I'm Lino, 28 years old, and this is my story. We are just two brothers, me and my older brother Mondie. We were just kids, and I could already feel the difference in how we were treated.
My older brother is the hero. He is always praised, the one who is always the center of our parents' conversation. “Mondie, he is an honor student again,” Papa said proudly as he told the relatives. Mama, on the other hand, always has a bag of praise for him: “My eldest is very intelligent.”
Me? I'm the one who's always complaining, always getting scolded. They often tell me off in front of others, even when there are guests:
“Lino, you'll never get anywhere if you don't work hard like your brother.”
It's like everything I do isn't enough. No matter how hard I try to make up for it, there's always something wrong.
A scene I will never forget: May handaan sa bahay, birthday ni Papa. Andun ang lahat ng kamag-anak. Biglang tinanong ako ng Tita ko, “Lino, anong plano mo sa college?” Hindi pa ako nakakasagot, singit agad si Mama:
“Ay naku, hindi ka pa makakaasa diyan. Puro laro ang alam niyan.”
Nagkatawanan ang lahat, at doon ko naramdaman ang pinaka-matinding hiya.
Since then, I gradually lost interest in studying. Honestly, it's tiring to try to catch your parents' eye when you feel like they don't believe you. So I decided to drop out of college. It was painful, but I told myself: “My life won't end here. I'll do something.”
That's where my fight began. I sold men's apparel online and in stores. Every day, I carried the goods in my jeep, sweaty and tired but I didn't care. Even when it was raining, I peddled just to make a sale. Little by little, I made money. Until the day came when I saved enough to enter the pre-owned car sales business. That's when my life completely changed.
Now, I have my dream in my hands. I have my own house, a stable business, and I can now buy things that I used to only dream of. But while I have made progress, my older brother, who used to be a star, remains an employee. He doesn't save, and he still often asks Mom and Dad for help.
One night, Mama called me. Her voice was low, as if she was carrying something.
“Son, help your brother. He’s having a hard time right now,” she said.
It was like cold water had been poured over me. Suddenly, all the memories came flooding back—all the belittling, all the times they humiliated me, all the nights I cried in secret because I felt like no one believed me.
I said, “Mom, do you remember what you said before? That I would never amount to anything? That I was useless?”
I heard her sob. “Son, forgive us. We made a mistake. We gave in to your brother’s admiration before. But we love you. We regret it.”
I also heard Dad speak. He also apologized. It was then that I felt the weight lift off my chest. But at the same time, there is a question that haunts my mind:
“Should I help Kuya? Or should I let him work hard like me?”
I don't know the right answer. It's true, he's my family. It's true, he's not to blame for how my parents abandoned me. But how can I undo the pain they left behind?
