Siblings' love(Rachel) I frowned as I walked into the maternity ward to see my baby sister for the first time. It was a day in January and Mother gave birth to my little sister whom she named Rosie.
As I walked in, my mother's smile beamed at me the moment I appeared.
"Hi darling" Mother chirped, "Meet your little sister Rosie!"
I looked at Rosie with a disgusted look. She cooed instead and stretched her arms out, looking as if she was trying to reach out for me. She gave a stretch and Mother smiled.
"I was hoping that you could be a good brother for little Rosie, could you darling?"
"Yes Mum" I groaned lightly, "You can count on me"
"Good boy" she smiled and ruffled my hair, "Now Father, can you please fetch Rosie's milk bottle? I had sucked the milk out from my breast already"
"Right, you are Momma!" Father laughed as he took Rosie's pink milk bottle. I gave a secret frown. Rosie is a baby and she is sure to get lots of attention from the adults. Meanwhile, I'm all grown up, a boy of 13, tall and gangling was sure to lessen the attention of adults. I'm the type of kid who always wanted more attention from the adults. But to do that, I need to get rid of Rosie first.
[...]
Mother stayed in the hospital for the next 3 days. Father was busy buying Rosie's necessities while I sat in the house, useless and bored. Every day, Father would leave the house early in the morning and come back with baby stuff. One day, it was a pinkish pram. Another day, it was a wooden music box for Rosie and a wooden cot with a musical hanging. On another day, it was babies' clothes and towels. I scowled when each item came home with Father who was looking very excited.
One day, when I was in the middle of my video game, Father stood outside my door and called me.
"Benjamin! Can you go shopping with me? Momma is coming home today and we need to buy some nappies and talcum powder! And maybe a few more items we haven't bought for Rosie yet. Please?"
"Dad! Don't you know I'm in the middle of my video game?" I groaned from inside my room, "I can't lose this game!"
"You can pause it and continue later" Father shouted with great annoyance
I pouted and paused my game. I pulled my hoodie over my head and walked over to Father.
[...]
We arrived at the baby's shopping center after a 15-minute drive from home. I trudged miserably across the aisles as we checked for the things we needed.
"Benji... Fetch for me a bag of diapers. It's right there" Father said, pointing at a bag of diapers. I took the pack and dumped it into the shopping cart. Not long later, Father told me to get a bottle of baby talcum powder over at the cosmetics aisle. I sighed and dropped it into the cart. We went and got a few milk towels and some packs of berry porridge for Rosie. We paid for the whole thing and headed home.
As I arrived home, my face turned into a big frown when I saw little Rosie, perched on Mother's arms in a bundle of blankets. I bit my lip and was about to return to my game when Mother cried,
"Benji dear! Say hello to little Rosie! She's so cute!"
I rolled my eyes and trudged over to Rosie. She gave out a little babyish laughter and whacked me across my face. I walked upstairs, miserable and smelled of milk.
As my fingers ran across my video game controller, my brain was whirring with ideas of how to best get rid of that menace.
I thought of stamping a big fat stamp on her body before shipping it over to my grans, but it was too risky and the postman would notice it immediately and I'll get in big trouble.
Purposely letting someone kidnap little Rosie won't work because I'll get in the doomiest and biggest trouble once Mother finds me purposely letting someone get their hands on Rosie. I would have to be beaten 10 times every day and will be force-fed boiled cabbage for every day of the week and get my game console confiscated. Poor me. Living with a sister who's going to rob away half of the adults' attention on me and worse, a girl.
[...]
Rosie grew up fast. Not long later, from a girl of one, she now turned into a girl of eleven, pretty (that's what other people say about her. If you ask me, I'll say she's ugly) and tall with long wavy blonde hair and deep blue eyes which seemed to twinkle whenever she smiled.
I was jealous. Even though I'm 15, I seem to get less attention from the adults than Rosie. She's acting so perfectly, the adults even favored her more than me! When I ask, they'll shrug and tell me that they don't have a favorite, even though they seemed to like little Rosie more than me.
Rosie loved painting with watercolor and acrylic paint. She also likes drawings and crafts. I, on the other hand, hate drawing or painting or whatever those stupid things are. They are time-wasters and I'm an absolute noob in drawing. Whenever Rosie drew or painted, the adults would sit around and admire her, occasionally whispering to each other "She's so perfect. We are so lucky to have her", whenever the adults said that I got annoyed and would sip my tea through pursed lips.
I had endured 11 hard and frustrating years with Rosie and I knew enough was enough. No one cares about me and that's ENOUGH. If only things were easy...
[...]
"Ha! Get rid of your lil' sis? You're nuts!"
It was break time and I was hanging out with Joel, my only best friend who'll listen to anything you said. I talked about my concerns about my little sister and a way to get rid of her but Joel just laughed and called me nuts. I was fuming.
"Do you think it's funny?" I said loudly, "When your attention is as small as a dying candle and you haven't got the faintest idea of how to regain your attention? You better be nuts!"
"You're joking" cried Joel, "Your mom will surely kick you out the moment she lost lil' Rosie. Just let her stay! She might get better over time!"
"Yeah, but the problem is she gets a lot of attention from adults and so, the adults never pay attention to me and I'm getting very frustrated! So, I want to chuck Rosie out of this house!"
Joel looked at me with disbelief. He shook his head and mouthed "Be careful"
I grinned to myself. From now on, I'll make my masterful plan to chuck that menace out of the house! This is perfect! I ran into my next class and took a piece of paper out and scribbled mischievously, grinning ear-to-ear.
[...]
I came home with a dark face but a big grin. Tonight, I'm going to chuck Rosie out and I'll return to the old times when I got full attention. I plan that I'll drag Rosie to a dark alleyway for a reasonable reason. Then, I'll pretend to leave for the toilet and leave her waiting there! Splendid! I couldn't imagine how better the world would be when Rosie was gone! It's fantastic! What could go wrong?
But I shouldn't have been too subjective. I should have thought a little harder of the best reason to drag Rosie off to the alleyway because she isn't as dumb as I planned!
As I trudged down to her bedroom, she was in her pajamas, painting her final portrait of the day. She saw me and beamed warmly.
"Hi brother," she said happily, "You still aren't asleep yet?"
"No," I said with a rather nasty grin, "I asked our parents if I could go out! And they said yes! So, I decided to have a nightly coffee session and I couldn't go without you! We could do our late-night studies there! It's much better!"
Rosie looked suspiciously at me. I felt as if she knew what I was up to. She gently put her brush down and strolled over to me.
"Are you sure you're going to take me over to the cafe?" she asked
"Er-Yeah! Definitely!" I stuttered, trying to hide the lie, "I have lots of homework to do and it's due the day after tomorrow!"
"Well," Rosie hesitated, "I think we can go"
"YES!" I cried heartily, "C'mon then! Let's go!"
Rosie stood still for a moment and looked at me. I knew I let the cat out of the bag! I blushed and said, "Let's go!"
Rosie sighed and went to the dressing room. I told her she didn't need to change her clothes and that she could wear her pajamas over to the cafe. Rosie took her books and slipped her boots on. She looked out at the window. It was snowing, so she needed a scarf and a hat, and off she went with me.
We walked and walked. Rosie looked quite nervous and cold but I tried to warm her up by snuggling up to her. When we reached the alleyway, I tried my best to contort my face into a face that signaled it was pee time.
"Oops! Rosie! I need to pee. Stay here. Don't go anywhere while I find the toilet. Ok... Where is it-"
Rosie stayed rooted to the spot and was now shivering. The dark alleyway was cold with snow and now, she is trying to stay warm with her books. I grinned as I watched her suffer in the coldness. I stood there, watching for a while before I knew, it was time to go home. I left Rosie behind and walked across the zebra cross. Rosie must have seen me so she cried, "BROTHER! W-W-WAIT FOR ME!" and Rosie tried to stand up, but it was too cold, so she stayed rooted to the spot. She collapsed to the snowy pavement, drops of warm, salty tears were now running down her face.
"Bub-bye! I think I need to go to another toilet!" I laughed as I crossed. But what happened next turned my smile upside down and made me regret leading Rosie to the cold alleyway and abandoning her there.
As I crossed, I knew that now it was late and nothing should be crossing the road. But I didn't know that a lorry was coming to me. Sensing that, Rosie warned,
"B-b-brother... A l-l-lorry is c-c-coming... B-back to the p-p-pavement!"
"Are you tricking me to come pick you up?" I mocked, "Nah! I'm not a foolish mind!"
But then, a honk came from the side. I turned and saw an approaching lorry. I screamed, knowing it was the end, and tried to run, but the lorry was too close. I screamed, expecting to meet my end when something, or rather someone shoved me out of the road and I landed hard on the pavement.
"Oi! Don't you know that hurts?" I yelled as I tried to pick myself up. I looked around and knew I was alive! I knew the person who just shoved me saved me!
"Oh, I mean, THANK YOU!" I cried, trying to look around. But there was no response. I looked over at the place where Rosie last lay and didn't see her there. I stared in horror and began to shift my gaze onto the road. There, flat on the snowy road, was a little girl, blood spread like jam across her face and her scarf and hat all over the road. She looked dead, her arms clutching a pile of books when the lorry hit. I knew it was Rosie who saved me!
"ROSIE!" I cried, running over to her side. But she didn't reply and stayed right there, frost and blood all across her body. I began to cry and tried to wake Rosie up.
"ROSIE! ROSIE! WAKE UP! DON'T LET ME DIAL THE AMBULANCE" I cried louder. I tried to feel her breath but there wasn't any. I tried to feel her heartbeat, but there wasn't any. Rosie was dead.
"Oh dear!" I cried, taking my phone out. I dialed the ambulance and moments later, the ambulance headed straight to where the scene took place. The nurses wheeled Rosie into the van and drove away. Moments later, I saw Mother and Father running over to me.
"Benji, dear!" Mother wept, hugging me, "You're safe!"
"Where's Rosie?" Father panicked, wiping his sweat
I looked away from Mother's gaze. Mother's eyes widened with tears.
"Where is she?-"
"Died in an-an-" I stuttered, "Accident!"
Mother bawled and fell to her knees. Father's eyes widened.
"Are you kidding, Benji?!" Father cried, warm tears forming, "TELL ME!"
"I'm not kidding!" I cried, dropping to the ground, "It's all my fault!"
"Tell me what happened!" Mother wept
I told her everything. About my plan. About why I wanted to kick Rosie out. About how I left her on the alleyway to freeze to death. About how she heroically saved me from the roaring lorry. Mother cried hard as she heard the part of Rosie's noble sacrifice.
"OH, ROSIE!" Mother howled, "I NEVER KNEW!"
I tried to comfort Mother, wrapping my arms around her pink, satin pajamas. I tried to look at Father but he didn't look too happy. He looked angry and sad about my plan to chuck Rosie out of my house. Father puffed angrily.
"Come on Kayla, there's nothing we can do" Father puffed angrily, glaring at me.
"B-B-But?"
"Kayla! Go!" Father cried, taking her hands and lifting her. Her face turned quite red and snot and tears were flying everywhere.
"Go, son!" Father snapped and I followed Mom and Dad. When I came home, I felt that absence. Rosie's gone. It's all because of me. I sat on the couch, feeling blue. Mother and Father walked into the door and walked up to their room. As they were about to close the door, Father snapped, "You know what you need to do now!" before shutting the door. I bowed my head and decided to have a visit in Rosie's bedroom before I went to bed.
As I walked into Rosie's pink bedroom, I couldn't help but stare at all the portraits she painted through the years. It began with a few funny strokes and then a self-portrait. Her pinkish bed was untidy with her teddy bears scattered everywhere. As I walked, I saw her diary on the table. I took the diary and opened a random page. I got so emotional when I read her lines.
"Dear Diary,
I know today is the 7th of June and tomorrow is my brother's birthday. I had prepared his present from a few weeks ago. I half expected him to treat me better but he didn't. I had endured 14 years of him treating me badly and I'm very annoyed and sad and angry. But tomorrow is his birthday and I can't let him down! So I spent a few weeks painting a portrait of him and drew my family in it. It is dazzling as you can see. I hid it under my table. I'm writing it in case I forgot! Then, my brother invited me for a coffee late at night! He called it "late-night coffee" and I'm coming now.
I came back and the coffee was-"
The rest of it was never written because she didn't live. I flicked over to another random page and cried even harder when I saw the page for the day.
"Dear Diary,
Benjamin is treating me very badly. I don't know why. I see him drinking tea through pursed lips whenever the adults beamed with pride whenever I draw. His behavior to me is worsening with each day. I'm really angry and sad about him, but he will always be in my heart. I still have to love him, even though he is so cruel to me. That's life.
I also think the reason why he hates me so much is that I annoy him. Yeah, but I still have to love him. But anyway, I'm almost done with my brother's portrait. It'll be dazzling. I promise you!"
I cried as hard as I could when I read the lines "But he will always be in my heart. I still have to love him, even though he is so cruel to me". I closed her pinkish diary and sat on her pink bed, thinking about the awful things I've done to her over the years. It's just not fair! The people who are good die while the baddies like me don't! I felt I was cursed to live. I cried until it was time.
As I walked out of the room, I looked at her bedroom for one last time before walking out. But then, I realized I left a pack of gum on her table. I ran to retrieve it when something hard touched my tiptoes. I looked down and saw a huge canvas. I looked at it and fell to my feet when I saw the contents.
It was a portrait of me with the family. I was wearing a birthday hat and a cake in front of me. Rosie even wrote, "Happy Birthday Benjamin" in the background. I sobbed when I saw it. I was so wrong, leading her to the dark alleyway and trying to leave her there to rot. I was so wrong, so stupid, so cruel. I gently put the canvas back in place and left her bedroom.
I lay in bed, unable to sleep that night. But then, I felt a sudden coldness in my room. I sat up, expecting to find ghosts but sensed a strangely familiar presence of someone else in this room. When I rubbed my eyes and cleared my eyesight, warm and salty tears ran down my eyes once more.
The ghost of Rosie was standing in this room, waving and smiling. I walked over to her ghost and smiled.
"Rosie," I said softly, trying to touch her, but she was untouchable.
"Brother," Rosie said, "Please don't do that again. I'm meant to be in the afterlife now but I need to give you my will. I know I saved your life and sacrificed mine instead. Tell Mother and Father I left my art things, bed sheets, and some of my portraits to her. For you, I need you to keep my diary safe and the rest of my portraits. Also, my birthday present to you is under my table"
"I saw it" I smiled sadly, "It was gorgeous. And I'm so sorry for being so mean to you when you were still alive. I'm so sorry"
"That's okay. You are forgiven but please don't do that again. Live happily and meaningfully please and always remember my death. I shall leave now. Bye, brother!"
I waved sadly as she faded into thin air. It was a sad and beautiful sight as she drifted back into the afterlife. I smiled and cherished the memory we shared. Who knows, one day, I may meet her in heaven.

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