I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me. I wanted to buy a
handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I
stole 50 cents from my father's drawer. Father had discovered about the
stolen money right away. He made me and my younger brother kneel against
the wall as he held a bamboo stick in his hand. 'Who stole the money?'
he asked. I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to
the fault, so he said, 'Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two should
be beaten!' He lifted up the bamboo stick. Suddenly, my younger brother
gripped father's hand and said, Dad, I was the one who did it!' The long
stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly. Father was so angry that he
kept on whipping my brother until he lost his breath. After that, he
sat down on our stone bed and scolded my brother, 'You have learned to
steal from your own house now. What other embarrassing things will you
are possibly doing in the future? You should be beaten to death, you
shameless thief!' That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His
body was full of wounds from the beating but he never shed a single
tear. In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My
brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, Sis, now don't
cry anymore. Everything has happened.' I still hate myself for not
having enough courage to admit what I did. Years went by, but the
incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday. I will never
forget my brother's expression when he protected me. That year, my
brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old. When my brother was in
his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in an upper secondary
school in the central. At the same time, I was accepted into a
university in the province. That night, father squatted in the yard,
smoking, packet by packet. I could hear him ask my mother, 'Both of our
children, they have good results? Very good results?' Mother wiped off
her tears and sighed,' What is the use? How can we possibly finance both
of them?' At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of
father and said, 'Dad, I don't want to continue my study anymore, I have
read enough books.' Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his
face. 'Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it means I have
to beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you
have both finished your studies!' And then, he started to knock on
every house in the village to borrow money. I stuck out my hand as
gently as I can to my brother's swollen face, and told him, 'A boy has
to continue his study; if not; he will not be able to overcome this
poverty we are experiencing. ' I, on the other hand, had decided not to
further my study at the university. Nobody knew that on the next day,
before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out
clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left a
note on my pillow; 'Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will
go find a job and I will send money to you.' I held the note while
sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice. That year, my
brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old. With the money father
borrowed from the whole village, and the money my brother earned from
carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally, I managed
to get to the third year of my study in the university. One day, while I
was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me, 'There's a
villager waiting for you outside!' Why would there be a villager looking
for me? I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body
was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, 'Why did you
not tell my roommate that you are my brother?' He replied with a smile,'
Look at my appearance. What will they think if they would know that I
am your brother? Won't they laugh at you?' I felt so touched, and tears
filled my eyes. I swept away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And
told him with a lump in my throat, 'I don't care what people would say!
You are my brother no matter what your appearance is?' From his pocket,
he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it on my hair and said, 'I saw
all the girls in town are wearing it. So, I think you should also have
one.' I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into my
arms and cried. That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years
old. I noticed that the broken window was repaired the first time I
brought my boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned. After my
boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl in front of my mother, 'Mom,
you didn't have to spend so much time cleaning the house!' But she told
me with a smile, 'It was your brother who went home early to clean the
house. Didn't you see the wound on his hand? He hurt his hand while he
was replacing the window.' I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at
his thin face, I felt like hundreds of needles pricked in my heart. I
applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandage on it, 'Does it
hurt?' I asked him.. 'No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the
construction site, stones keep falling on my feet ...Even that could not
stop me from working.' In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I
turned my back on him and tears rolled down my face. In the middle of
the sentence, he stopped. I turned my back on him and tears rolled down
my face. That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years old.
After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband invited
my parents to come and live with us, but they didn't want. They said,
once they left the village, they wouldn't know what to do. My brother
agreed with them. He said, 'Sis, you just take care of your
parents-in-law. I will take care of Mom and Dad here.' My husband became
the director of his factory. We asked my brother to accept the offer of
being the manager in the maintenance department. But my brother
rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a
start. One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable,
when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital. My husband and I
visited him at the hospital. Looking at the plaster cast on his leg, I
grumbled, 'Why did you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers
won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at you - you are
suffering a serious injury. Why didn't you just listen to us?' With a
serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, 'Think of
brother-in-law. He just became the director, and I being uneducated, and
would become a manager, what kind of rumours would fly around?' My
husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, 'But you lack in
education only because of me!' 'Why do you talk about the past?' he said
and then he held my hand. That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29
years old. My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl
from the village. During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies
asked him, 'Who is the one person you respect and love the most?'
Without even taking a time to think, he answered,' My sister.' He
continued by telling a story I could not even remember. 'When I was in
primary school, the school was in a different village. Everyday, my
sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I
lost the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. She
wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands
were trembling because of the cold weather that she could not even hold
her chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as I live, I
would take care of my sister and will always be good to her.' Applause
filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. I found it
hard to speak, 'In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is
my brother, 'And in this happy occasion, in front of the crowd, tears
were rolling down my face again.
STORY MORAL:
Love and
care for the one you love every single day of your life. You may think
what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a
lot.
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