Two Brothers

One story from the Appalachian Mountains concerns two bothers, Brahm and Beau. All through their life, they fought, as many brothers do. Brahm grew up tall and strong, but Beau didn’t inherit the same traits. While Brahm became a strapping young man, Beau remained frail and small.

They continued wrestling through life, but no matter what, Brahm always wrestled Beau to the ground. One day, Beau became ill, as was common, but this illness wouldn’t leave. It eventually killed him.

Brahm seemed as well as could be expected for a while after Beau’s death. But, people began noticing a problem. Brahm’s spine began curving. The deformity became more noticeable as time passed.

When asked, Brahm said now he carried Beau across his shoulders, as retribution for wrestling him so hard in life. Eventually, Brahm pulled out his eyelashes and eyebrows because the pain of his defect was so agonizing.