Olga never wanted it to turn out this way.
She stared down at the piano keys. Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 always came easily to her but today... it just wasn't. A snowstorm was raging and as a result, her recital was canceled. There was nothing to stop her mind from running—nothing to keep it busy.
They say idleness is the root of most sins.
Was it wrong of her to think about how she managed to fail the most important person in her life?
Closing the lid on her baby grand piano, Olga looked out the window. Next to the still was a bookshelf that had her family portrait on the top shelf. As usual, Mommy was completely unaware of what was going on, Daddy was wearing his new crown, "King of the Mobile."
Then there was Helga.
Poor, sweet, little baby sister, Helga.
She wasn't smiling in the picture and had her arms crossed. Typical Helga. Even though she had such a sweet boy as her boyfriend, it wasn't enough to make her truly happy.
Olga tried her hardest. She tried her hardest but dammit—it wasn't enough.
Through some horrible twist of fate, Helga was dealt a nasty hand in life. The worst part was that she couldn't do a single thing about it.
Whenever Olga underperformed in any aspect of her life during her childhood, she was met with either Daddy's lucky belt or with his tongue lashing. Mommy tried to be the voice of reason during these episodes but her thoughts didn't matter to Daddy.
Her interference only made the situation worse.
She shuddered at one particular memory.
She was eight years old. For the past three years she had been nothing but a straight A student. The teachers praised her to high heaven to her parents. Mommy and Daddy were always happy whenever her report card arrived and they never failed to buy her presents whenever they came in. But one day, she went to school feeling sick. She had a migraine and a bad stomach ache. Unfortunately, she had a math test that day.
There was no doubt in her mind she did below average in the test. She knew it and she dreaded the day the report card came in the mail.
It took a while, but it came. And boy, did it come.
-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\
Big Bob sat down on the couch and looked at the address written on the envelope. It was from Olga's school. He smiled out of instinct. He knew Olga was the one person in life who would never disappoint him.
He opened the envelope and read the report.
OLGA PATAKI
English: A+
Reading: A+
Science: A+
Social Studies: A+
Art: A+
Physical Education: A+
Math: B+
Bob froze. A B+? No, no, no, there must be a mistake. Olga had never gotten a B+ before on any subject in her life. This did not make sense. Criminy, she was the star pupil of her school!
"Olga, what's the meaning of this?!" He shouted.
She came running down the stairs and faced her father.
"Yes, Daddy? What can I do for you?"
Showing her the report card, Bob said, "What the hell is this on your report card? A B+ in math? A B+ in your best subject?" He tore up the card and stood up while unbuckling his lucky belt.
"Criminy Olga! I'm here busting my ass to give you a decent education and this is how you repay me?"
Olga took a few steps back.
"Daddy, please, I promise it won't happen again—"
"And what if it does happen again, eh, Olga? You're still gonna be begging me to give you another chance? No, you're gonna straighten up your act, little girl."
He grabbed Olga and shoved her to ground. He began to scourge her. Olga's agonizing screams were heard throughout the house.
Miriam heard the commotion and came running down the stairs. She gasped at the sight. Olga was covered in bruises and was bleeding from various parts of her body.
"B, stop this! You're hurting her! Stop it, B, stop it!" Miriam ran in and attempted to pull the belt out of his hand. Her effort was in vain. Bob did let go of his belt but placed two hands on Miriam's shoulders and slammed her against the wall.
"Don't get involved, you bitch!" He continued to slam her against the wall.
Miriam was in tears. "B, please stop it. Please, you're hurting me!"
Please... Please stop.
-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\
Olga rolled up the sleeve on her left arm and brushed her thumb over a visible scar. When Daddy was hurting her that day, one lash in particular was so hard that it managed to permanently scar her.
After she got that B+, she vowed to never to get another bad grade in her life. She couldn't take it to see her father hurt her and her mother ever again. She'll do something she might regret if she ever saw such a display of violence from him again. When Helga came along, that vow she made was intensified. Helga deserved so much more. She didn't deserve to be hurt by them. The only intention she had for hogging up their attention was to keep them distracted and away from Helga so they wouldn't hurt her.
She didn't know her good intentions would cause Helga to hate her as well. She was only doing what she thought was best for her baby sister.
It didn't matter if Helga hated her. She was keeping her parents at bay. She didn't care if Helga couldn't see that. All that mattered to her is Helga's well-being and if her attention hogging made Helga hate Olga but kept her in good health, then so be it.
She will always love her baby sister.
Her baby Helga.