Love like Pandora's box

Chapter 14.

"Zhan is his brother's saviour."

Those were some of the first words that he remembered his mother saying to him. He remembered his mother giving him a smile as she gently hugged him and sighed with relief, "thank god, thank god Zane can be saved now." She then gave Zhan a kiss on the head.

Zhan was too young to understand what she meant, but he loved the love and attention that he was getting from his mother, because her mother and father always loved his elder brother Zane and paid more attention to him all the time.

Zhan mostly stayed with his maternal grandmother since his parents didn't have time for him, but suddenly his parents just showered him with love.

So when Zhan saw that his mother and father were smiling and were happy, and he was the reason for it, he was happy, and he smiled as well.

His parents then took him to the hospital. They told him that it was to see his elder brother; however, instead of taking him to his elder's brother, they took him to another room, put him on the bed, and left.

Little Zhan was just four years old when the doctors barged into his room, and when he saw the all-medical equipment and other nurses wearing masks, he felt intimidated and scared. Soon he saw the doctor holding a needle, and he was scared. He shrunk back on the bed and asked, "What is that?"

The doctor smiled as he said, "Your mother has told you that you are your brother's saviour, right?"

"Right."

"Then we are going to use this needle to get some of your blood; this will help your brother."

"Will this make my parents happy?"

"Yes, it will."

Zhan smiled as he raised his hand and said, "Okay, please go ahead."

The innocent child had no idea how drastically his life was going to change; after the day his blood was taken for the first time, it became a regular routine.

Zhan waited in the room alone; he waited for his parents or anyone else to show up, but they never came. It was only when the process was over that he was guided to his brother's room by the nurses, but there he saw his parents talking and showering his sick brother with love and attention; they didn't even notice him.

Zhan watched from the corner, fidgeting with his fingers, and finally, having gathered the courage, he went to his father and grabbed his hand and said, "Dad."

But his dad just took his hand out of Zhan's grip and said, "don't disturb us Zhan , go and sit somewhere else. Can't you see we are talking to your brother?"

Zhan pouted as he walked to the sofa and just stood beside it.

His parents didn't talk to him after that, and finally his grandmother came and took him. She looked furious, angry, and her eyes had tears, but Zhan had no idea why she was not happy.

After that day, his parents came to him again and again and again, and each time they came, it was to take him to the hospital to get his blood.

The child was happy to get the attention of his parents, but as he grew older, he noticed several things: he became observant; his brother got all sorts of gifts and accessories; even if he did nothing, he stayed in bed all day while Zhan gave his blood.

Zhan had to skip school to come to the hospital for his special days, sometimes even festivals and even his birthdays. If his brother needed him, then no matter what, Zhan was dragged to the hospital.

"Mom, please, I want to celebrate Christmas! Please! Let me go; I don't want to go to the hospital; it always hurts."

Slap.

Seven-year-old Zhan's face flew to the side once his mother slapped him across the face and glared at him, "How can you be so selfish? How can you act like this? You ungrateful bastard! Your brother could die! Your brother is lying in the hospital fighting for his life, and you have the audacity to celebrate festivals?!"

After that, she just dragged him to the hospital and left him alone there.

No apologies or Christmas gifts, nothing.

His grandmother came to him looking defeated. Zhan looked at her and cried, "Granny."

His grandmother just came to him and hugged him tightly. "I am sorry. I am so sorry, dear."

"I don't want to come here anymore; my arms hurt, and my head hurts! I don't like needles; I don't like the smell of the hospitals." Zhan cried.

His granny cried as well; if she could, then he would get his custody, but she was old, had no job was living on a pension, and was sick; there was no way she would stay around for long, even though she wished she did.

"I am sorry."

~~
It was his seventh birthday when his granny had made a cake for him and prepared all of his favourite food, "make a wish."

That day, Zhan wished to stay with his grandmother forever. And he never see his parents.

But just before he could cut his cake, his father came to get him, "Zhan come with us, right now!"

Zhan shivered, "No... it's my birthday please..."

"I said come with me"!

"No! I don't want to go! Granny! It's my birthday!"

"Shut up!" his dad said as he grabbed the cake and thew it in the trash, "you brother has never had a normal birthday! He always stayed in the hospital! And here you are ungrateful brat! Selfish! Why can't you be a little considerate like him!" he then grabbed Zhan's hand and dragged him out.

"Stop it! What are you doing"! his granny to fight, even in the weak and frail state, she did all she could to fight but she was pushed harshly by his father and fell to the ground.

"Granny!"

Instead of birthday wishes, gifts, what Zhan got from his parents was their cruelty.

~~

One day Zhan was severely sick burning in fever, his granny was by his side, taking care of him.

"It's okay."

Zhan wanted to say something but he felt tired, and his body was aching everywhere and suddenly he heard the voice of his parents, he shivered and started to cry, "granny, please, please tell them to stop, I don't want to go with them please! Please! Please! I feel so sick."

No matter how much he begged he cried he was still dragged from the house, while his granny protested and tried her best to fight, but there was nothing he could do, so she called the cops.

Zhan felt like dying as he lied on the bed in the hospital, the doctors checked him for any other diseases an infection, before the process started.

When the cops came to the hospital his parents just told them that they had brought Zhan because he was sick and it was his grandmother who was mad and demented, and not to be trusted, the cops trusted the parents and left.

After that Zhan was not allowed to see his granny for a while but at home it was worse, his parents didn't bother to take care of his meal's schools or anything, he had to mend for himself.

But as he stayed at home, he finally got the chance to see his brother.