SILLOUETTE
The wind blew her face like a gentle caressing hand of a parent. She sighed. After the loss of her brother, she longed to see his face again, even for just one more time. But she knew it was impossible. Unwillingly, she walked away of the shore. The memories were far too painful to even be recalled. As she stepped her feet a few meters away from the shabby hut, an image suddenly popped up in her mind.
***
“Brother, where are you going? You can’t leave me here alone! Not in this house, please!” she cried like a baby in her mother’s arms.
“Lisa, I have to. Under these circumstances, I can’t do anything else. Running away from home is the only option I have. I don’t belong here anymore sister. But promise me; be strong when I’m gone. Would you promise me that?”
“I can’t!” her tears streamed down her face again.
“Lisa, I love you. I really do. I just need you to understand why I’m doing this. Our family is falling apart and I seem to be the reason behind all this. I’m so sorry. I have to go.” He walked away hesitantly.
Lisa cried once more. Her heart throbbed with pain and agony. Her brother is the only relative she is close to. Not even her parents would understand her. But when everything seemed to be in good terms, it was crushed to smithereens after the incident. She clutched to her chest to ebb the pain she was feeling inside. She had to learn to let go of something dear to her. Even if it meant she lost her strength again. Losing the strength she once had made her stronger than she used to be.
She went downstairs. Her footsteps echoed, waking her parents from their deep slumber. Her mother looked terrified.
“What happened dear? Are you alright?” her eyes looked her body thoroughly as if she suspected her daughter to be harmed.
“Mom, brother is gone! He ran away from home again!” she breathed heavily.
“Why are you talking nonsense at this hour, Lisa?!” her Dad shouted at her.
“I’m not talking nonsense Dad! Brother is really gone! He ran away because of you! Because he can’t stand being shouted at you all the time like you did to me just now!” Lisa let all her emotions out. She cried out loud.
“Shush, Lisa, Mom is here. Stop crying will you? You are a big girl right now. A big girl doesn’t cry,” her mother comforted her, slowly took Lisa in her embrace.
***
Lisa woke up in the middle of the night. She could not sleep well. Something had been bothering her mind ever since her brother ran away from home. She looked out at the faint light by the pavement outside her house through her bedroom window. Her eyes narrowed. Something was looking at her room. Focusing her eyes onto that something, her heart leapt with joy. Silently she went out of her room, tip-toeing. She tried to control her anxiety below her conscious mind. She ran towards the figure.
It was him.
“Brother! What are you doing here this late? You are going to catch a cold!” Lisa said while taking off her sweater.
“Lisa, I’m just fine. Don’t worry” he rejected her hand and wrapped the sweater back on her body.
“It is just that … I miss Mom and Dad. And I miss you the most” he uttered. His voice vibrates in the thin air.
His eyes were watery with tears. He almost cried, but he forced himself not to. Not in front of his beloved sister. He had to remain strong so that she could be one too.
“Are you crying?” Lisa asked. She understood well how her brother felt after all those times.
“Of course not!” he managed a fake smile. “Come with me little girl,” he continued.
Their walk took only about 15 minutes. They were at the shore right now.
“Why are we coming here?” Lisa asked curiously.
“That is where I am living right now” Justin said while pointing to a shabby house near a big tree.
She cried silently.
I am living in such a comfortable house with both my parents, and yet…and yet my own brother is suffering on his own, how cruel am I!
“Hush little sister. I’m just fine living there. It is not the worst, right?” Justin smiled, as if he understood what her little sister was thinking.
“But, it is a HUT, not even a house! I am going to tell Mom of what had happened to you. How cruel of them to neglect you. You are their son, their biological son!” she shouted in rage of anger.
“Lisa, do you want me to stay by your side?” Justin cupped both his palms to her perfect cheeks, with another smile that was hard to interpret.
“Of course, and you are going to stay with us again!”
“In that case, don’t tell them that you are visiting me today, okay?” he winked.
Lisa faced the next day with unusual delight. She knew that she could visit her brother every day now. Her parents were having no idea of what she was up to. After school, she would bring food and tinned biscuits and cakes to her brother. She wanted him to feel like he was home though she knew it was not. But then, she realized he had never eaten any of the food she brought to him.
“Brother, why don’t you eat those cakes?” she asked, wondering whether her brother had even feel a slight taste of hunger.
“Don’t worry; I’ll eat them after you left”
“Why don’t you eat now? Are they not tasty?”
“No, it is not that dear. It is just that I want to make every single minute with you memorable” his voice echoed in the darkness.
“What, are you going somewhere again? If you do, please don’t. I need you by my side,” tears started rolling down her cheeks again.
“Now, now. Don’t cry. I’m not going to leave you forever. It is just for a short while. Bear with it Lisa. You have to be strong. If you can’t do it for me, do it for Mom and Dad, alright?” Justin consoled her while caressing her long, wavy auburn hair.
***
“Where have you been?! Do you realize what time is it now, hah??!” yelled Dad at the utmost of his voice.
“It is 2 a.m.” she said as if she is not the guilty party for coming home late.
PANGGG!!
A lump stucked in her throat. Lisa was in the verge of tears. She cupped her left cheek with her palm. Her mother came in that instant and embraced her only daughter tightly.
“Why are you doing this, Thomas? Look what have you done to her! Do you want to lose her like you lost Justin?!” her mother blurted out in anger.
“Do you realize what has just happened? She went out at this hour, probably going out with some drug addicts! How’d you take care of your daughter? Tell me!” he bellowed.
“Maybe she is going to go mad after Justin’s death. You should as well send her to the psychiatrist” he continued.
“THOMAS!” she yelled at the top of her voice. Their quarrel seemed to come to no end.
“Justin’s dead? What are you talking about Dad? I just saw him a minute ago. He even said to send his regards to both of you,” Lisa interrupted the argument.
“See, she is going crazy!” he shouted, pointing his finger at Lisa as if she had committed the worst crime imaginable.
“Your brother is dead Lisa! Dead! Last month, he was drowned in the shore. . Don’t you even remember?” his voice softened a bit.
“You must be kidding me! I just met him at the shore we used to play. I even took some pictures with him there just now,” Lisa speculated.
She browsed for pictures in her phone album. But then, there is no one else in the picture except her.
She fell on her knees.
"What is this? Where is brother? I took pictures with him just now! Mother! Please believe me, Justin is just there with me!" she cried hysterically.
Her mother embraced her tightly.
"Lisa, lisa. Shush.. It is alright. Don't cry my love, i believe you," her mother tried to console Lisa though she, herself was brimming with tears.
