Monday, March 4, 2019

Brother

My feet hit the pavement as I adjusted my backpack straps and waved my friends on the bus goodbye.

I was done with school for the summer.

I always thought of the last day of school as a the greatest day in human existence, better than Christmas or even my birthday. This day meant that there were 3 uninterrupted months of pure joy and adventure. Good memories were waiting to be made.
I didn't know what to do with myself I was so excited.

I looked out into the distance and noticed some other kids walking in a group together towards their houses in our neighborhood. They didn't seem as excited as I was, maybe it just hadn't kicked in yet for them that this was the greatest day ever. Every step on the road to my house felt as though I was a new man ready to take on the world. I felt so free and powerful, I could not be put into a bad mood a that moment.

It wasn't until I was halfway home that I noticed my brother walking slightly faster a couple of yards ahead of me. What was his rush? We had all the time in the world to bask in this glorious freedom from teachers and books. I tightened the straps on my backpack and picked up my pace towards him. He was my brother, but he was never safe from me.

I loved to pick on my brother growing up. Squeezing his chubby arms as a baby, wrestling him into submission, and all while playing innocent and acting like there was nothing to worry about when our parents would come into the room.
This time felt no different.

My brother fast-walked on the sidewalk of our neighborhood and had no idea of where I was. I took my opportunity to pounce and lunged. My hands met his backpack and sent him full force into the grass on the side of the road. I started to laugh but something felt off.

I looked down and saw he was holding a pot with a small flower in it, with a little marking on the side that said "MOM". Now, it lay there in several broken pieces, dirt leaking out every crack. The flower was bent and the few pedals that were left were crooked and dangling. My stomach dropped and I instantly felt as though I had committed a heinous crime.

"Danny! This was for Mom!", my brother said through a stream of tears.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I.."

He gathered what he could in his hands and began back towards our house. I watched as he picked up his pace, every few steps a sniffle would jerk his shoulders. I looked down, what was the matter with me? Just a second ago I felt like the king of the world, and now I can't help but feel as though the whole world wanted me to drop dead. I wanted me to drop dead.

I reached my house and walked in the door to find my brother and my Mom attempting to repair the pieces of the pot. She put the flower in another pot and managed to keep it alive until she could place it back into the original. She never asked me about the incident.
My brother never told her. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked that he chose to keep that a secret, but the sadness and guilt only grew because of it. He was being a bigger person even after I had just done that to him. I waited until my Mom left the room and went up to him,

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know you had that in your hands. I shouldn't have done it anyway.", I managed.

My brother wiped some more tears from his eyes and looked at the repaired plant,

"It's okay. I forgive you"


3 comments:

  1. OH MY GOD; your introduction hooked me completely- Great job there. I don't like when you say: human existence I would change that to say a child's existence or a student's, human is pretty broad for what you're talking about in your memoir. I love the story, it is extremely raw and accidents are something that happens to us all as children. I believe it was extremely noble and showed so much unconditional love by what your brother did for you. I would try to give more detail about how the situation made you feel. I watched a movie this weekend called The Edge of 17. It was about two siblings, and throughout the movie their Dad passed away. In the end of the movie, the sister revealed something to her brother that he never knew about. This was the quote:
    Nadine (sister talking to her brother while they were fighting): "In a couple weeks, Dad'll be dead four years. When I was on my way home today, this memory came back to me. It was that night, after everything happened. I got up to go to the bathroom, and I saw you crying so hard. I mean, so hard your pillow was just soaked. That made me so sad. I got up and I went in my room. I got my pillow. Took the wet one for myself. I wish you loved me that much."
    I believe this relates to your story. Siblings have an unconditional love for one another, and I hope that quote will spark some other memories from the event!

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  2. Good memoir, I really liked the relationship between the siblings and the guilt that the narrator felt when they broke the flower pot was conveyed very well. What I didn't like, or perhaps just wanted to know more of, was all the people the narrator sees who aren't excited. There are a couple instances where the narrator notices people not being as excited for summer as they are. I'm curious why that is, or at least why the narrator thinks it.

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  3. I can relate, I have a little brother of my own. Its the last part that I like so much, the simple forgiveness between siblings. He knew you didn't mean it and it didn't take more than a simple "I'm sorry" which is so typical of siblings. That simple sentence at the end really it powerful in a way that it means more than what it there. It shows the power of family and the love and bond between siblings that wont be broken over little mistakes.

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