He has Changed

                It was the big day. It was just twenty minutes to 2 o’ clock and Samantha wasn’t even done completing the assignments-assigned by Mr. Frederick. She was in a race against time. Moreover, she had to be at the airport by 2 to pick up Martin, her brother and sole source of happiness in her monotonous and dreary life. A gush of emotions rushed through her- she was buzzing with excitement and simultaneously, nervous of being late.

               Samantha had crossed her limit of patience and so she rushed out and hit the road; without informing her dictatorial boss about the unfinished work. But little did she know luck was not in her favour today- the roads were cramped and the clouds roared vociferously in the darkness. Samantha sighed. “Is this really what I get after waiting ardently for years for this day to come?” She rattled the steering wheel with her hands while impatiently waiting for the stationary car to move.

               The airport was huge and she restlessly searched for Martin but returned to the parking lot in vain. Glancing at her watch she noticed- it was 2:40pm. “Oh God! Martin must be so ups-…” And there he was- standing in front of her; a tall dark and handsome figure. Two years after they last saw each other, she was amazed at how confident he seemed. “Martin, oh dear, how have you been?  I never knew you had grown so tall!” Samantha’s eyes filled with tears as she covered her mouth in awe. “Do you even know what time is it?” replied a sharp and harsh tone. “I know I am so sorry my baby. The weather was extremely wretched today. I couldn’t make it on time, besides, Mr. Frederick-” “Whatever I don’t wanna hear about your workaholic life. And for God’s sake stop addressing me as ‘baby’. Even though you are 17 years older than me, it doesn’t give you the right to be my mom.”   

               Samantha lowered her head and headed towards the car. The ride was silent as Martin dozed off wearing his headphones. She assumed he was having a jet lag and would be back to his usual-self pretty soon.

               For the rest of the day he remained in his room and despite Samantha’s desperate requests to talk, he shut her up saying, “Next time.” She was utterly disheartened by his sudden change in behavior. The next day, she found out that his room was empty. While cleaning up his messy room she came across a photo album which oddly had only one picture of Lucas, his rowdy roommate, and Martin in a dark alley holding beer cans. “He is just a high school student in his 18s.” To her astonishment, as she flipped the page, a packet of white powder dropped on the floor. “What are you doing in my room?” Martin clenched his jaw. “Drugs? Are you serious? Is this what I am striving for? I am trying to live a minimal life so that you can lead a better life. I rejected Paul’s marriage proposal so that I could focus on you.” “Why do you always try to be the victim? You were always busy with work! Have you ever genuinely cared for me?” He left before she could answer.

                She stood there startled while anger and pain flushed through her. Should she have told the police about it? Months went by and she was entangled in grief and perplexity. Martin was out of her sight…maybe forever. “Will our bond ever be the same again?” Her life was now changed forever.