Brothers by Blood

Tales from the Attic

If there was one thing Carolin couldn't stand it was a mess. So one perfectly sunny Sunday the whole family was in the attic doing some spring cleaning.

"Why do we have to clean the attic? We're just getting rid of junk so we can put new junk up here." Kai sulked as he pushed a box across the floor. "It's important to keep the place you live tidy." Wu told him.

"But nobody lives in the attic." Cole whined. "It's actually been proven that messy space not only breeds rats and insects but also sickness and disease." Zane informed them.

"Who's side are you on?" Kai asked folding his arms. "Less complaining more cleaning." Carolin smiled.

"Look at me mommy!" Jay called. Everyone turned to see him on top of a high pile of boxes. "Jason be careful. How did you even get up there?" Carolin asked the little boy.

"I climbed. I'm the king of box mountain." He proclaimed just as the boxes tipped over. The rest of the family ran to were Jay had fallen.

"Jason are you alright?" Wu asked frantically. "I'm ok. The box broke my fall." Jay assured them as he lifted himself out.

"More like your fall broke the box. What is this stuff anyway?" Kai asked lifting a few books from the now flattened box. "I was wondering where we put these." Wu said taking the books from his son.

"Carolin do you remember this?" He asked his wife. "Oh, how could I forget?" She said taking the book and sitting down on a nearby box. The children leaned over to see what she was talking about.

On the page was a picture of a younger Wu and Carolin. Carolin's hair was a wild mess and she was sweating as if she'd run a marathon in summer, yet she was smiling ear to ear.

Wu was sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, one hand on her shoulder, the other reaching out to the little bundle in his wife's lap. They were both gazing at a little baby, wrapped in a white blanket, with little tufts of bleached blond hair on his head.

"Who's that mommy?" Jay asked pointing at the baby. "That's Zane when he was born." Carolin said softly as she pulled her youngest son into her lap. "Nu uh. Zane's bigger." Nya insisted.

Wu chuckled and lifted his niece off the ground. "That was a long time ago. Yet I still remember as if it was yesterday."

The young couple walked quietly into their room, being careful not to wake the new born baby in the woman's arms.

"Welcome home Zane." Wu whispered. Carolin sat down on the bed and gazed down at her son. "Look at you. Our little angel." She whispered.

"A gracious gift that we're not worthy to receive." Wu agreed. Zane looked up at his parents and made little gurgling noises. The new parents smiled as they lay their son in his cradle across from their bed.

"Was Zane loud?" Cole asked from the box he was sitting on. "No. Zane was a very quiet baby. That is until he woke us up at two o'clock in the morning because he wanted to be changed and fed." Wu smiled.

Zane's face heated up and the other kids laughed. Carolin gave her first born a kiss on the cheek.

"It's ok. I wouldn't trade that time with my baby for anything. Speaking of babies. Who came next?" Carolin asked as she turned the page.

"Me." Kai beamed.
"You were not." Cole protested.
"Were so."
"Were not."
"Were so!"
"Were not!"

"Boys in the first place that's not something to argue about." Their father said coming between them. "And in the second place, Kai your brother's right. He was born first." He finished.

"Ha ha." Cole gloated. "That doesn't mean we loved you any less." Carolin comforted the younger twin.

Wu and Carolin walked into the monastery with their new born twins in their arms and their older son in between them.

"Wanna see dada. Wanna see da babies." Two-year-old Zane begged. "Ok just wait one minute." His father told him as they headed for their room.

Zane followed his parents and climbed up on their bed. "Zane meet your new baby brothers. This is Cole and Kai." Wu said lifting Zane into his lap.

Zane looked over at the babies in his mother's arms. They were both awake and fussing a little. "Dey're widdle." He told his parents.

"They are now. But they're gonna grow up big and strong. And you're going to be a good big brother right?" Carolin said softly. Zane nodded and went to play in his room.

"They're going to be the strongest boys the world has ever seen. They're destined for victory." Wu told his wife.

The boys babbled in reply as they we're lain in their cradles.

"You know you boys were a real surprise." Wu told the twins. "Why? I thought you knew you were having twins." Zane asked.

"Oh we did. But the doctor had said there was a 80% chance that we'd have identical twins. Leave it to Kai and Cole to defy the odds." Carolin smiled.

"Thank goodness." The boys said in unison. They glared at each other. "What's that supposed to mean?" They growled at each other. "Stop that. You stop that! Cut it out! Cut it out! Cut it out! I'M TELLING! MOM/DAD!!!"

The boys turned their back to one another and sulked.  "Ok then. Last but by no means least. Little Jay." Carolin said as she turned to another page. "I'm not little." Jay pouted. "Not anymore. But back then..."

Tiny howls filled the once peaceful monastery as Carolin and Wu brought home their last baby. Little Jason wasn't scared but he was hungry and tired.

"Baby woud mama." An almost two-year-old Kai told his mother. "The two of you were quite loud yourselves." Wu told the toddlers as he took them in his arms.

"Mama is Jay ok?" Zane asked as he slipped his fingers into Carolin's free hand. "He's fine sweetheart. He's just hungry." She assured him.

Once they sat down Carolin got Jay his bottle. As she fed him the older boys gathered around to get a better look at their new brother.

"Baby." Cole said pointing at Jason. "Yes Jason's your new baby brother." Wu told his black haired son. "That makes you a big brother. You're going to very nice to the baby aren't you?"

The twins nodded. Wu took the older boys to their room for their naps. When he returned he sat down next to his wife.

"Our last baby. Such a wee thing. Do you think he'll be alright?" Carolin whispered. Jay had come two months early and the doctor had feared for his life.

"Believe me little Jay will be just fine. He has power that we couldn't begin to imagine." Wu assured her.

Carolin went to put him in his cradle but the second he was out of his mother's grasp he began to cry again. Wu picked him up and within seconds the baby was dosing off again.

He set him back down only for him to repeat the process. This was going to take a while.

"You were always crying for something." Cole smirked at his youngest brother.

"He was only a baby. There wasn't much else he could do." Zane reminded him.

"What about me? Am I in there?" Nya asked from her uncle's lap. "Not in this one. But I'm sure we have some around here somewhere." Carolin told her.

Nya's face fell a little. This was one the times she missed her parents more then usual. Wu saw the look on her face.

"We may not have been there when you were born but I know for a fact that your parents thought you were the most beautiful baby girl in whole world." He told the little girl.

Nya smiled again. "Your mommy and daddy loved you very much and so do we." Carolin added. Nya beamed.

"Come on. Let's see if we can find those pictures." Wu instructed.