MIXED SIGNALS

Chapter 28 - Sibling Love

Hi guys, early update :) Making up for lost time, since I slowed down my updates because of work. Not sure I'll be able to update tonight, but I will certainly try. 

How close are you to your siblings? Regardless of how close you are, why does it seem easier to trade mock insults and jokes with them rather than talk about your feelings for each other? I am guilty of that fact. I can talk with them, joke about anything with them, but talking about how much I love them to their face is awkward. Maybe the fact that we were brought up in a household where my mom was not very vocal of her feelings was one reason why. 

In this story, Maine and her brother Nico are the same, their relationship is complex such that they do love each other, but barely let each other know how much they do. And when they finally do, the result is beautiful.

It's never too late to express how much you love your siblings, and this is one lesson I should practice myself. I hope you will enjoy this chapter my dears. Thank you for still reading and being generous with your comments :)

On the night before Nico's class reunion, he called his sister for a quick chat. Alden's words rang through his head repeatedly, and for the first time in his life, he reflected on how he had been treating his sister since they were younger.

Maine as the youngest among the brood of three, got the brunt of Nico's teasing. Nicole, his fraternal twin, was a bully herself and never took any teasing from him sitting down. It was always an eye for an eye with her, sometimes she retaliated with more ammunition than what she received from him. That was one of the reasons why he kept his distance from Nicole, he was even a bit afraid of her. So his attention zeroed in on his kid sister, Maine.

In all honestly, he never really intended to bully Maine. What he did, he did out of poking fun at her because she was such a good sport. He was a practical joker by nature. He liked her disposition, she never threw a tantrum over anything he said, never snitched on him even if there were times his jokes were hurtful enough to make her cry.

His sister was undeniably beautiful. He knew that, but never told her to her face. He belatedly regretted not doing so, and wondered how many times did she ever lock herself up in her room to cry quietly over his jokes. He now cringed as he recalled some of them. It took someone who was not of their own flesh and blood to shove the painful truth down his throat.

He had been cruel to his sister. He bullied her all these years. She never retaliated and remained a sweet sister to him. He remembered all her DIY gifts for him; the framed cross-stitch airplane she painstakingly made when she was only eight years old , the Parker ballpoint pen she saved up for when he graduated from Grade 7, and the scale model of a Boeing 747 when he graduated from high school.

These were gifts he cherished and kept properly stored, but never rightfully acknowledged. He took out each gift she had ever given him, laid them out on his bed and called her to his room.

"Kuya bakit---"

She stopped in mid-sentence, looking at the items on his bed. She approached the bed with a smile and touched the framed cross stitch frame tenderly, her eyes pooling with unshed tears. All her gifts were as good as new, without dust or creases on the boxes they were in. She saw a scrapbook she made and gave him on the day he would leave for Australia, filled with photos of them together since they were children.

"Maine........kahit minsan, hindi kita napasalamatan ng maayos sa lahat ng gifts na binigay mo sakin. Pero tandaan mo, importante sakin lahat ng bigay mo. I kept them. Yung iba, dala ko sa Oz nung umalis ako, lalo na yung school project mong teddy bear na komang yung isang braso....." He gulped painfully while laughing, his tears falling.