The gift
I made it to my Auntie's house, knocking frantically on the door.
She opened it, staring me down from top to bottom.
"Mmmm, you're all grown up now. Guess you're not here to visit, come in", she said.
We sat in the dinning room, she folded her arms, still staring me down. The room fell silent, the atmosphere unnerving.
"Alright, I'm going to cut to the chase child. You want to know about your twin brother you that you never knew", she bluntly said.
Before I could even sum up the words to respond, she continued, "his name was Nelson by the way. We have a lot to talk about, let me pour some whiskey"
I felt a sense of distaste towards me from her reactions.
"I don't drink", I replied.
"Well it's not for you, it's for me, I have a lot to get off my chest", she said pouring a glass of whiskey.
"The perfect child, haaahaha, you make me laugh but I don't find you funny. Listen up closely I don't want to repeat myself", she continued.
I sat back in my chair, preparing myself for what she was about to say. She took a huge gulp of whiskey, immediately pouring another.
Clearing her throat she began to tell her story.
"So firstly, yes you did have a twin brother. The younger one amongst you both and despite you both looking the same, your mother seen you both differently. She treated you like the perfect child, thinking your brother just a waste of space. And you always got first preference, you were the golden egg", she said that while taking another gulp.
"But let me tell you something. She never thought your brother had the potential to surpass you, till he proved her otherwise.
You were the sporty type and quite good with your hands. Your brother seemed not to bring anything to the table. But though he wasn't an athletic, his mind was something else. His memory photographic, he learnt how to play piano from a book in under a week.
Your father was the first to find out about this gift. When his car wasn't working properly Nelson read through an entire book based on mechanics and fixed the problem within a hour"
She took one last gulp and continued on with her story.
"But when your mother learnt of this, she was devastated. Thinking that your younger brother was a threat to you, the same way she thought of me being a threat to her"
My mind tried to process all this, so many questions were running in my mind.
"But why don't I remember him", I asked her.
She stared me down once more before she spoke. "Your dear mother tried to hide this secret from you and the world, she kept Nelson at the house most of the time.
You and your brother weren't the closest of siblings. Most times you weren't seen together. So when he died it was so easy for your mother to erase him out of your memory. Making him to be just an imaginary friend"
Looking into her eyes, I was afraid to ask the question. But I found the nerve to ask.
"How did he die"
When she told me the story of my brother's death, filling in the gaps of my mind, I was struck by an immediate revelation.
The Truth to dense for me to swallow, forced me to go out for some air.
I held my throat, catching my breath. Holding my head in regret, I kept blaming myself for killing my own brother and forgetting his existence.
But before I could even try to bring myself together, my Auntie walked up behind me. "Here, you look like you need this", handing me a glass of whiskey.
With no hesitation I gulped the bitter drink, coughing after it gripped my breath by the throat.
Looking into my Auntie's eyes, I could see she had more to say.
I asked her, "how do you even know all of this. You were never allowed near my family"
"Your father. He visited me often, on the days he couldn't stand spending a second with that woman.
And every time we met, an old spark lit up, an attraction between us both", she said to me.
"Old spark. What do you mean", I asked in a confused voice.
She answered, "your father and I used to be lovers when we were younger. Till your mother stole him from me in her jealously.
And when we slept together it wasn't out of lust, but rather out of an old love.
But I guess your brother didn't understand that when he caught us in the act"
"But like me guess, mom found out about your deeds", I quickly stated.
"Your mother always had eyes and ears all around. It was probably the neighbors who told her", she replied.
I pondered for a while, making sense of it all. My mother couldn't really prove my father's misdeeds, but if my brother seen them with his photographic memory, that would be all the proof she needed.
"Anything else you wish to tell me" I asked my Auntie.
"Your brother only wanted to be loved and out of your shadow.
Will you do him due justice and expose his existence to world.
Expose your mother's secret, her true nature. Free this town from keeping her secret", she cried out to me.
I looked deep into her eyes, telling her that, "I will do exactly that, but I need my father's help"
She told me where I could find him, he often visited her.
Leaving her house, I had a mission in mind. Determined to complete it.
Boldly I told myself, "I'm doing this for you Nelson"
She feared me, I was unexpected.
She tried to hide me in the shadows,
But I was meant to be known.
It was too hard for her to face it.
For I was meant to be shown.
She tried to misplace it,
But I was meant to be known.
And I was not meant to be wasted,
For I was meant to be shown.
_The gift