38. Meant No Harm
"Come here."
The swirling cloud of smoke halted on its course through the jungle, snaking around to look at Jacob. When he gestured for it to approach, it hovered closer. It clicked and hissed impatiently, in the language of sounds developed from the lack of a voice, demanding wordlessly that Jacob state his business quickly.
"I want to help you."
The smoke withdrew, recoiling in hesitation as Jacob stepped forward with an outstretched hand. He grimaced at the twinge of regret in his chest as he watched his brother. "What is it?"
Usually the monster was more angry than scared, but Jacob stood just outside of the pool that led to the mysterious light. While Esau feared little, he knew full well to steer clear of its devastating power. Glancing over his shoulder, Jacob realized why the smoke retreated, and he shuffled closer to the trees. "Come here, Brother."
The black smoke flew over and surrounded him, clouding his vision. Coughing as the smoke filled his lungs, Jacob squeezed his eyes shut and stretched his hand out in the black void.
Suddenly the mass of smoke began to shrink again, this time into the shape of a human. For a moment, it flashed before Jacob's eyes, flickering with uncertainty, until finally it settled into Esau's familiar form. Immediately he fell to his knees.
At first, Jacob's breath caught in amazement, and then a grin spread across his face. Hastily he grabbed Esau by the wrist and pulled him to his feet to embrace him. "I missed you."
Esau fumbled to recover the idea of limbs, working the fingers that lay at his side as Jacob nearly crushed him in the hold. Then he shoved his brother away, forehead creased with incredulity. "What are you doing?"
"I…" Jacob's mouth hung open, and his arms hung expectantly in the air as if he thought Esau would forget their differences and return the gesture. "It's a gift, Brother."
The ground spun before Esau's eyes, and he meant to touch his head just to steady his vision. Instead, he overestimated the force necessary to move his stiff hands, and accidently slapped the side of his face. He blinked, momentarily stunned, and furious at the mistake. He clenched the fist and refocused, glaring at Jacob. When he opened his mouth to speak, the words were stuck in his throat, and he could not quite remember how to force them out. He didn't want to risk uttering some stupid noise and embarrassing himself further.
"Brother?" As Jacob walked closer to his twin, Esau backed away, and Jacob swallowed the lump as it rose in his throat. He noticed how quickly he breathed and made a conscious effort to slow it down. Esau was back in his form, as Jacob had desperately hoped he would be, but something was wrong. Jacob felt strangely hollow inside, like somehow his brother wasn't all there. "It worked, right?"
"This doesn't change anything between us, Jacob." Esau turned and walked away, leaving footprints in the sand for the first time in over a year, leaving Jacob standing speechless again.
AN: I guess that maybe the light likes to punish intruders by taking their bodies, and that's how Esau (and, in my opinion, the Mother as well) became the smoke monster. But why would the light impart the ability to transform into the bodies of the dead? I think that could have been another one of Jacob's mistakes, an effort to get his brother back. Just a theory.