The Invisible Brother

Once upon a time, there was a bouncy, sweet little brother whose favorite person in the whole wide world was his older sister. Every chance he got, he would follow her around like a little shadow, begging to build block towers together or look at picture books.

But this year, his sister started elementary school, and being a big kid was hard work! She had mountains of homework to finish and so many books to read every single day.

One afternoon, the little brother ran into her room holding a fistful of markers. He tugged at his sister's shirt and asked, "Sister, will you color with me?"

She gently shook her head and said, "I have to do my homework right now. I'll play with you later." The little brother hung his head and walked out.

After a little while, playing all by himself got too boring. He trotted back in, clutching a storybook, and plopped it right on her desk. "Sister, read me a story then!" he said.

His sister sighed, handed the book back, and said, "I'm really not done yet. Go read it in the living room by yourself for now."

It wasn't long before the little brother came running back in, hugging his favorite bouncy ball. But in his excitement, he accidentally bumped into the desk! His sister's pencil slipped, drawing a long, dark scribble right across the homework she had almost finished.

Not noticing how mad his sister was getting, the little brother looked up with hopeful eyes. "Sister, let's go kick the ball!"

Looking at the ruined homework, the sister felt completely overwhelmed and angry. She just couldn't take it anymore. She jumped up and shouted, "Stop bothering me! I never want to see you again!"

The little brother's eyes instantly welled up with tears. He looked down at the floor and quietly walked out of the room, squeezing his bouncy ball tightly.

That evening, as the sky began to grow dark, the sister finally finished her homework and gave a big, long stretch. She felt a little guilty about yelling, so she decided to go find her brother to play.

But she looked everywhere—in the living room, in his bedroom, and even out on the porch. He was nowhere to be found.

She ran into the kitchen. Mom was busy making dinner at the stove, with the pots bubbling and sizzling. The sister said anxiously, "Mom, my little brother is missing!"

Mom didn't even turn around. As she stirred the food, she said, "I'm busy right now; don't interrupt. Go wait in the living room for dinner."

A little while later, the delicious smell of dinner filled the air. Mom carried a hot bowl of soup to the dining table and called out, "Kids, go wash your hands! It's time to eat!"

Sitting at the table, the sister said in a panic, "Mom, he is really missing! I can't find him anywhere."

Mom just chuckled, thinking her daughter was playing a silly joke. She pointed toward the couch and said, "Stop goofing around. He's right over there playing with his toy cars!"

The sister followed Mom's finger and stared at the couch. But the couch was entirely empty. There was no one there at all. Yet, Mom's face was completely serious; she didn't look like she was joking one bit.

After dinner, it was time for bed. Mom walked into the little brother's room and gently told him to go brush his teeth and get ready for bed. The sister tiptoed behind her and peeked inside. There was clearly no one in the room, but Mom was talking as if someone was right there in front of her! The sister's heart started to pound with worry.

The next morning, the sister put on her backpack, ready to look for her brother before she left for school. Still, she couldn't see him anywhere. Mom fixed the collar of the sister's shirt and said, "Dad already left and took your brother with him. You need to hurry, or you'll be late!"

When she came home from school that afternoon, the very first thing she did was look for her little brother. But there were only his toys scattered across the living room floor. That familiar little boy was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the sister understood. Because she had yelled, "I never want to see you again," those angry words had come true! She really, truly couldn't see her little brother anymore.

Looking at the little chair he loved to sit in most, big tears began to roll down her cheeks—plop, plop, plop. She missed him so, so much. She missed his giggles, and she missed holding his soft little hands.

Crying into the empty living room, the sister called out as loud as she could, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said you were bothering me! I take it back! I really, really want to see you! Please come back!"

The moment she said those words, something magical happened.

She felt a pair of warm little hands gently tugging at her shirt. She looked down, and slowly, her brother's chubby, sweet face appeared right before her eyes. His eyes were sparkling as he asked in a small voice, "Sister, do you have time to play with me now?"

The sister burst into happy tears. She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a giant, tight hug. "I do!" she cried out. "I will always have time to play with you!"

From that day on, the sister never said such hurtful words again. She finally knew that getting to see the people you love every single day is the most wonderful blessing in the whole wide world.