Yet, the worth I was building within never faltered. Through it all, I remain steadfast—a patient brother, waiting, growing, and resilient.
At 15, I was still growing, misled and misguided by those closest to me. I was the oldest of three, and eventually the oldest of eight. I felt isolated—reason and stability always seemed out of reach.
In this confusion, I searched for myself, trying to understand this version of me, unfamiliar and undefined. The weight of the world pressed down, and though it shifted, I resisted. My life became surrounded by taunts and slurs, pins and needles, until they became part of me.
The consequence? Eight years spent facing a system that seemed more intent on punishment than understanding. I learned to bear the turmoil and torment without sharing my burden, accepting my reality with patience for whatever lay ahead. The years passed, and memories of what once was slowly faded, becoming distant and almost forgotten. Attempts to recall them only made them feel more bitter.
I refuse to exhale, to let out a sigh that might feel like defeat. I grow tired of the choices I’ve made, choices that are impossible to undo, bound in a masquerade of resilience.
Then, in the silence, a voice emerged—faint, barely a whisper, but it reached me. Her words brought comfort to stifling moments; she was freedom, the reason I longed for something beyond my current existence. I grew internally, though outwardly restrained. I hoped her vision would bring a rebirth, like a creature discovering new dimensions. Her light, once dimmed, flickered suddenly like a song brushed by the wind. I reached for it, but it always seemed just beyond my grasp.
Somehow, unseen strength guided me, and my hands searched for signs. She was more profound than I had known—hope, blinding and ignored. Then, another voice, all too familiar, surfaced. It drew me into a haze of delusion, clouding all but the way of confusion. The hand that once held my shadow slipped away, reaching for someone else. Yet, the worth I was building within never faltered. Through it all, I remain steadfast—a patient brother, waiting, growing, and resilient.
