The punch that hurt but healed us —week 263

When I saw this topic, I knew my answer will come from this cause the topic reminds me of my childhood experiences.
Yes, I have been punched in the face before and it was by my own elder brother.

Growing up, I used to believe that immediate siblings were always best friends. I had heard people say things like “your closest sibling is the one closest to you in age.” So I thought my immediate elder brother and I would be close too. But sadly, that wasn’t the case.

As a child, I was a serious church girl. Not like I’ve stopped now oh, but back then I was very dedicated because I wanted to be just like my mum. She was the one who taught me everything about church, and I always followed her. I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I tried hard to do everything right. I was always quick to tell her whatever went wrong in the house, what my siblings did wrong, what they said, even little things. At the time, I thought I was helping, but my siblings didn’t like it. Especially my brother.

My elder sisters always ignored my behavior, but my brother couldn’t take it anymore. One day, I reported something I wasn’t even sure of to my mum. It really annoyed him. Before I could say a word, he gave me a heavy punch in the face. That punch was something else. I remember seeing darkness and flashes of light, that's to tell you how serious it came, with a pained anger😂

After that day, I started feeling like my brother hated me. We never talked, except for the occasional "good morning". Even my other siblings noticed that there was a strong dislike between us. We quarreled a lot, and anytime we were in the same space, it was like war. I didn’t like him, and he didn’t like me either. I always felt uncomfortable whenever I had to return home from school and knew he was around.

But as we grew older, something changed. That same brother who once made me cry is now one of the people I love the most. He became so protective. He wouldn’t let anyone touch me or speak badly about me. Slowly, he started acting like a real brother. We began to talk more, laugh, and share things. He became my friend and brother all in one.

Today, I’m proud to say we’re very close. We’ve built a strong bond over time, and I wouldn’t trade our relationship for anything. That painful punch I got years ago? I’ll never forget it, but now it reminds me of how far we’ve come. Sometimes, love grows out of pain, and for me, that’s the story of my brother and I, and how I was punched