by Theo
Amazed, John watched his crippled brother walk again. Cerebral palsy was a slow and debilitating life. His brother and his mother were jumping and dancing in the brightly lit kitchen, laughing as the utensils clatter to the ground.
‘Don’t worry, son,’ his mother said, her eyes beaming with joy as she rubbed his brother’s cheek, ‘You’ll get there soon enough.’
It was the first time in years that she had to look up at this burly young man, joy bouncing across his lips.
‘I know.’
He knelt down and hugged her tummy like a toddler. She caressed his head and drew her attention over to John.
In the kitchen, John’s eyes began to glisten when he remembered that Chris died several years ago, his mother following suit right after the heart attack.
The pain was too much, she wrote, and he, John, her eldest son, was strong enough to take what life gave him.
Still, seeing his brother dance with his mother, he was overwhelmed with sudden wonder and backed out through the bat-wing doors to leave them in peace.
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