Credits:lonelyplanet of pD
I was born in a secluded village on a mountain.
Days by days my parents plowed the yellow dry
soil
under the hot sung
I have a younger brother, 3 years younger than
me.
Once, to buy a handkerchief which all girls
around
me
seemed to have, I stole 50 cents from my
father's
drawer. Father
knew
about it right away.
He made my younger brother and me kneeled
against
the
wall, with a bamboo stick in his hand.
"Who stole the money?" he asked.
I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Father didn't
hear
any of us admit, 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 on my brother's back
repeatedly.
Father was so angry that he kept on whipping
my
brother
until he ran out of air to breath.
After that, he sat down on our stone bed and
scolded
my brother, "You have learnt to steal from your
own
house now, what other embarrassing things
will u do in the future?? You should be beaten to
death!
You shameless thief!"
That night, mother and I hugged my brother. His
body
full of injuries, but he didn't shed a single
tear.
In the middle of the night, all of a 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 that i didn't have enough courage
to
admit what I had done.
Years gone by, but the incident still looked 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; I was 11
years
old.
When my brother was in his last year of his
lower
secondary school, he was accepted in an upper
secondary school in the central. At the same
time,
I
was accepted into a province's university.
That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking,
packet by packet.
I heard him say, "Both our children have
good
grades? very good grades?"
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
studies anymore, I have read enough books."
Father swung his hand and slapped 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 both finish
your
study!"
And then, he started to knock on every house in
the
village to borrow money.
I stuck out my hand as soft as I can to my
brother's
swollen face, and said, "A boy has to continue
his
study; If not, he will not be able to leave this
depths of poverty."
Me, on the other hand, had decided not to
further
my
study to university.
Who knows 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 the side of
my
bed
and left a note on my pillow;
"Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will
go
find a job and 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 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, I was studying in my room, when my
roommate
came in and told me,"There's a villager wait for
you
outside!"
Why is there a villager looking for me? I walked
out,
and saw my brother from afar, His whole body is
dirty,
covered by dust, cement and sands. I asked
him,
"Why
didn't you tell my roommate that you are my
brother?"
He replied with a smile," Look at my
appearance.
What
will they think if they know that I am your
brother?
Won't they laugh at you?"
I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I
swept
away dusts from my brother's body. And said
with a
lump in my throat, " I don't care of what people
say!
You are my brother no matter what your
appearance
is"
From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair
clip. He
wore it on me, 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 and cried.
That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was
23
years old.
The first time I brought my boyfriend home, the
broken
window has been repaired.And it looked so
clean
inside
the house.
After that, my boyfriend went home, I danced like a
lil
girl in front of my mom, "Mom, you don't have
to
spend so many time cleaning the house!" But
she
said
with a smile," It was your brother who came
home
early
to clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on
his
hand? He was injured while replacing the
window."
I went into my brother's small bedroom. Looking
at
his
thin face, I felt like there are hundreds of
needle
pricked in my heart.
I put some ointment on his wound and
bandaged it,
"Does it hurt? " I asked him.
"No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when I was
working
in
the construction site, stones falling on my feet
all
the time. Even that could not stop me from
working
and?"
In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I
turned my
back on him and tears rolling 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. Lots of
time
my husband invited my parents to come and live
with
us, but they didn't want.
They said, once they leave the village,they w0nt
know
what to do.
My brother also didn't agree, 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
wanted my brother to get the job as the
manager in
the
department of maintenance. But my brother
rejected
the
offer. He insisted on starting to work as a
repairman
worker.
One day, my brother was on top of a ladder
repairing a cable, when he got electricated, and
was
sent to the hospital.
My husband and I visited him. Looked at the
white
gypsum on his leg, I grumbled,"Why did you
reject
to
be a manager? Manager will not do something
dangerous
like this. Look at you now, such a serious injury.
Why
wont you listen to us?"
With a serious expression on his face, he
defended on
his decision, "Think of brother-in-law,he just
became
the director, and I am uneducated. If I
became
the
manager, what kind of rumors will spread around?"
My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and
then I
said, "But you lacked education because of
me!"
"Why talk about the past?" My brother 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
farm
girl from the village.
In his wedding reception, the master of
ceremonies
asked him, "Who is the one you respect and
love
the
most?"
Without thinking, 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
will walk
for
2 hours to go to school and head back home. One day, I
lost
one
of my gloves. My sister gave me one of
hers.
She only wore one glove and walked for so far.
When we
got home, her hand was shaking because
of the
weather that was so cold 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
be
good to her."
Applause filled up the room. All guests turned
their
attentions to me.
Words were so hard to come out from my
mouth, "In
my
whole life, the one I would like to thank the most
is
my brother,"
And in this happy occasion,in front of the crowd,
tears rolled down my face again.
Love and care for the one you love every single
days
of your life. You may think 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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