The Miracle of You

[Nineteen years ago…]

–

“Oh my god!”

“You’ll be okay. You’ll be okay, Michael!”

“Can you hear me?”

“Michael!”

“Little brother – please be all right!”

Voices echoed in his head as he felt himself being rushed to the emergency room. Earlier, he had felt himself being lifted onto the gurney, the blaring siren of the ambulance almost deafening his ears.

A sharp jolt of pain shot through his body, sending waves of agony. He tried to focus, but the pain was relentless, overwhelming every other sensation.

His vision blurred. He couldn’t see anyone’s face clearly. He could tell that his family was there, screaming his name, worrying incessantly about him.

He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but even breathing was a struggle. The air suddenly felt thick and suffocating, and his body felt heavy and unresponsive.

“Please tell me he’s gonna be okay!” he could hear his mother screech. She sounded like she was sobbing, but her voice was starting to fade into the distance. He tried to stay awake, but the effort was too much, and he found himself drifting in and out of consciousness.

He thought that he could hear his sister crying out his name, but he couldn’t be so sure.

Then everything went black.

***

Truth be told, he and Joanna had never gotten along, even in their younger years.

He remembered being competitive with her at first. She was good at everything – her studies, sports, relationships, and being a responsible daughter and older sister.

Sometimes she would tutor him in subjects he didn’t understand – she had been forced by her parents to do so – but he would make it difficult for her by repeatedly stating that he didn’t understand what she was teaching.

They would fight afterwards, in which Will would be forced to get involved and break up their quarrel.

Michael had been a mischievous boy back then. It was all too easy to tease his sister. Joanna was so serious that bothering her brought out these amusing reactions. He would sneak into her room, put a whoopee cushion on her chair, and laugh at her whenever the prank was successful.

He would also borrow her personal items without permission and hide them, making it difficult for her to look for them. Not only that, but he would annoy her friends by telling them all of her embarrassing moments.

He supposed that he had been a total menace back then. That was so long ago though, and he quickly grew out of it, especially after his accident.

But Joanna definitely didn’t forget about it.

He could still remember that day. They had a big fight before it happened. Joanna yelled at him with tears in her eyes before running out of the house in a fit of rage. His parents were upstairs while Will slept at a friend’s house.

Seeing her run out crying like that, Michael immediately felt guilty. Joanna had never cried in front of him. She always acted so tough that it was hard for him to imagine her showing such weakness.

When she cried, it meant he had crossed the line.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

So he ran after her on his scooter, searching for her in the night. It wasn’t completely dark, as there were many lampposts illuminating the area, but there weren’t enough lights in some corners.

Michael had searched every area nearby, calling out her name.

“Joanna!” he yelled. “Where are you? Mom and Dad will get mad!”

There was no answer, only the sound of dogs barking from inside the gates.

He kept searching until he finally spotted her figure in the distance, still running away.

He rushed after her on his scooter, yelling, “Come back here! Let’s go home!”

But she never stopped or turned around. She just kept running.

The chase continued until she rounded the corner, and then the car came at her without warning. Its headlights were dim and blinking, as if they were broken.

Joanna froze in place, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Michael saw this and acted without thinking. He went as fast as he could and pushed her away.

But then pain exploded in his body and he felt himself being thrown back violently.

And then everything plunged into chaos.

***

After that day, everything changed.

Instead of their sibling relationship improving because of Michael saving his sister, it had the exact opposite effect.

Their parents didn’t blame her, not directly, but they changed their attitude toward her. They used to be proud of Joanna and all her accomplishments, even her father, who was a bit patriarchal.

But after Michael’s accident, he became the center of attention.

Suddenly he was being treated so kindly, and they never let him lift a finger during his recovery. Of course, this was understandable since the doctor had advised them not to let him do anything strenuous from now on, but it took a toll on Joanna.

She no longer got the attention she wanted. Even though she was the top student in her class, her parents worried more about Michael and his growing pains at night.

Even when she won an athletic competition, her parents would only acknowledge her for a minute before discussing which famous doctor they would take Michael to to speed up his recovery.

Even when she got into a fight with her friend and was depressed all day, they didn’t pay any attention to her. It was always Michael, Michael, Michael.

One day, when she was in the same room monitoring his condition and her parents were out, she suddenly slammed her book down on the desk and turned to him with a venomous look in her eyes.

“Look here and listen carefully,” she hissed. “You may have saved me that day, but you’ve made my life a living hell ever since. I know you blame me for your leg injury. I know my parents feel the same way. They’re devastated that you can’t do sports anymore. They’re distraught that you’re always in pain. But if you ask me? You deserve it! It’s all your karma, understand?!”