My Little Brother Jyou
I couldn't believe that night! It was chaotic! It was insane! It was the birth of my younger brother Jyou. From day one I could tell he was going to be allergic to something. Dad took me to see him the day he was born, after all the commotion of giving birth was over. He was so small, I couldn't believe it. Then I couldn't believe that I was that small once. Then I couldn't believe I was a big brother. What was I supposed to do in the little guy's life? I didn't even know how to cook soup out of a can yet, let alone cook.
When I saw him, he was sleeping. It was upsetting that the first hours of his life were spent trying to get him to breathe his first breaths. Mama told me that something went wrong and when she was giving birth, some cord was wrapped around his neck. I got confused but nodded in understanding. She was in tears, holding Papa's hand. The first day of my brother's life and I saw him through a window while he was in some big plastic box.
It wasn't until two weeks later when my brother Jyou finally came home. The first thing he did was play with my stuff. I was going to take it away from him but when I grabbed onto my favorite book, he was holding onto the other end. He looked up at me with those eyes that my Mama was talking about. Suddenly, I understood how she said she could melt from joy when she looked into them. I let go of the book and left. An hour later, the pages were ripped out and some of it ended up in his mouth. That didn't make me mad though; if I was going to be a big brother, I had to understand him.
I watched him grow up quickly. He spoke his first word and I was thrilled it was my name. The way he struggled with the 'sh' sound could make any older brother thrilled. "Shi-Shi" was what he called me at first. I laughed all the time he called me. But one day, I took him to Mama because he had a stinky diaper. When I turned to leave, he finally said it.
"Shin!" he wailed when I took one step out the door. Both my mother and I froze. I whirled around and looked at my mom. She was cradling Jyou and encouraging him to say it again. He didn't. Not until I started to leave again.
"Shin!" he cried again when I started to leave. I took another step, ignoring his call.
"Shin!" he started to bawl. Tears started flying out of his eyes just because I was three feet from the door that led me into the room he was in. I inched my way back in and he stopped crying. After my mom changed his diaper, he made his way to my leg and fastened himself tightly. It was cute… the first two times. By the third time, I had to get used to dragging my brother down the hallway with him attached to my leg.
When he was two years old, he had a nasty accident. We were playing on the stairs of the apartment building, pushing a slinky down the steps. Laughing together, we followed it, crawling down the steps one by one and singing the song. One time out of those seven times we did that, about two thirds of the way down, Jyou sneezed and lost his balance and tumbled down the stairs.
He landed at the bottom and there was silence. I was afraid to move. The slinky made its way to the main floor and Jyou still didn't move. Finally, the big brother instinct kicked in and I practically fell down the stairs myself. I lifted his head and realized a nasty bump on his forehead. Seconds later, I was screaming at the top of my lungs for Mama and Dad. I never forgave myself for having that happen to him. And I blamed it on myself. Frankly, it was for playing a game like that with a two-year old.
It turns out that Jyou hit his head in someway so his eyesight got messed up. I didn't understand the doctor talk. But at the age of two, my baby brother Jyou had to wear glasses. It was then that I started to look out for him even more. And it was then when he turned to me more than he did to Mama.
Over the years, I became his doctor; blowing on the paper cuts, placing Band-Aids on his wounds, and telling him that it's just a little bruise. I taught him how to tie his shoes and how to read, Mama and Dad taught him to do the whole potty training thing. When he was old enough, I taught him how to convince Mama to get a quarter for the ice cream truck. We did a great double-teamer.
"Mama," I would ask, scuffing the floor with my shoe, "the ice cream truck is coming today at three."
"You should have your allowance," would be her answer.
"But I paid for Jyou's ice cream two days ago."
She would then look at Jyou. He would look back through his glasses and scuff the floor just like I did. Eventually, she would give us each a quarter. We would race down the stairs and out to catch the ice cream truck just before it left. I remember that the man who served the ice cream always recognized us a mile away. Or so he said. He claimed that he knew from day one that we were brothers. We both had glasses, blue hair, and innocent faces. Once he even gave us a free ice cream because we looked so adorable together. Jyou always had a blast.
It was his first day of kindergarten… that's when I realized how much he looked up to me. A week prior to that exciting day, we went clothes shopping. He refused to buy anything that wasn't like me. Or so my mom said. I found out that she was telling the truth; I wore my light blue shirt and black pants. He wore the exact same attire. The only thing that was different was our glasses. I had thin-framed and oval-shaped, he kept his round ones. Tears were in his eyes when he was told he was too young to have glasses like mine. I couldn't help but feel bad.
There I was, standing on the edge of the sidewalk to cross the street. I looked left, no cars; I looked right, no cars. Just as I stepped off, a little hand slipped its way into mine. Looking down, I saw Jyou's head and his bag that was nearly the same size as he was.
"What's wrong?" I asked, "I thought Mama was going to take you to school."
"I didn't want her to," he then looked up into my eyes, "can you take me? Please, Shin?"
I gripped his hand in mine. His school was to the left, mine was straight. He squeezed one of my fingers and that's what got me to go. I was late to school that day but it was well worth it. It was just one of those things that you could be betrayed by your best friend and you wouldn't care because it was your little brother's first day of kindergarten.
Since he got home earlier than I did, the first thing that happened when I walked through the front door was Jyou clinging onto my leg. We sat down and he told me everything that happened while Mama fixed us sandwiches. I never got a word in about my day. Again, it was one of those things of which I didn't care for. It was relaxing to hear my brother talk so much.
That school year went smoothly. He once asked me to help him with his homework. It was making a paper person. It had to be in resemblance to someone the student looked up to. I felt like I could cry when he said he wanted to make the person look like me.
I was the one who taught him one plus one was two. That's because Jyou asked me instead of Mama or Dad. They watched as I taught him how to read the books that ordinary kindergarten children couldn't read. He was the head of his classes from first all the way until sixth. He hit a rough patch there. And I take the blame.
"Mom!" I yelled, bursting through the door. Jyou looked up from his math book and Mama looked up from her sewing. "I got a recommendation to go to an advanced high school!"
"Shin!" Mama smiled and dropped her needle and thread, "I'm so proud of you!"
That night at the dinner table, conversation was all about my recommendation. Dad told me he could see it a mile away that I was going to be the genius of the family. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jyou slouch in his chair, poking at his food. Since I was so glad, I ignored his jealousy and continued to beam with pride. Mama fixed my favorite dessert, just for the occasion. And after that, Mama was on the phone, calling everyone she knew about the newly found genius.
I wasn't really a genius; I was just so interested in doctoring that it got carried away in my science and biology classes. That didn't stop the phone calls, though. Later that night, Jyou walked into my room with his math book in hand. He looked at me through his glasses that still weren't like mine and closed the book.
"Forget it," he said and left the room. I listened to him shut his door quietly and after that, everything was still. I couldn't even hear Mama and Dad talking on the phone.
Summer was the most terrifying ever. Jyou and I weren't speaking to each other very much due to me having so much homework and him trying every way to impress Mama and Dad. They didn't pay much attention to his attempts because I always seemed to be at number one. Jyou tried so hard to be the son he wasn't. He even tried playing a sport. Needless to say, he quit. He again tried to impress them by studying harder, doing better in school, passing everything he did with flying colors. The only thing he needed was courage. And the ability to stop whining about his allergies. I knew he was going to be allergic to something.
Off to summer camp he went. I heard that Mama wanted him to get out a little more, like I did. All I did was go out to go into other places. All well. It did him good--I guess. The first day of summer camp, when he first arrived, he called home to say he was allergic to the pine. I told him to toughen up and don't come back without five new friends to call. I never knew what kind of friends he would make.
From the stories that I heard from him, he met up with strange creatures called digimon. That blew my mind. Then he began to explain it all by saying that the Digital World was a world of its own. He rambled on about this so-called Digiworld and digimon. I pretended to comprehend him but it was too much for me. Then it all became clear when the entire town fell into danger.
Gosh, I still can't believe how much of a coward I was. I hid in the closet while I let those … THINGS steal my parents! Then Jyou came running in with another one of those things. I saw how calm he was about it and it surprised me. More or less, it impressed me. Here I was, scared in a closet and there was Jyou, defending not one, but two worlds.
Somehow, during that entire fiasco, Jyou and I became actual brothers again. We connected all over again. Not to self-promote myself, but I personally think I encouraged Jyou to become a doctor. Even though I was sarcastically rude to him at times, he took it like he never has before. More changes were shown to me as he fought with his friends. He made those five new friends… and then some. It tore me in half when I found out he had to go again.
"Don't sneeze because of the pine," I teased, hiding the fact that I didn't want him to go.
"I've gotten over a few things," he said, adjusting his glasses.
"Don't hurt the girls."
"Take care of Mom and Dad."
"Remember two times two is still four."
"And the square root of nine is three."
"And remember that I'll always be your big brother," I said.
Jyou looked at me with the eyes that Mama told me about. You know, the ones that could make you melt with joy when looked into. My little brother smiled at me and nodded.
"Thanks, Shi-Shi."
I chuckled aloud as did Jyou. And then… my little brother walked away.
Strange summer that was. He came back a whole new Jyou. Sure, he was still allergic to a few things like pepper and dust, and he still studied hard for school--even more than I did. But he wasn't that careless blue-haired brother anymore. He came back prepared to face the world. Prepared to look upon things from a different perspective. Ready for anything. He was ready for life.
I watched my brother grow up from the little kid in the big plastic box into the dedicated high school student he is now. I'm not a big part of his life anymore, and I regret that we lost what we had. But he still calls me over the phone for help on his homework. Since I'm off at college, I left him in charge of the house. I remember him saying how he'd make me proud.
"I swear, I'll do great in school, keep the home up, keep in touch with my friends," Jyou was saying, "and I'll make you proud."
"Jyou," I said over the line. Tears of happiness were in my eyes and one rolled down my cheek as I said the next sentence, "You've already made me proud. I love you, Jyou."
There was a pause in the conversation and I heard a faint sniff. "I love you, too, big brother," Jyou said back. He was my little brother… The falling, tripping, sneezing, glasses-wearing member of the family. No… He's my little brother Jyou.
End
Nothing to say other than I forgot if Shin had glasses or not. If he didn't… I'll kick myself and redo this. If he does have glasses then… Whoohoo for me. Anyway, review if you're a responsible reader. (Like that little box thing says.) Yeah, I know I'm a little out of it.