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 h...usband 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 rumors 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 means a lot.
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