Another meaningful story i found on sgclub forum.
A Simple Story of True Love and True Care -------------------------------------------------------- I was born in a secluded village on a mountain.
Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their
backs towards the sky.
I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me.
I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me
seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father's
drawer. Father had discovered about the stolen money right
away.
He made me and my younger brother kneel against the wall as he
held a bamboo stick in his hand.
"Who stole the money?" he asked.
I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to
the fault,so he said, "Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two
should be beaten!" He lifted up the bamboo stick.
Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and said,"
Dad, I was the one who did it!"
The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly. Father was
so angry that he kept on whipping my brother until he lost his
breath.
After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded my
brother, "You have learned to steal from your own house now.
What other embarrassing things will you be possibly doing in
the future? You should be beaten to death, you shameless
thief!"
That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His body was
full of wounds from the beating but he never shed a single
tear.
In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly.
My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, "
Sis, now don't cry anymore. Everything has happened."
I still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what
I did.
Years gone by, but the incident still seemed like it just
happened yesterday. I will never forget my brother's expression
when he protected me.
That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old.
----------------------------------------------------------
When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he
was accepted in an upper secondary school in the central. At
the same time, I was accepted into a university in the
province. That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking,
packet by packet.
I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our children, they
have good results? very good results?"
Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the use? How
can we possibly finance both of them?"
At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of
father and said, "Dad, I don't want to continue my studies
anymore, I have read enough books."
Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his face. "Why
do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it means I have to
beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school
until you have both finished your studies."
And then, he started to knock on every house in the village to
borrow money.
I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's swollen
face, and told him, "A boy has to continue his studies; If not,
he will not be able to overcome this poverty we are
experiencing."
I, on the other hand, had decided to further my studies at the
university. Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my
brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out clothes
and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left
a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting into a university is not
easy. I will go find a job and I will send money to you."
I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost
my voice.
That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old.
-----------------------------------------------------------
With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the
money my brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a
construction site, finally, I managed to get to the third year
of my studies in the university.
One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in
and told me, "There's a villager waiting for you outside!"
Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked out, and
I saw my brother from afar. His whole body was covered with
dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, "Why did you not tell
my roommate that you are my brother?"
He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What will they
think if they would know that I am your brother? Won't they
laugh at you?" I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I
swept away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And told him
with a lump in my throat, " I don't care what people would say!
You are my brother no matter what your appearance is?"
From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it
on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in town are wearing
it. So, I think you should also have one."
I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into
my arms and cried.
That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years old.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I noticed that the broken window was repaired the first time I
brought my boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned.
After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl in front
of my mother, "Mom, you didn't have to spend so much time
cleaning the house!"
But she told me with a smile," It was your brother who went
home early to clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on his
hand? He hurt his hand while he was replacing the window."
I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin face, I
felt like there are hundreds of needle pricked in my heart.
I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandag on it,
"Does it hurt? " I asked him.
"No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the construction site,
stones keep falling on my feet. Even that could not stop me
from working."
In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my back on
him and tears rolled down my face.
That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years old.
-----------------------------------------------------------
After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband
invited my parents to come and live with us, but they didn't
want.
They said, once they left the village, they wouldn't know what
to do. My brother agreed with them. He said, "Sis, you just
take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of mom and
dad here."
My husband became the director of his factory. We asked my
brother to accept the offer of being the manager in the
maintenance department. But my brother rejected the offer. He
insisted on working as a repairman instead for a start. One
day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable,
when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital.
My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking at the
white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled, "Why did you reject the
offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something dangerous
like that. Now look at you, You are suffering a serious injury.
Why didn't you just listen to us?"
With a serious expression on his face, he defended his
decision, "Think of brother-in-law. He just became the
director, and I being uneducated, and would become a manager,
what kind of rumors would fly around?"
My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, "But
you lack in education only because of me!"
"Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then he held my
hand.
That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old.
--------------------------------------------------------
My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl from
the village.
During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies asked
him, "Who is the one person you respect and love the most?"
Without even taking a time to think, he answered," My sister."
He continued by telling a story I could not even remember.
"When I was in primary school, the school was in a different
village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to
school and back home. One day, I lost the other pair of my
gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. She wore only one glove
and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands were
trembling because of the cold weather that she could not even
hold her chopsticks..."
"From that day on, I swore that as long as I live, I would take
care of my sister and will always be good to her."
Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention
to me. I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one I
would like to thank most is my brother," And in this happy
occasion, in front of the crowd, tears were rolling down my
face again.
Love and care for the one you love every single day of your
life. You may think what you did is just a small deed, but to
that someone, it may mean a lot.
Have a nice day. May this story inspire you in any way!
The Boy & the Apple Tree:
A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little
boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the
treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the
tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by. The little boy had grown up and he no
longer played around the tree every day.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.
"Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy.
"I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any
more" the boy replied. "I want toys. I need money to buy them."
"Sorry, but I do not have money. But you can pick all my apples and sell
them. So, you will
have money."The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the
apples on the tree
and left happily.
The boy never came back after he picked the apples.
The tree was sad.
One-day, the boy who now turned into a man returned
and the tree was
excited, "Come and play with me," the tree said. "I do
not have time to
play. I have to work for my family. We need a house
for shelter. Can
you help me?" Sorry, but I do not have any house. But
you can chop off my
branches to build your house." So the man cut all
the branches of
the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see
him happy but the
man never came back.
Since then the tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was
delighted. "Come
and play with me!" the tree said." I am getting old. I
want to go
sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" said
the man. "Use my
trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be
happy." So the man
cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and
never showed up
for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, my
boy. But I do
not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for
you,"
the tree said. "No problem, I do not have any teeth to
bite" the man
replied.
"No more trunk for you to climb on",
"I am too old for that now" the man said.
"I really cannot give you anything... the only thing
left is my dying
roots," the tree said with tears. "I do not need
much now, just a
place to rest. I am tired after all these years" the
man replied.
"Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on
and rest, Come,
come sit down with me and rest." The man sat down and
the tree was glad
and smiled with tears.
This is a story of everyone.
The tree is like our parents
When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and
Dad...
When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when
we need
something or when we are in trouble.
No matter what, parents will always be there and give
everything
they could just to make you happy.
You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that
is how all of us
treat our parents.
We take them for granted we don't appreciate all they
do for us, UNTIL
It's too late.