Alla Breve
art by Marskels
inspired by the fic Alla Breve
written by julads
click image for full size
Kyle emerges from the room and goes to wash his hands, then joins me in the tub. Using his bath sponge, I form a generous lather with soap, coating his back with rich suds. I remember when we were very young and our mothers had us take baths together, though back then, it was usually Kyle trying in vain to wash me as I evaded his sudsy hands. When we were children, Kyle was always adamant, even pushy, in terms of taking care of me, often going so far as to direct my mother about how to raise me. ("He's almost four, don't pick him up just because he asks.") Also, I was relatively quiet as a child (I suppose this is still true), and thus, Kyle would take it upon himself to speak for me. As we got older, and especially when Kyle was behaving erratically during his mid-adolescence, I realized he was just as vulnerable as he believed me to be. This came as a shock to me, since I had gone my whole life up until that point idealizing him, believing him to be nothing less than the most capable, composed person I knew. Those were a few rough years in our household, with my feeling abandoned as Kyle spiraled between relative sanity and bouts of absurd, even fearful, behavior. It wasn't until just before Kyle was put on the proper stabilizing medication at seventeen that it occurred to me I had to be strong for him, and I did have the power to do so. I feel, with that overdue epiphany, I became an adult.
- excerpt from Alla Breve
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