There was no other way

 

                                                               There was no other way

 

We grew up – almost as siblings

We lived on the same street

Let me not state the obvious

But guess I must

We went to the same school – same class too

And then – no surprises for guessing

The same friends, toys, likes and dislikes

When he was taken to the circus – I was taken along too

And when I went to the fete – he had to be there

No this is no joke – we fell in love around the same time

Was it the same year?

Not exactly sure- so won’t lie

And then we proposed – to sisters

Marriages were followed by kids

No – not twins or anything so dramiatic

They had a girl and a boy

We had two boys – yes, they were friends

And then one day we went camping with friends

Just the men – fishing in the river, swimming

Shooting pigeons, barbecues, and a couple of drinks

The first two days were swell

Life was good – it couldn’t be better

Or so we thought

And then we argued – it was something trivial

Things escalated is all I remember and there was a scuffle

Forty years is a long time to remember what happened  

However , that night it remained unresolved

Our friends failed in their endeavour

To make us talk it over  

The second night was a repeat of the first

We tucked in without a word

I know we both felt rotten – but not a word was spoken

Pride and ego kept us at loggerheads  

I woke at dawn and saw that his bed was empty

I thought he had gone for a walk

He never returned

All fingers pointed at me – obviously

We had fought, hadn’t we?

I was hauled away unceremoniously

Our wives were beside themselves with grief

Our kids heartbroken

Our families torn asunder

The case dragged on

One agonisingly year after another

Handcuffs ceased to be embarrassing in the courtroom  

Court hearings became a nightmare

There were no tears anymore

No one believed me – I knew they never would

So, I resigned myself to my fate

 

It’s been thirty years – I had been given life

With my small packet of belongings, I exited the prison gates this morning  

And there he stood - with arms open wide- smiling

Waiting to take me home?

I did a second take and then extended my hand to shake his

I wrapped him in a warm embrace

Then did what I had planned to do if I ever met him again

It was calm and effortless – I am a big man

Then I turned and went back through those prison gates

I handed myself in - the confession was matter of fact

It all felt like a dream – but I was peaceful at last

There was no other way.