Bleeding Roads (Short English Stories)

01. do you have a sister?

"Hello, Chuck. How are you?"

"Uh— what are you doing here?"

"Do you have a sister, Chuck?"

"Yes, I do."

"Really? What's her name?"

"Angel."

"Oh, that's a beautiful name. How old is she?"

"She's ten."

"Aw, that's a tender age."

"Why— why are you even asking me these questions?"

"Just curious. Do you love her?"

"What?"

"Do you love your sister?"

"Well, yes. Of course I do. She's my sister."

"Great. I'm glad you do. You're a good person then."

"What are you doing here, Shannon?"

"I just would've sworn you didn't have a sister."

"Yeah? And why is that?"

"Tell me something, Chuck. Wouldn't you want to hurt badly the person who ever hurt Angel? I take you would do anything to protect her. Right?"

"Yes— I'd do anything."

"That makes you a good brother. You see, I have a brother myself. His name is Jack and he's twelve. He's almost reached the age in which girls will take a much bigger part in his life, and he's very sensitive. Being a girl myself, I know it's no secret we can be as stupid as boys can be, sometimes. I worry about him. As his older sister, I don't want his heart getting broken by some girl. He's even protective with me. He's so tall for his age, and I'm too short for mine. In some years he might even get taller than me, and as the male sibling, he's already protective with me. But you are the older brother of a girl, and I'm the older sister of a boy. I can only imagine the difference."

"Why do you think I care about your brother?"

"I don't. I know you don't care, and I understand. It's ok, because we're not friends. But I'm Cherie's friend.

"So, you're here in behalf of Cherie. Right."

"No, Chuck. I'm here in behalf of me as a female, in behalf of your sister, and of every girl in this school. Because Cherie is tougher than you think, and she'll get over it. But other girls are not as strong, and other girls might not get through a boy's hurtful ways that easily. Some other girl might get hurt enough to want to hurt herself, now that we're at it, you know?"

"This is bullshit."

"Chuck. The next time you tell lies about a girl, the next time you're mean to a girl, the next time you hurt a girl. Think of Angel. Would you like her to get hurt? Would you like a boy to upset her in any way? I would have sworn you didn't have a sister because of the way you treat girls, but if you do, just keep her in mind."

"I always keep her in mind. She's the person I care the most about."

"Of course. Jack is too, for me. And the fact that Angel is so important to you, makes me see you are a good person. Because you are. You are a good person, Chuck. Something tells me you just have to realize it yourself. When you do, everybody else will notice."

"That's it, I'm out of here. I'm not listening any more of it."

"Hey, Chuck! Have a good afternoon. Send my love to your sister. Just think about what I said. Keep it in mind. Have a good life."

"Whatever."