It is funny looking back the things that seem like big deals when you are a child What i wouldn't give for more simple days, if one could ever call my life simple, where the biggest problem was fighting over who daddy loved most. It was this strange sense of sibling rivalry that existed between myself and my brother Cole that existed and spurned The Great Acorn War. The first Summer that the two of us met. The summer as you might except did indeed end as all things do, however, the lessons we learned that summer lasted till this day, about ourselves, about each other, and about what it means to be family. And it all started with an acorn.
The first day I met Cole was a hot summer day. I can still remember the small blonde haired boy who was hanging on to the picture of his mother that had been his constant companion since he was four and his mother had passed. From what I would come to understand, a mother who loved him more than life itself. Ansley, Colden's mother had been by all accounts been the woman that Kyrell loved more than anything. It was said in his mind all others paled to 'his little gypsy.' As a result he did everything in his power to make sure the sun rose and fell around her son.
It was because of this fact that I naturally became enemy number one to him. My father hadn't known about me because Catalina hadn't told him, it is much more complicated than that but such things aren't important to this story. As such my mother who was quite insane thought she could save me from death by making me togher. I endured her experiments and when Kyrell found me I was in bad shape. As a result of almost losing me I became just as important and the fact that I couldn't live with them, he was devoted to make the time we had together special. This causing a competition for daddy's affection that stated with an acorn.
Ky had taken my brother outside so that the two of us could play andd become the best of friends as he put it saying it wuth this look on his face as if this pkan was totally evidant to everyone that heard it. I only remember looking at the small boy, clutching to my father's leg as if he was a demon, he had want I wanted he got to stay with daddy. So as all little girls must I choose to take back what was mine and my weapon of choice mud. The mud that I bent down and flung at his face but my aim being just a tad off ended up hitting his picture of his mother. Now the picture was protected and there was no harm done to it but that didn't matter
It was that precise moment that daddy would decide to intervene before things got worst He picked up an acorn from the ground and handed it to Cole saying. "Let's gather acorns instead."
Cole took the acorn offered by our father so happy for what he perceived as a sign of our father's love for him and held it up in the sunlight. The sun shone off of it like some sort of magical talesmailluminating the world or that was what my little head seemed to think. So, I responded by picking up a nearby acorn and fflinging it at my brother's head. I swear his head had to be made of rubber because the damn thing bounced right off and without thinking he threw the special magically acorn at me. I caught it and ran off as fast as I could because I had the prized magical acorn.
I ran for all I was worth with my prize as my brother pelted acorns at me. they were everywhere on the ground more than enough for both of us.
I ran for all I was worth as Cole picked up acorns and flung them at my fleeing form. They were all over the ground and it would have been quite easy for father to pick another up and give me one too. By the goddess we could have had dozens apiece but by this time the die had been cast and none but this one would do. And so I ran while our father looked on trying very hard not to laugh, a look of surprise on his face from our reaction. I stumbled as one rolled in my path the acorn stumbling from my hand as Cole grabbed it and yelled. "Ha. Now I have it." As he wiggled his backside at me as if to be taunting.
I grabbed the nearest ond and threw it at him as i leaped up grdlesabbing the special one out of his hand. It continue this way, the acorn passing from person to person as we used other acorns as weapons to fling at each other. We lost some in puddles, down hills, and to all sorts of places as we laughed and chased each other around. Somewhere along the way, I am sure he first acorn was lost or mistaken for another but to our minds it was always the special one. Somewhere we had actually started to have fun and when the smoke cleared we were dirty, wet, and out of breath.
I began to cough and my father picked me up as he carried me inside with Cole following after us concern on his face. He knew his mother had gotten sick and died and while I was a rival I was also his sister. "You can't die. Who will I play with?"
Daddy looked over and ruffled his head. "She's fine. She is tough she just needs rest."
I was so happy as I hear those words. The toughest person I knew thought I was tough. I smiled as Cole nodded and placed the acorn on the table next to me. "You can keep this for now but it is far from over."
Over the years, the acorn has passed hand many times between myself and my brother. Sometimes one of us giving it to the other in times of need, others time we would steal it when the other was not aware. We came up with all sorts of creative ways to do this. Time and time again in our silly little war that started ten years ago with a but of mud and an acorn.
The same acorn that I now held in my hand. it was hard to find Cole now a days. But, I kno, I put the acorn on the nightstand next to the bed that used to be his and I wroteow he has this habit of showing up exactly where he needs to be. So, I put acorn on the night stand next to the bed my brother used to sleep in trusting he would find it with a note with two words. I surrender.