t heard about or from Oliver in a while, so he decided to visit him. Mason went back to the small home that he had lived in so many years ago to find Oliver. He wasn’t there. So Mason decided to stay a while, and wait, but he never came. This was not unusual for Oliver, because he is his father's son, and Charlie did the exact same thing, so Mason was not worried. He stayed another night but still no sign of Oliver, so he decided to check the bar. Mason asked the bartender, and she informed Mason that Oliver had died a few days earlier. She said that he had too much to drink so she cut him off, and he stormed out of the bar knocking over a chair in the process. The bartender followed him out to make sure he was leaving, then went back inside the bar. Oliver tripped, and fell face first into that puddle. She found him later that night, face down in the puddle. Mason could not believe it. His brother followed his father down the same path, and he may to be at blame for that. He left Oliver. Was it his fault? Mason thought he could have tried harder to help, or made Oliver listen to him. The guilt would haunt him for a lifetime. Only Mason made it out.