IYDEN:
"Haydrian! I'm nearly done, you can have the bathroom now!" I called out as loudly as I could. I heard a muffled reply. I finished putting on my slightly damp socks and unlocked the bathroom door as I heard my brother hurry up the stairs, and I went to my room.
I found my tie on my bed (red and green striped) and tied it as best I could before putting on my shoes and thumping down the stairs.
**
HAYDRIAN:
I scrambled down the stairs once I was dressed to find Iyden sitting on one of the chairs, munching on some bread. I smiled at him a little before making myself a cup of coffee and searching for our pills. I quickly swallowed mine, and then gave Iyden a warning of 'heads up' before chucking two boxes at him. He caught them, like usual, and fumbled to get the packets open: growling, he ripped the box (again) and popped one small, oval shaped pill out of the packet and it hit the table with a small, almost metallic sound. He then did the same with the other packet, but a lot less aggressively, and then swallowed each pill with a gulp of water.
He'd even made himself a drink, I thought , insanely proud of him. Maybe going to a new school won't be too bad.
"How do you feel today, Iyden?" I asked, momentarily thinking I'd gone too far. I gulped and started to make myself a nutella sandwich, passing half to him.
"Not too bad, I guess." he answered, munching.
"Well, once you've finished eating, go get your bag ready."
My brother nodded, and did just that.
I watched from the kitchen as my brother packed his new school books into the new leather bag I had brought him. I packed two notepads, a pencil case, and then I saw a flicker of his sketchbook being put into it.
"Hey buddy, don't put your sketchbook in there." I said sternly, calling out.
"I want to take it to school." said Iyden simply, sitting down on the stairs. My insides churned out of pity, but I shook my head and stood in front of him in the hall.
"You can't take it to school. What if you lose it?"
"I wouldn't!" Iyden sniffed, looking at me with round, almost angry eyes.
"Well, what if someone looked through it?"
A flicker of fear ran over his face, and I grimaced. My brother's sketchbook had bits of his own drawings in it, things that he needed to get out of his mind. Iyden had a superb photographic memory, but it wasn't a great thing when he wanted to forget what had happened to him. Sketching it out helped him, almost like therapy...actually, it was the only therapy I had seen that had helped him.
"Yeah, exactly. Now give it to me." I said, addressing the fear that was obvious on his face, trying not to snap. He handed the black book to me and I hurried upstairs, putting it on my bed and locking my bedroom door before coming back downstairs again, seeing my brother standing by the front door, looking down at his feet.
"Let's go." he said, and opened the door. I sighed, grabbed my bag, and went out the door, feeling the cool breeze run through my hair as Iyden slammed the door shut behind him. Shoots were starting to peek out of the soil in the potted plants: Spring was coming. Pulling his coat a little closer over him, Iyden looked at me before smiling, and together, we walked to school.
YOU ARE READING
Dear Brother
Short StoryLife is full of struggles. Haydrian, a student, lives with his younger brother Iyden to protect him from the world's worries and fears. Something happened to Iyden, and he can not talk about it, but it is etched onto his fragile memory. Living alone...
