- a dingy room, a single mattress on the floor and the glow of the tv. it is quiet tonight, no arguments from above or below. not even from beside. the murmur of the television is background noise. i have been thinking of him, my little brother. how he has grown and gone on without me. i know he must be looking but i must stay hidden, i don't know if he will love who his big sister has become. i flip to the next tv channel, the brooding television reporter of the late night news appears after a moment. then, and how unlucky for me, flashes an image of my little brother on the screen. my eyes well with tears quickly, they always do when i see him. i don't love what he's done to himself, but maybe all siblings hate when their little siblings grow up. the metal on his face, the metal chin he's attached onto himself makes me feel more detached from him everytime i see him. i remember pinching his chubby cheeks, teasing him and saying that it's because of all the noodles he eats. i can still hear mystik chastising me, saying that i eat just as many noodles as he does. and his hair, oh his hair. what has he done to himself? his hair was always fuller and softer than mine, i remember holding his head as he'd cry into my shoulder over whoever was teasing him, or whenever he'd trip and fall. i remember how soft he once was, how young he was. how young i was. i look in his eyes as the television plays his highlights from his last victory, an impressive one apparently. i see the look in his eyes, the hardened person he's become. perhaps he is bitter, but maybe he is not. all that i know now is that he is not my little brother anymore.
jul 17 2022 ∞
jul 17 2022 +