Matthew slowly looked up at the man sitting across from him. He was almost afraid to look up, afraid to gaze into the eyes of his only living blood relative. But he did anyway. The person sitting across from him quickly caught his gaze. Matthew froze, he could have sworn his heart stopped for a small frame of time solely out of terror.
"What's the matter, Matthew?" a twisted, almost evil expression slowly crossed his features. Matthew waited for him to continue, but a dead silence crept across the room. He wanted Matthew to answer him.
"Wh...What happened to you?" Matthew reluctantly asked.
"What happened to me?..." the man said, letting it sink in. "Matthew, don't you get it? I grew up." he said.
"But...I still don't understand why..." Matthew stuttered. "...Why...How could you be so different..." Matthew said, and shut his eyes close to avoid the stare that he was sure was coming his way.
"Life is a funny thing, Matthew." he said. Matthew heard the chair scratch the tile floor, followed by the sound of footsteps. He slowly, very slowly opened his eyes to see his brother standing directly in front of him. His usual air of contentedness had been replaced but one of omen, the kind that provoked an unexplainable fear.
"Y'see, I learned a lot of things after the war, Matthew. This world is a cruel place, especially for people like you and me. The weak are oppressed by the strong, intolerance is abound. You'll learn someday..."
"That's the way life is. We've got to deal with it. I know it can be depressing, but you can't just let it take over." Matthew said. "Alfred...What's really wrong?" Matthew asked. A long silence again took control of the room, and Alfred's piercing gaze softened just a bit. Without another word, Alfred turned around and retreated to his room. Matthew sighed and rested his chin on the palms of his hands. Kumajiro, who had been sitting in a corner, eating his breakfast at the time, walked over to Matthew, sat next to his feet, and starred up at him. Matthew picked him up.
"What's wrong with him?..." Matthew asked Kumajiro.