My brother Bradley was a lot older then me. He was 7 years old the day he became the best big brother in the world. I could never figured out how he was so much older when his birthday was after mine. It just didn't make sense.
B.B. was born on August 28th, years before I was born in April. My mom explained to me once I was 5 that he was born in a different year and that's what made him older. I argued because to me it still seemed silly. I was just a kid, what did I know.
Bradley was tall. In fact he was 5 foot 4 at the age of ten. He didn't really look like me and sometimes he would joke and say he was actually from outer space and he came to earth. That's when our parents adopted him. His eyes were brown, mine were blue. His hair was more blond and mine was more red. His skin seemed to be darker then mine, but to me it never mattered that we didn't look the same. Just as long as he was my brother.
Sports and music weren't really his thing. He was born deaf and didn't really get the hang of how a lot of those things worked. Bradley was very smart though and could name every constellation and planet. He knew how to fix things and evenbuild them.
For hours we would work on model planes and cars, so he could teach me how to make things. B.B. always loved spending time with me even though I could act like a brat at times. He taught me how to count, write and even read. Well... read smaller words.
He got bullied at school sometimes because he was different but he kept his head up and would always tell me to never let anyone's words hurt me.
On April 19th, two days before my birthday, when I got home from school my brother wasn't there. He always got home before me and had a snack waiting so he could tell me a story. That was the day he stopped coming home. I had wondered where he had gone and when he would be back. I cried and got mad because I wanted my stories, but after a while I was calm. Maybe it was because I was so young and didn't understand that some things change or maybe I just really missed him. Who else was I to play with and have adventures with.
