Simple Story of True Love and True Care

A worth-sharing story...

Simple Story of True Love and True Care

I was born in a secluded village on a mountain.
Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil
with their backs towards the sky.

I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me.
I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around
me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from
my father's drawer. Father had discovered about the
stolen money right away.

He made me and my younger brother kneel against the
wall as he held a bamboo stick in his hand. "Who stole
the money?" he asked. I was stunned, too afraid to talk.
Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, "Fine, if
nobody wants to admit, you two should be beaten!"
He lifted up the bamboo stick.

Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand
and said," Dad, I was the one who did it!" The long
stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly.

Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my
brother until he lost his breath. After that, he sat
down on our stone bed and scolded my brother,
"You have learned to steal from your own house now.
What other embarrassing things will you be possibly
doing in the future? You should be beaten to death,
you shameless thief!"

That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His
body was full of wounds from the beating but he never
shed a single tear.

In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly.
My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said,
" Sis, now don't cry anymore. Everything has happened."
I still hate myself for not having enough courage to
admit what I did. Years gone by, but the incident still seemed
like it just happened yesterday. I will never forget my brother's
expression when he protected me.

That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old.

When my brother was in his last year of secondary
school, he was accepted in an upper secondary school
in the central. At the same time, I was accepted into a
university in the province. That night, father squatted in
the yard, smoking, packet by packet.

I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our
children, they have good results? very good results?"
Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the
use? How can we possibly finance both of them?"
At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in
front of father and said,"Dad, I don't want to continue my
study anymore, I have read enough books."

Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his
face. "Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it
means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will

send you two to school until you have both finished
your study!" And then, he started to knock on every house in the
village to borrow money.

I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's
swollen face, and told him, "A boy has to continue
his study; If not, he will not be able to overcome this
poverty we are experiencing. "

I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my
study at the university. Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out
clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side
of the bed and left a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting
into a university is not easy. I will go find a job and I
will send money to you." I held the note while sitting
on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice.

That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old.

With the money father borrowed from the whole village,
and the money my brother earned from carrying cement
on his back at a construction site,finally, I managed to get
to the third year of my study in the university.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate
came in and told me,"There's a villager waiting for you outside!"
Why would there be a villager looking for me? I
walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body
was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I
asked him, "Why did you not tell my roommate that you are
my brother?"

He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What will they
think if they would know that I am your brother? Won't they
laugh at you?"

I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept
away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And told
him with a lump in my throat, " I don't care what
people would say! You are my brother no matter what
your appearance is?"

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip.
He put it on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in
town are wearing it. So, I think you should also
have one."I could not hold back myself anymore.
I pulled my brother into my arms and cried.

That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23
years old.

I noticed that the broken window was repaired the
first time I brought my boyfriend home. The house
was scrubbed cleaned.

After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl
in front of my mother, "Mom, you didn't have to
spend so much time cleaning the house!" But she told me
with a smile," It was your brother who went home early to
clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on his hand?
He hurt his hand while he was replacing the window."

I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his
thin face, I felt like there are hundreds of needle
pricked in my heart.

I applied some ointment on his wound and put a
bandage on it, "Does it hurt? " I asked him.
"No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the
construction site, stones keep falling on my feet .
Even that could not stop me from working."
In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned
my back on him and tears rolled down my face.

That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26
years old

After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times
my husband invited my parents to come and live with
us, but they didn't want.

They said, once they left the village,they wouldn't
know what to do. My brother agreed with them. He said,
"Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care
of mom and dad here."

My husband became the director of his factory. We
asked my brother to accept the offer of being the
manager in the maintenance department. But my
brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a
repairman instead for a start.

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder
repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was
sent to the hospital.

My husband and I visited him at the hospital.
Looking at the white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled, "Why did
you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers
won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at
you, You ar suffering a serious injury. Why didn't
you just listen to us?"

With a serious __expression on his face, he defended
his decision, "Think of brother-in-law. He just
became the director, and I being uneducated, and
would become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly
around?"

My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I
said, "But you lack in education only because of
me!"

"Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then
he held my hand.

That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years
old.

My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer
girl from the village.

During the wedding reception, the master of
ceremonies asked him, "Who is the one person you respect and
love the most?"

Without even taking a time to think, he answered,"
My sister." He continued by telling a story I could not
even remember.

"When I was in primary school, the school was in a
different village. Everyday, my sister and I would
walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I
lost the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me
one of hers.

She wore only one glove and she had to walk far.
When we got home, her hands were trembling because of the
cold weather that she could not even hold her
chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long
as I live, I would take care of my sister and will
always be good to her."

Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their
attention to me. I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one
I would like to thank most is my brother," And in this
happy occasion,in front of the crowd, tears were
rolling down my face again.

*****

Love and care for the one you love every single day
of your life. You may think what you did is just a
small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot.
Have a nice day everyone! May this story inspire you
in any way!