My Dear, Big Brother
She was joking, of course. The scarf was a gift. A beautiful gift, I might add. Well-deserved by our brother. He had more land than either of us- more land than anyone! I often wondered why he wasn't ruling the Earth. He was even larger in landmass than China! And China so liked to brag about his size and age. Yes, my brother was a sight to behold; frightening, impending, cold, and desolate. I would say he was the scariest country in the world! Nothing got in his way. Nothing mattered to him. And absolutely nothing frightened him… nothing, that is, except me.
He hadn't always been scared of me. He, our sister Ukraine, and I used to be best friends. I wasn't paid much attention to, since I was the youngest. Ukraine gave him the scarf on that cold winter day, and he never took it off. She joked about land. Ukraine was still underdeveloped, if you get the idea. And our brother wasn't even powerful. No one paid any attention to us; we were just three lonely, cold siblings at the top of the world.
"Russia!" I called. He turned his powerful purple eyes on me.
"Da, Belarus?"
"Do you think we will get powerful someday? Like China? Or that one huge country down south?" I asked this in earnest.
"Rome?" Russia answered. I nodded. "Little sister, Rome's life is running out. The scars upon his body deepen every day. I will become a powerful country, Belarus. Whether you will… I doubt. Don't count on it."
I felt hurt. "We are supposed to stick together- you, me, Ukraine, da?"
Russia laughed. "We will. You two will just do as I say."
I didn't mean to fall for him. I was betrothed to Estonia- or so Russia said. Estonia is a nice country, but I didn't want to be married to one of the Baltic trio. So I got my own place, Russia became powerful, and Ukraine became a huge crybaby famous for the two planets projecting from her chest. Rome fell and history happened. History, which I didn't really care about. I fell more in love with Russia every day.
"Why won't you marry, Belarus? You really think you can handle this country by yourself?" Russia scoffed at me.
"Ukraine is single and running one bigger than mine. Why don't you just go drink more vodka and leave me alone?" My voice was sour.
"Ukraine doesn't run her country well. And I won't leave. You need to learn not to dismiss me. You need to respect my power, which you will never have…" He pulled out his pickaxe, advancing toward me. Fear welled up inside me. My brother was going to kill me. I turned and ran, ran toward my house. I locked myself insidem listening to the axe breaking my windows.
I began to cry, wondering which of my possessions would survive the attack. If he was going to do it thoroughly, I stood no chance at all. "Go away! Go away! GO AWAY!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. Luckily, he tired quickly. He thought I had learned my lesson. "Wicked brother, foul brother…" I whispered. Then, even more quietly, I breathed, "I love you…" Somehow I still did. But it was more aggressive, more vengeful now than it was before.
The nest morning, I went to him. "Yes?" he asked briskly. He said it as if nothing had happened. As if all the things he destroyed were nothing! In that moment, I knew I could do what I came here to do.
"I will marry brother… if it is you I get to marry." I said the words powerfully, and he froze on the spot.
He looked a little frightened. I liked that. I advanced. "You can't mean that…" he said. But his voice was unsure.
"Oh yes I can." Now I had what I wanted. "Marry me."
"No. Leave!"
"I will not." He picked up the pickaxe, but I did not flinch. He was scared of me. He would forever be scared of me, like he made me of him that night so long ago. "It is time you learned not to dismiss me," I had said, "I am not scared of you, my dear, big brother…"