I had a very intimate conversation with my brother today about life and family. He is only 8 years old but sometimes I feel like I am talking to a 30s year old man.
My sister is sick and in pain so we both really worry for her, in fact, my whole family. He told me that he keeps praying for our family every day and that everything will be fine, eventually. He cried out of my parent’s hardship and sacrifice, of how they sell stuff to buy milk for him, of how my dad has worked super hard but never complained. He shared with me that he offered to help my parents with the farm but they said “you, darling, you are not able to help us yet” though he disagreed. He then looked for some ideas to work to make money to help them. His thoughts just make me forget the fact that he is still a kid.
He is the love and the joy of my life. We have a huge gap of 19 years, yet we are always like a team, the connection will always be strong and there. He once told me that even if I have to live alone all my life, my parents and him would not leave me, which is so sweet. He even told me about how he motivated himself to get through tough time and that I should do the same. He is such a sweet guy with a warm heart.
Here and there, he blended in some stories about his friends, his adventures, and his funny jokes. He really knows how to talk and how to make everyone laugh, yet his mind is packed with anxiety sometimes. He is concerned about disaster, environment, and diseases such as COVID 19. He listens to stories and asks questions. His dreams are filled with super hero, bad guys, monsters, ghosts, and family. After school, he would hang around with his friends and go on stories without noticing time to go home. Although he does quite well at school, he is always nervous before a class that he won’t do as well. Studying seems to be always stressful for him while books, comics, games, the internet are always more fun. He knows almost everyone in the town and they know him too. He once told me his dream of becoming a robotic engineer and I cheered him up on that. We talk like age does not matter and that our experience and thoughts are much more valuable. He is my brother, my student, my friend, and my teammate.
I look forward to seeing him in person one day that is not far, my buddy ❤
