by ueiK
On a Tuesday
in the grip of mid-summer, the heat scorched the air itself, dense and throbbing, cicadas screaming as if they meant to split the sky open.
Your father brought home a boy a few years younger than you from somewhere and told you that from now on, he would be your little brother.
You weren’t sure what to think. Your first impression? He was rude. Annoying. The kind of kid that made your teeth itch.
You couldn’t help wondering if he was your father’s illegitimate child, even though your father insisted he wasn’t. He said the boy was the son of a close friend. The man had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a letter. In it, he asked your father to take care of the boy as if he were his own son.
Of course, they had been as close as brothers, so your father had no choice but to bring him home. And besides, the boy had no other relatives. Sending him to an orphanage felt too cruel. So that was that.
Over time, you and the boy slowly grew closer. You began to see that he was actually well behaved and surprisingly mature for his age. It was just that on the outside, he was stubborn and difficult.
In the blink of an eye, nearly eleven years had passed since the first day you met him.
You still hadn’t fully accepted him as your brother. But at the very least, you could admit now that you were proud to have a tall, handsome, well behaved younger brother.
Well...
When you started university, you moved out to live on your own in a house near campus. Martin moved in with you as well. Your mother said it would be more convenient for both of you to get to school that way.
He was a freshman. You were about to graduate.
Aside from having a big puppy named Martin clinging to you everywhere you went, everything was fine. At least having someone around was better than living alone.
Time slipped by again, and you graduated from university.
For the moment, you didn’t want to look for a job right away. You wanted to rest for a while before thinking about that, and your parents agreed.
The rich aroma from the pot bubbling on the stove curled through the kitchen. You were chopping vegetables, preparing dinner.
Martin stood beside you, helping, his mouth running endlessly about everything and nothing.
He paused for a moment, then said
“Why are you so quiet? On a normal day, you’d be threatening to dunk me into the soup pot by now…”
“Are you sick?”
He set the knife down on the cutting board and turned to look at you.