Ad astra per aspera. It's the state motto of Kansas. Kansas where their difficulties began. Land of sunflowers, of grass, of sky. Land where once was home. Where home was lost. Where the road began and went much further than the state lines. And they, instead of fleeing the difficulties, ran to them, pursued them, hunted them.
The youngest tried to break free. To be free of the difficulties, of the homelessness, of the hunting, of the death. And was free for a while. And under a night sky, lit by flame, lost it all. And once again went down the road of suffering, of pain, of tears. The road of death.
And difficulties and darkness there were and death. Blood under a dark sky. Tears shed and wiped away by a dirty, flannel sleeve.
But moments of light and beauty were there also. Nights parked in an empty field with a green cooler of beer under a night sky full of stars. Light that shone in the darkness. And hope that one day, they may reach that light.
But at times the light waned.
And the dark grew.
But the two brothers overcame it.
Through blood, with sacrifice and love.
Never had the world had such guardians. Two heroes who sacrificed everything. And by their sacrifice gave to others, complete strangers, everything they themselves could not have: safety, a home, a normal life.
They sacrificed all for a world that would never know their names. Unacknowledged and without thanks, they will continue their mission, their heavy duty that they have accepted.
And when their journey has ended, who will know? Who will feel the loss when at last they leave this wretched world? When they leave behind their suffering and go to their rest.
What shall the sign of their passing be? A tremendous storm? Shall the sun hide her face? Shall the earth tremble? Or shall there be nothing to mark their lives but an old black car sitting abandoned awaiting the return of the two boys who called her home? Perhaps, there shall there be two more stars shining brightly in the sky, placed there in remembrance, like the heroes of legend.
And thus through their struggles they will reach the stars.