FOF 2019 -001 The Brother & Sister
Felix Evangelista
Hi friends,
This is quite a long message but take the time to read it till end. Really worth it.
THE BROTHER AND SISTER
I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky.
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 be 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 gone 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 study!" 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.
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 there are hundreds of
needle 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 does
not 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..
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 white gypsum 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.
Love and care for the one you love every single days of your life. You
may think that what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may
mean a lot.
Have a nice day everyone! May this story inspire you in any way!
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By:
Lope Beltran
vangie pallega
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"Faith & Prayer are invisible but they make the impossible things possible. It's God parts to do the wonders; ours is the simplest part; to trust and pray."
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Always at your service, Vangie Pallega
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