A sister's burden.

"If anything happens to me, please do well to take good care of your younger brother David; don't ever let harm come anywhere near him." Stephanie's mom said as she was being taken to the theater room.

"Mom, don't say that; nothing will happen to you. We will be here waiting for you." Stephanie said as she held her brother so close, knowing aside from their mom he was the only relative left since their dad died years ago.

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As if the mother knew she was not going to make it back, the doctors did all that they could to make sure she survived and returned to her kids, but it was her time; all efforts to ensure her survival did not yield anything. "We are sorry; we did all that we could, but we could not save her." The doctor said to Stephanie and her brother, who were waiting for their mother's return in the waiting room.

The news broke Stephanie and her brother, but she knew she had a responsibility to take up, which is looking after her younger brother at all costs and ensuring his safety had to become a priority.

"I promise you, mom, I will take care of David just like you would; I will look after him no matter what." Stephanie said

Stephanie took up the responsibility to care for her brother and Carter for all of his needs no matter the cost, and ever since their mother died, making them both orphans, as the oldest sibling, she had to become both father and mother to her younger brother. Though filing the vacuum her parents had left was impossible, she gave it her best shot.

"Sister, you are really trying; thank you for everything you are doing. I know it is not easy, but you do it anyway." David said to Stephanie while they were having breakfast.

"I will always be there for you, okay? Eat up, let me drop you off at school, and I need to go to work too." Stephanie responded with a smile.

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Stephanie made it her job to drop David off at school like their mom did before she passed on; their mom claimed it helps her to bond well with her kids, so instead of a school bus, she does the job herself, and she does not forget to pick them up from school too, which is more difficult because sometimes she gets caught up with work but she still manages to meet up and not keep her kid waiting.

"Hey, I am done for the day; I will be going home now." Stephanie said to Eliza, her colleague at work

"How about a little girl's time?" Eliza asked

"I need to pick up my baby brother from school in the next one hour. I don't think I can meet up." Stephanie responded

"Don't worry, we won't be out for long—30 minutes at most, I promise. Just you, me, and Mariam who will meet us there, please." Eliza pleaded

"Okay, okay, you have got me. Let's get going so I can meet up and not keep my baby brother waiting." Stephanie responded

Stephanie got caught up with friends, and while having fun they all forgot she had to pick up her brother from school, and when she finally remembered she was already 3 hours late.

"Hey, emmmm, Eliza, please, what is the time on your phone because my own looks broken with the time I am seeing on it?" Stephanie asked

"The time is 6:15 PM; I thought you wanted to pick your brother up at 3pm." Eliza asked

"Jesus Christ, oh my God." Stephanie kept shouting as she ran out of the eatery to her car.

It was raining heavily, and the only thoughts that crossed her mind were how her brother must have coped in the rain since he is not really a fan of getting drenched or cold weather. She got to her brother's school, and everywhere was as quiet as a graveyard; even the security men she could ask questions were nowhere to be found.

"Where would he have gone? He has no friends. What do I do? I have broken my promise." Stephanie kept asking herself questions and blaming herself for everything.

She drove home and found her brother at home; he walked home and got drenched on the way. She blamed herself for everything and could feel the guilt of her actions rumble in her stomach. The next day David fell ill as expected; days turned into weeks, and his illness only got worse from fever to catarrh and cough, all because he got drenched.

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Stephanie's guilt only heightened; she continued to beat herself, started having sleepless nights, and worried too much about her younger brother. One day she wanted to help him up from the bed. "I know you feel really bad and remorseful about what happened, but it was an accident. I know you will not just abandon me at school, so I forgive you. Stop beating yourself up." David said as he hugged her with tears running down both their eyes.