No one had ever seen him cry, but yet there he stood, looking so sorry with tears rolling down his cheeks, he tried to hold them but the more he did, the more he realised that he could not. Slowly, she walked closer to him, held his hands and pulled him nearer. Wipe your tears my son, it's not too late to start all over, she said as she gave him a pat on his left shoulder. He busted out loud, went on his knees and started to apologise.
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At that moment, I really didn't know what to do or how to feel, should I angrily walk away or should I act like all he did had been forgotten and that they no longer matter just like Mother did?
All at the same time, everything kept flashing through my mind. How we lost Father 18 years ago to cancer, how Mother had to borrow money from different loan firms to treat Father and struggled to pay back years after he had passed. How she took multiple jobs to make sure that Marcus had a good education inspite of the hardship. He was our only hope.
I remember how I had to stop school to help mum with some of her cleaning jobs not because I was a girl but because Mother could not afford to give the both of us the education we so much desired. Marcus was a good twin brother, I remember all the times we spent together growing up, unlike other children in the neighborhood, we never wanted to stress Mother. Marcus would promise her that he was going to work really hard and get us out of the slum, he would also promise to make sure that I continue my education once he starts to make money. I remember the day he ran down the street to fight some bullies who tried to harm me, he ended up being admitted that day.
At the same time, I also remember how he met Annabelle in his university days and how things started to change with him. She never liked Mother nor wanted to see me around him. He knew that Annabelle wasn't the right option but he was overshadowed by her spotless light skin, naturally long and coily hair, and most of all her undeniable beauty. Blinded by his ambitions to marry her, he never wanted to offend her even when she was wrong.
I also remember how he became successfully rich even while he was still schooling, venturing into some trading businesses but never sent a dime home even when Mother was so sick and we couldn't afford to treat her.
Days turned into months, and months into years, Marcus stopped schooling because he was making a lot of money and was also busy traveling around with his girlfriend. He would spend lavishly on Annabelle, her friends and her family members. He always does whatever she askes him to do.
Annabelle never brought productive ideas, she never had a shop or tried to venture into any business. All she ever proposed were ideas on where to send the next vacation, what types of clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelries and gadgets to purchase.
The most painful memory was the day I had to travel down to seek his financial assistance since we weren't able to reach him on phone, but he left me outside for hours just because his girlfriend was around till I eventually left. He probably forgot that I was standing under the sun outside.
Only God knows what happened to all his money, now Annabelle is nowhere to be found. All these thoughts flashed through my mind in seconds as I watched Mother pull him up on his feet, gave him a welcoming hug saying that everything will be fine.
I don't think I can ever forgive him , I thought as I watched him walk closer to me, stretching his arms towards me and crying like the five year old brother I used to know. I ran towards him, crying uncontrollablely and gave him a hug. I just could not afford to hate him, afterall he is the only sibling I have.
Thank you for reading through my 100% fictional story. If you were in the narrator's shoes, what would you have done, angrily walk away or embrace the twin brother who totally forgot everything the family went through for almost two decades just because of his lostful and blind ambitions?
Let me know in the comment section.
