AFTER HE'S GONE
Author: MaskenVA
Genre: sad
MICHAEL :The older brother. Colder. Controlled. Built walls instead of scars.
JONAH : The younger brother. More emotional. Carries guilt, longing, and the need to say things that were never said.
They hadn’t seen each other in years. The distance wasn’t measured in miles but in silence, resentment, grief. Now, outside the funeral home, wrapped in cold and unanswered questions, the brothers meet again. Not to reconcile. Just to exist in the same space one last time.
(Wind blowing. Muffled sounds from the wake inside. A lighter flicks. A car door closes.)
JONAH (breaks the silence):
Didn’t think you’d come.
MICHAEL(flat):
Didn’t think you’d speak to me.
JONAH(soft laugh, bitter):
Guess we both got it wrong.
(Wind picks up.)
MICHAEL(quietly):
Place looks the same. Even smells the same.
JONAH:
He never changed a damn thing. Right down to the ashtray with his name on it.
MICHAEL:
That thing he never let us touch.
JONAH(shrugs):
Like everything else.
(Silence. Michael lights a cigarette. Jonah watches.)
JONAH(hesitant):
I tried, you know. All those years… letters. Calls.
MICHAEL (not looking at him):
Yeah. I ignored ‘em all.
JONAH(quietly hurt):
I know.
(Pause. Michael finally looks at him.)
MICHAEL:
He didn’t love either of us. Not really. We were just… projects.
JONAH:
Broken ones.
MICHAEL(nods slowly):
That he threw away when we stopped being impressive.
(A long silence. Jonah’s voice breaks slightly.)
JONAH:
I wanted one conversation. Just one where he said he was proud.
MICHAEL(soft):
I stopped wanting that years ago.
JONAH:
You think that makes you stronger?
MICHAEL(shakes head):
No. Just emptier.
(They sit in silence again. Michael flicks ash. Jonah stares at nothing.)
JONAH:
We’re not gonna talk after this, are we?
MICHAEL(soft):
No.
JONAH(nods, voice shaky):
Yeah. Didn’t think so.
MICHAEL:
But I don’t hate you.
JONAH (surprised):
...You could’ve fooled me.
MICHAEL(voice softens):
I just didn’t know how to carry all of it. And still have room for you too.
(Pause. Jonah’s eyes water, but he smiles faintly.)
JONAH:
Thanks for saying that. Even if it’s late.
MICHAEL:
We’re Millers. It was always gonna be late.
JONAH(smiles, bitter but genuine):
Yeah… yeah, I guess it was.
(They both stand. Jonah puts out his cigarette. Michael tosses his into the snow.)
MICHAEL (final line, quiet):
Take care of yourself.
JONAH(softly):
You too, big brother.
