[Memory Excerpt from the File of Finnegan “Finn” Walsh, Candidate for Transfer]

  — Agent file #6872536144

  Finn fought back tears as he and Sean visited their dad’s grave, as they had every Thursday for the past six months. They went there after Finn picked his brother up from school. Afterward, they would grab a soda at the nearby Abby’s Diner and discuss whatever they felt like, and not just their dad. It was the only time that Finn really talked with his brother.

  He hated himself for mostly ignoring Sean’s conversations about orcs and wizards and other fantasy shit, but he just couldn’t get into that stuff. It wasn’t real, and he’d never need it. Not like the crises in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and how they affected the US’s soft power. That was knowledge he’d be able to use for decades. But the difference between a spell and a cantaloupe? Useless.

  But when they talked about Dad and all the fun they had on family trips they’d taken, it was good. It felt great to remember Dad healthy and laughing. It was the only thing that really eased his pain.

  The cold fall wind picked up, and Finn shivered despite his coat. Sean ignored the wind, just staring at the headstone.

  Six months. That was how long it had been since they had put their dad in the ground. That day had been hot, and the sunlight harsh to his eyes. Everything—from the people who came to mourn to his suit—had been uncomfortable. He hadn’t wanted to hear their stories of his father, or the empty condolences. The sympathetic looks and handshakes. It had all felt so empty. So contrived.

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  Finn shook off the memory and looked at his brother, just standing there in front of the grave. So much taller than he had been just a couple of years prior. Just like Finn, an almost carbon copy of their dad. Yet with lighter hair, like their mother.

  With their dad dead, Sean would have to face things like dating and prom without his advice and encouragement. Those milestones and others that a father’s support and teasing made so much easier.

  But that was the future. Finn was stuck in the past, just trying to get a handle on the present.

  Finn could see that Sean was still having a hard time every day, so he went out of his way to give his little brother a lot of slack. Especially with Mom working all the time. They rarely saw her during the week. I have to be here for him, Finn thought. There was anger in that thought, but he loved his little brother. That gave him the resolve necessary to be Sean’s protector, and a better big brother.

  Finn took a quick look at his watch. It was almost time for them to go, and they needed to get out of the wind before either of them got sick.

  “Ready to go, nerd?” Finn said, without the usual teasing. Sean needed some sort of normalcy.

  “Yeah,” Sean said, sniffling. He leaned over and put his hand on the headstone. “See you next week, Dad. Miss you.” Then he started crying again and grabbed onto Finn, who hugged his little brother tight through the sobs.

  Finn held it together the best he could. He focused on the leaves blowing around the graves two rows past their dad’s tombstone, fighting back the tears.

  “It’s going to be okay, buddy. We’re going to be okay…”

  [End Memory File Transmission]

  That would have been a different story. And boy, let me tell you, Sean would have been pretty good as a hero. Wonder why Finn ended up as the Mage?

  What do ya'll think? Would Sean have been better? Could he handle the Mage flavor of magic, not become obsessed with getting more?

  Thanks for reading!