THE BROTHER

Jack and his son Alfred got into the car. They drove away from the house where Olivia and Amanda were still waking up. The morning dew on the car started announcing warmer weather. It was the first morning after a while that Jack didn't have to clean the icy front shield.

Alfred recently turned 13. He sat in the front seat in silence, knowing their mission, and not enthusiastic of what they were doing.

The car smelled like any other car.

As they approached the school, the janitor saw them and opened the gate.

“They told me you'd be coming earlier today, but I didn't expect you this early”, he showed his missing tooth.

They picked up their things from the trunk. Alfred first took a smaller bag, and then another black bag that looked like a small guitar.

The janitor was there the whole time.

“Do you need anything from me today? Even though I don't know how I can help musicians.”

“We are not musicians”, Jack said, “I am a woodworker, and Alfred is in high school.”

The janitor relaxed his face and nodded.

“All right. If you need anything I'll be there”, he pointed to the empty cabin at the front of the school.

They were not musicians indeed. Alfred has been learning drumming for the past 3 years. Music was not Jack's thing, but for the past 2 months, he has been drowning in singing and Ukulele lessons. To say it was challenging, it'd be an understatement. He still had to do his work, provide for his family, and do things around the house. He didn't sleep well. But he didn't complain.

Last month Jack and Alfred had a meeting with the principal of the school. They came up with an idea and she was receptive and somehow excited about it.

“Do you do rehearsals? You can use our music room early in the morning before classes start.", she proposed.

“Rehearsals? That might be a good idea, what do you think?”, Jack asked Alfred.

“Yes, let's try".

You could count on one hand the songs that Alfred could drum, and on one finger, the songs that Jack could play. The plan to do a surprise show was not difficult only because they were not good musicians, but also because it was a secret.

Almost nobody knew about it.

For the past 2 months, at least 5 days a week, they'd go into the music room of the school to rehearse. They'd bring their papers with notes, plans, chords, and whatnot. After two months of doing that, there was definitely progress.

They had to perform in front of 300 people. For someone who disliked socializing much, that was Jack's biggest challenge.

But Alfred had all this set, and the burden was his. He carried it, with his 13 years of life experience, not knowing how to deal with commitment, he carried it like Sisyphus.

One day, as the janitor was doing his regular morning check, he peeked through the small window of the music room.

Jack was playing his Ukulele and singing, while Alfred was drumming. At the peak of the moment, when both of them knew that this was going to work, Jack dropped the Ukulele on the floor. Alfred got next to him as he saw two huge mountains sliding down his father's cheeks. He knew why Jack was crying. He allowed his mountains to come down too. They hugged there for a while as the janitor walked away confused.

Is there a larger mountain than the one that parents build for their children? Jack was aware of his place on Earth. He was a reasonable and a good father. He knew that the mountains he built for his children would be the opportunities he created for them. Will they overcome them? Up to them.

This was a great opportunity for Jack to learn something new. But also to hang with his son in such a natural and dedicated way. They'd spend almost all Saturday mornings together.

One such morning, as they both were in the car on their way back home, Alfred asked.

“Dad. Do you think we're going to make it?”

“Yes, we will. What do you mean? We're almost there…”

“What if we don't? What if this is in vain?”

Jack knew what Alfred was asking.

“Nothing is in vain Freddy. We learn new things, we move with life and we face reality. What if things go for the better and it turns out we never used the opportunity to do something nice?”

Alfred put his fingers over his eyes as if he could remove the redness and tears that filled them.

Jack and Alfred did not work on their performance only together. After classes, Alfred continued exercising in the garage. When the kids were asleep Jack would pick the Ukulele up and pretend as if the day was not hard enough. They both knew they had to do this, like it or not.

One day Olivia found a letter in their post box.

“Oh wow. We are invited for a music show at the school, in 2 weeks”, she said.

“Who is invited Mama?", Amanda asked.

“All of us.”

“The four of us?”

“The four of us.”

“What music show?"

“It doesn't say.”

On the invitation, signed was the school principal.

Olivia packed the letter inside the envelope and put it in the drawer together with everything they didn't know where to put. Her voice trembled and her heart rushed.

“Is that tears?” Amanda asked her.

“Yes, but I am happy”.

Just like any time that is filled with things to do, the next two weeks passed like a breeze.

Two nights before the show was scheduled, the phone rang late in the night. Amanda and Alfred were asleep and Olivia was snoozing on the couch.

Jack left his Ukulele on the wooden table and rushed to answer the phone.

“Hello?"

“Hi Jack, this is Dr. Pollerman.”

“Good evening Doctor”.

The blood in Jack's body froze. His heart stopped for ten whole seconds.

The voice on the other side said something while Jack was calmly listening and after a while started breathing fast and deeply.

Olivia woke up and jumped right there too.

“What is it? Who is this?"

“It's Dr. Pollerman”, Jack said wiping his nose.

“What about it Jack, tell me what?”, Olivia kept asking as she noticed Jack was upset.

“All good Mr. Pollerman, thanks for calling, I appreciate it. Yes, we will schedule…"

Jack hung up.

“It was Pollerman he got the results”, Jack said as he got close to Olivia and hugged her tightly and strongly, “She is clean. She is clean. She is clean…” he repeated uncontrollably.

“Oh God…”, Olivia screamed. She couldn't believe it.

They both sat on the floor next to the phone that rang just 2 minutes before. It's like that. A phone call, a meeting with a person, a turn on a crossroad. The things that change a whole lifetime.

It was the first time after 9 months that they slept well.

The next morning Jack and Alfred went to the school music room. Jack felt relieved for the first time there.

“Alfred, there is something you should know. You are a really, really good brother you know?"

Alfred didn't say anything. He took his drumming sticks off his bag and sat on his throne.

“Dr. Pollerman called yesterday. He said the last results showed that everything is ok”.

With one hand Alfred was leaving his bag leaning towards the floor. With the other, he held the sticks up. He froze in the moment. He threw everything on the ground and ran outside. Jack sat there in peace with what happened. After a while, Alfred came back with wet hair, red cheeks, and teary eyes.

“Ok then, we need to step on this…", he said.

The melody sounded completely different. They finished for the day and went home.

On the day of the show, Olivia and Amanda dressed up and went to the show.

“Hunny, Amanda. Alfred and Dad will come a bit later, we'll meet them at the school hall”, Olivia said.

“Why Mom? Why can't they come with us?”, Amanda was asking.

“Daddy had something to do, don't worry we'll meet them inside.”

When they reached the school, Amanda's teacher greeted them and welcomed them in the hall.

“I will show you your seats”, she said.

They went inside where almost 300 other people waited. Amanda recognized a lot of them. Neighbors, schoolmates, their parents. They all waved at her and greeted her. Their spot was in the center of them all.

“Nice seats Mom”, Amanda said.

“Why Alfred and Dad are still not here?”

“They will come, sweetie.”

“But the show will start…”

“They will be here any time soon, don't worry”

Suddenly, the lights turned off and the audience went silent.

On the left side of the stage, a spotlight appeared. The audience was silent. From behind the curtain, Jack came with his Ukulele. He was nervous and almost dropped it off his hands. He leaned towards the microphone and he went too close.

“This is a little something we prepared".

Amanda and Olivia looked at each other.

“Mom! That's Dad”, said Amanda.

“Yes. That's Dad”

“What is he doing there?”

“I don't know”

Olivia knew how to keep the secret best of them all.

Jack put his Ukulele in position and started playing. He played the intro and the audience liked it. He started singing, with a falsetto voice, completely in tune with the Uke. He was leaning over the microphone that was at least 10 centimeters below his mouth and sang with his eyes closed. He pretended he was alone in the school hall. That Olivia and Amanda were not in the audience and for a moment, he pretended that the past 9 months hadn't happened.

The song developed and everyone could see him perform with passion, dedication, and a voice that had been trained for months before this show. One could notice the pride in what he was doing. He didn't care, he did it because he had to do it.

As he continued singing, another spotlight appeared on the stage and showed Alfred sitting on his throne behind the drum. He was all sweaty and completely into what was happening. This was his thing. A stream of water was pouring down his face. One could not say if it was tears, sweat, or both. Alfred felt like floating. It was a combination of all the feelings he had gathered during the last months. It seemed as if he took them all and dumped them there, on the stage.

At the climax of the performance, behind Jack and Alfred, on a large white screen, a projection of photos started rolling. All photos were from Amanda. They showed her in a hospital bed, with a bold head, with a scarf, with a hat, playing with other kids.

She has been fighting cancer for the past 9 months.

Olivia and Amanda looked at each other all teary, and without any words gave themselves an acknowledgement of what was going on. This show was for Amanda.

There were maybe 100 photos shown of her, starting from her first steps in the hospital.

As the song approached the end, huge letters showed on the screen.

"Amanda. Cancer free."

“Is this true Mom?”, she asked in tears.

“Yes sweety, it's true”.

Olivia's heart was pounding like Alfred's drum.

The audience applauded in shock and ecstasy. Jack and Alfred finished the song and rushed to hug each other. They felt an iceberg sliding off their chests. They waved and called Amanda and Olivia on the stage.

They all hugged for a while, crying and being grateful for what they had at that moment. In the room full of 300 other people, at that same moment, only 4 existed.

“It was all Alfred's idea”, Jack told Amanda, “he thought of all this by himself”.

Amanda looked at her brother as his eyes shined with brotherly pride. He was all wet. When he noticed she was looking at him, he just winked and pointed at her.

Other people joined the stage. A lot of them spontaneously started singing and dancing. It was a celebration for Amanda.

A celebration of life.