A Little Light
“The hardest step is the first one, right? But if it’s so hard, wouldn’t it just be easier to start at the second one?“ The girl was smiling, arms swinging as she strolled lazily alongside her brother. She liked times like these — times where she could feel the gentle morning sun warm the worn clothes on her back, times where her brother laughed over her poorly shaped pastries, times when everything seemed so right and nothing could go wrong.
Her brother sighed. “That’s not how it works, you know,” he said fondly, reaching down to ruffle her short, choppy hair. There was a hint of a smile on his soft features, but his eyes were exhausted and strained with an unreadable emotion.
The girl hummed. A delightful giddiness made her body light, and a triumphant giggle bubbled up in her throat like a finch taking flight. The haze that plagued her mind was nowhere to be found this morning.
That meant she’d be able to remember her brother’s smile.
The thought made her laugh until her chest hurt. “You’re smiling! You’re smiling! Lin, you’re actually smiling! Did you know that?” She poked his cheek. “I bet it feels weird.”
He shook his head, smiling wider. “Come on now — “ he reached for her hand “ — we have a job to do, remember?” His chest fell as he realized what he said. It was supposed to be a good day. A happy day. How could he ruin it by reminding his own sister that she could hardly remember what happened yesterday? How could he say —
An almost painful tug on his arm interrupted his thoughts. He blinked down at his sister, surprised.
“Sorry. You’re doing that thing again.”
“Er, what?”
“That thing you do when you say something about my memory.”
“Oh — ah.”
“Yeah.” She let go of his arm and avoided looking at him. “Stop doing that. I know my memory’s bad, and I know it’s getting worse, and I’m scared and I don’t know what to do.” Glancing up, she murmured, “I know this is hard for you too. But it’s okay. Today is one of my good days, so let’s be happy, okay?”
The boy swallowed and kneeled down. He squeezed his sister’s shoulder and brushed away a strand of her stray hair. “Okay.”
Thank you for taking the time to read! I would love to hear your thoughts. :)
