My cravings for a brother

“Were you ever going to tell me the truth?” He asked, staring at my fragile body in the hospital bed.

“Do you care at all?” I replied before turning my face away from him.

I had craved for a brother throughout my childhood. Being the second child in the family and having been compared to my elder sister, Claire, all the time, I grew up not being so fond of her. It's not like I disliked her. It's just that she was so perfect in every aspect that I couldn't afford to compete with her. From studies to household chores, she was beyond perfection and hence everyone’s favorite. She was so confident and good at talking that she would get mixed with anyone in their first meeting whereas I would have a high time even greeting them. However, this wasn't the reason for wanting a brother.

I had seen my classmates bragging about their brothers. They would tell me how their brothers took them for outings on weekends or how naughtier they were. If boys in my class had fights with each other, they would brag their big brother would take care of it.

I was often bullied in my school and when I would tell Claire about it, she would ask me to behave myself in the class to not get bullied. I used to wonder if I had a brother, his response might be different. He would fight for me and protect me at any cost like others’ brothers do. I wanted a sense of security in the form of a brother.

Claire’s thoughts differ from me. She never wanted a brother. According to her, boys are harder to deal with. They often bully their sisters, take their pocket money and also force them to do their homework. It's good to have a sister rather than having a troublesome brother. I would apologize to God for my sister's thoughts in case her views cause trouble for my wishes. I would always pray to God to send me a brother. I was ready to share everything with him, including my pocket money. All that I wanted was a brother.

After continuous visits to church, God really heard my wishes. One day I returned home from school. Claire ran up to me, looking very excited. She said excitedly, “ Do you know what happened today?”

“Why are you looking so excited?” I asked before adding, “ Weren't you sick? That's why you bunked?”

“Oh, poor Steffy. When will you grow up? It was just an excuse to slack off. Anyways, I have good news for you.” She said, her eyes were shining brightly.

“What news?” I asked while pouring water in a glass.

“We have got a brother.” She exclaimed with joy. I spit out a mouthful of water and looked at her with stunned eyes.

“Are you kidding?” I blurted out.

“If you don't believe me you can go see it yourself. He is talking to Grandma in the hall.” She replied.

I threw my bag aside in excitement and walked up to her, throwing questions after questions at her.

“Have you met him already?”

“How does he look?”

“How tall is he?”

“Will he like us?”

“Will he go to the same school as us?”

“In which standard does he study?”

Claire laughed at me before saying, “ Calm down! Calm down. I didn't do anything you just asked. I haven't met him yet. I was waiting for you. You can ask him these questions yourself.”

She then held my hands and said, “Let’s go meet our brother.”