… and after that his brothers talked with him.
– Genesis 45:15b

I came back for you.

What?

I came back for you. After they’d thrown you into the well. I-I came back, but you were already-

You did what you could. You saved my life, Reuven.

I could have done more. I could have- I should have calmed them down.

You saw the blood in their eyes. They would have killed me.

When I saw that empty pit, when they told me what they had done, when I realized- I think I stared down into that pit for hours. Why did I leave? Why did I leave you there, Yoseph? I’ve never stopped asking myself that question.

It was so that God’s will might be-

God’s will?

Well, yes.

It was God’s will for you to be sold into slavery? To be in prison for two years?

I don’t-

It was God’s will that our father suffer all this time? The light in his eyes, it’s gone completely. He’s never let Benyamin out of his sight, until now. And we all know that when he looks at Ben, he’s searching for you. I’m worried he’ll have let go before we get back. You think that was God’s will?

Don’t you remember the stories he told? Don’t you remember the one about that man he wrestled until dawn? Dad always said he thought that was God. I can still hear him: “I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared!”

You believe that story? You think that actually happened?

Oh, I don’t know. Do you think it really matters? In those stories- all our lives he was telling us about the promise. He believed in that promise, Reuven. More than anything else he was telling us about that promise. And it’s what’s kept me going. Dad’s faith- it’s a part of us, it’s in our blood. Don’t you feel it?
I want to, Yoseph. I want to so badly. But I can’t help it. Our brothers- you saw it in their eyes that day. You saw that- evil. I was terrified. And I saw it in myself, too. And I’ve never forgotten that. God doesn’t make promises with people like us. Not with people like us. I am so sorry, brother.

I know you are. I know you all are. I could see it in your eyes from the moment you arrived the first time. I recognized you instantly, and I saw your pain and remorse. I saw it as you bowed your faces into the dust, and I heard it in your voices when we talked. I remembered those dreams I used to have, and suddenly it all made sense. I can’t really explain how, but it came clear, like a pool of water when every last speck of dust has finally settled. God brought me here. God brought you back to me.

How can you know that? How can you be so sure?

I don’t know. I’m not sure. But I do know that you have two sons, and I have two sons, and I want to see them playing together.

Want to comment on this Short Stories? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Short Stories and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...