Chapter 11: Love?

'And even though this monster is forcing us to stay apart; just know that I love you with all my heart'

Wirt was really starting to question the words from that poem.

Did he love Greg?

Of course he loved Greg. Wait, did he? He didn't really know anymore. Wirt sighed. He closed his poetry journal and continued to stare up at the ceiling. Did he even know what love was? He thought he did, but he's not so sure anymore.

He thought that the curse might be getting to him, but he really didn't acknowledge it. The older boy continued to stare at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. What was love? How could he answer that question when he was slowly losing it? He didn't really know, nor did he really care anymore.

He hadn't completely forgotten what love is. He still holds love for his poems and clarinet in the highest esteem. He opened his journal back up and started reading a poem that he had written after coming back from the Unknown. The poem was titled 'Never Again'.

"I was a gnome who entered this strange place with my brother, the elephant"

"We walked, trying to get to our home"

"I thought the elephant was the one dragging me down"

"Oh how wrong I was"

"I, the gnome, was the one dragging my brother, the elephant, down"

"I just neglected him and let him do whatever he wanted."

"I am the eldest child, so it is my burden to bear"

"I should have listened when I was told that"

"My brother, the elephant, almost died"

"And it was all my fault"

"Never again, will I be the selfish older brother"

"I promise that from now on, I will always love and protect the elephant, even if it kills me"

"For I, the gnome, will always love my brother, the elephant."

Wirt remembered when he wrote that poem. It made so much sense back then, but now he couldn't explain the reasoning for it. The older boy continued to look through the journal and read some of his past poems about him loving someone. He turned to another poem. It was a love poem for Sara. The poem was entitled 'The One Who Will Soon Get Away.'

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I really like her, but I'm afraid to tell her"

"I'm afraid she'll reject me"

"I'm afraid she'll leave me for him"

"I can't compete with him"

"She'll just leave, and I'll be lonely forever"

"What am I supposed to do?"

The poem was short and came to an end quickly. Why did he have a crush on Sara again? He couldn't remember. Wirt thought of Greg and what he must be doing right now. He hadn't been spending much time with him due to the curse, but he thought as long as his little brother was safe, he didn't have to intervene in his life.

After all, no one really cared about what Wirt thought when his mom got a new boyfriend. No one really cared about what Wirt thought when his mom got married to her boyfriend, giving him a new father. And of course, no one really cared about what Wirt thought when his mom gave birth to a new baby brother that he never even asked for.

So when he thought about it, one of the reasons his life didn't turn out the way he wanted was because of Greg. All those responsibilities that came with being a big brother, he never wanted. He wondered what he did to deserve something like that. But that was back when he was more selfish, and now he's much kinder to Greg. If he had a time machine, he would go back and do things over.

Well, that's what he would have thought if the curse wasn't slowly taking over. He was thinking back to his selfish past and thinking selfish thoughts about having a half-brother. He never wanted Greg to be born, so why was he? Why did no one ever listen to him? Greg was just a nuisance and he had been from the start.

His love for his brother was starting to diminish, just like The Beast said it would, but he didn't care about The Beast, he just wanted his old life back. Before his dad left, before his mom remarried, and before Greg had ever been born. The older boy grew bitter as he thought about his nuisance of a little half-brother. He could just feel the rage welling up from deep inside himself. It was official now.

He hated Greg.

He hated Greg more than he ever did in his entire life. Wirt had never actually hated Greg before. When the little boy was first born, Wirt never actually hated him. He loved Greg, but he would hardly ever show it around his parents. The only time he would ever show the young boy any affection was when they were alone. He would often comfort him after he had nightmares or help him when he ran into a problem he couldn't figure it out, not because he had to, but because he wanted to out of love.

But that was then, and now, Wirt's hatred for Greg grew and grew as the seconds passed. He hated his little brother, and now that he thought about it, Greg wasn't entirely responsible for his less than perfect life. His hatred for his parents started to grow as well as his hatred for all the people at school who teased him and mocked him as he was growing up.

His hatred for the world began to grow and blossom from the rage within him. It was official, he hated everyone and everything now.

Love?

There was no such thing in his world. Any love that remained inside of him grew sick and died. The curse was taking over, but he didn't care. If anything, he thought the curse was helping improve his life. He mentally thanked The Beast, while a little shred of politeness still remained inside of him. Actually, not all the love inside him disappeared. He still loved his poems, that one thing was absolutely certain, but that was all he loved. He didn't even feel the same way about his clarinet.

Greg was eating dinner in the kitchen. His mom agreed to make and try some potatoes and molasses, but Greg was too sad to even take a bite of his own creation, which became famous in the Unknown almost overnight.

"Greg honey, what's wrong?" his mother asked. She took a bite of her food. "Wow, this is really good." Greg mustered out an "I told you so" in a quiet voice.

"What's wrong Greg, and where's Wirt?" the young boy shrugged. "He's not coming." "Why not?" Greg shrugged a second time. "He's not up to it." "Oh, well I hope he feels better soon." "Yeah, me too." Greg said, walking up to his room. He stopped when he was in front of Wirt's room, but he decided not to bother him, so he just kept on walking, until he reached the door to his own room.

He opened the door and saw that Jason was just as sad as he was. Greg, without saying a word, pulled the frog into a tight embrace. "I know it hurts, but we're just going to have to do whatever we can." A tear ran down Greg's face as well as Jason's. They had to figure something out within the little time they had, and fast. Who knows what might happen if the curse takes over and their time runs out.