I lost my sight at three and my parents at five. When I was eight, my brother Thomas was claimed by a wealthy family and became the true heir. The spoiled, troublesome fake heir Robert was kicked out. I stood between my two brothers and pushed Thomas. “Thomas, I can’t hold you back anymore. Go live the good life.” Thomas crouched down and pinched my cheek. “Did I say I wasn’t going to take care of you anymore?” Later, the good-for-nothing Robert also became a reliable brother. They became my solid sky, my steady ground, my cane that I tapped forward with every step. They told me, “Chris, do you know why the baby mix-up happened?” “It’s because the world wanted us to come to you and become your two eyes.” I always knew I couldn’t live without Thomas. When I lost my sight at three, my parents abandoned me. Thomas walked for five hours to bring me back. The thin boy’s back carried me steadily. I heard him say firmly, “If you don’t want her, I’ll raise her.” When I was five, my parents died in a car accident. Thomas had just started his freshman year of high school and was one of the top students. At the funeral, people came and went. They said, “Thomas, your sister will hold you back for the rest of your life.” They said you should find a dark night and abandon her. So that night, Thomas woke me up. I didn’t cry or fuss as he picked me up. Thomas carried me for a long time. When he stopped, I felt sunlight warming my face. Thomas said, “Chris, this is sunrise. You can’t see it, but you can feel it.” Thomas pinched my cheek. “The sun rises every day, just like I’ll be by your side every day.” That day, sitting among the crowd watching the sunrise, I heard people humming and singing. Someone handed me a candy. Thomas said, “Chris, this world is beautiful. Don’t be afraid. Grow up bravely.” I nodded, half understanding. Later, Thomas worked part-time while going to school, supporting both of us by himself. When I was seven, I started at a school for the blind. The stylus made dots on the braille paper. The first word I learned was “brother,” the second was “Thomas.” But on my eighth birthday, I waited at the school gates and Thomas never came. Later, I heard my teacher talking to someone nearby, handing me over to an unfamiliar pair of hands. The teacher said, “Chris, you’ll go with him from now on.” I touched his face. “Who are you?” He said, “I’m your brother.” I shook my head. “You’re not my brother. My brother is Thomas.” He was silent for a moment before saying, “My name is Robert. From now on, I’m your brother.” The teacher explained to me that they’d been switched as babies, and this person was my real brother. Thomas was someone else’s child. The teacher put it gently, but someone standing nearby, eager for drama, said: “I saw Thomas get into a luxury car. He’s definitely gone off to live the good life. He’s not going to remember you.” Someone else said, “I know Robert. He’s the school bully. Fighting, skipping class, causing trouble—he does it all.” “The Davis family found out he wasn’t their real child and kicked him out. Now he’s got a blind sister too. Talk about bad luck.” I was scared. I stood there crying. I cried until the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only the breathing of the person in front of me. I wiped my tears and asked him, “Thomas went to live the good life, didn’t he?” He said yes. I said, “Then I’ll go with you.” Then I added carefully, “I’m very good. I can do a lot of things by myself.” He touched my head and picked me up. His arms weren’t as solid as Thomas’s, but they were thin and strong. I said quietly, “Can I call you Robert?” He said yes. After a while I said, “Robert, I’m sorry.” He didn’t speak for a long time. I tentatively touched his face, felt his earring, his eyebrow piercing. I thought he might be a scary person. But I heard him say, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you from now on.”
Robert and I were halfway home when I heard a large group of footsteps. They laughed as they approached. “Robert, weren’t you so arrogant before? Didn’t you walk around like you owned the place?” “Now you’re not the Davis family heir anymore. Let’s see who’s going to worship you now. Brothers, if you’ve got a grudge, now’s the time! Get him!” Robert ran while carrying me. The group chased us fast. I said frantically, “Robert, put me down! Run!” Robert and I were backed into a corner. He still held me tightly. He turned his back, letting those people punch him over and over again. When someone tried to pull me from his arms, he fought back desperately. I was so scared I screamed, “Robert! Robert!” He held me so tightly, no matter how much they kicked and beat him, he wouldn’t let go. Suddenly a gust of wind swept past. Someone kicked them away. “Let them go!” It was Thomas! He stood in front of Robert and me. “I’d like to see who dares to touch them again!” Some in the group still wanted to fight, but their companions pulled them back. “This is the real Davis family heir. Let’s go!” After the crowd scattered, Thomas tried to pick me up. Robert instinctively didn’t let go. Thomas’s voice was cold. “Let go!” Thomas carried me home. Robert’s footsteps followed behind us the whole way. I touched Thomas’s face. His brows were tightly furrowed. He must have been very angry. I’d grown up in his arms since childhood. I rarely even got bumps or bruises. I said quietly, “I’m fine. Why did you come back?” He didn’t answer me. He walked faster and faster until we reached our door and he opened it. When the door was about to close, Robert grabbed it. I heard Robert say, “She’s my sister.” Thomas sneered. “You can’t even take care of yourself. Let go!” I didn’t hear any more of their conversation. They must have been facing off in silence. I broke the silence and asked again, “Thomas, why did you come back?” I felt Thomas’s gaze. He must have looked at me. He said, “This is my home.” I shook my head. “No, Thomas’s real home is somewhere very wealthy. I want you to go live the good life.” I’d been holding Thomas back since I was little. When my parents were alive, he only had to worry about my daily care. After they were gone, the burden of life plus me weighed on him until he could barely breathe. He studied during the day and worked part-time until late at night, often so exhausted he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He had a deep scar on his back from being hit by something heavy while moving cargo. It took seven stitches. Every time he carried me on his back, I could feel that scar. I cried and said, “Thomas, please go.” He crouched down and gently wiped away my tears. “Chris, now that you have him, you don’t want me anymore?” In the end, Thomas didn’t leave, and Robert came inside. After Thomas wiped my tear-stained face with a towel, he told me to wait in my room. Blind people are always more sensitive to atmosphere and people’s emotions. I was afraid they would fight, so I secretly opened my door a crack to listen to them talk.
Thomas’s voice carried a cold mockery. “Robert, you’ve been causing trouble for me at every turn at school. I haven’t even settled the score with you yet, and now you’re rushing over here?” I nervously picked at my fingers. Robert was silent for a moment. “I’m giving you back your life. You go be the Davis family heir. From now on, you can do whatever you want to me. I’ll take it.” “But she’s my sister. I’ll be the one protecting her from now on.” Thomas raised his voice. “I raised her. How is she suddenly your sister?” Even through the door, I could feel the tense atmosphere between them, neither giving an inch. Robert continued, “Everyone in the Davis family has a businessman’s mindset—profit above all. In their eyes, you coming back here is the same as giving up everything.” Thomas sneered. “Who wants their stuff anyway?” Robert said with certainty, “They demanded you stop caring about Chris. That’s why you came back.” When I heard this, my heart trembled. I pressed so hard that my nail dug into my flesh and drew blood. Robert snorted coldly. “That’s exactly the kind of people they are.” “But you don’t need to feel burdened. You really don’t have any obligation to take care of Chris now. I will.” “What’s all this ‘you will, I will’ business? Did I agree? Stop acting like you’re the heir and ordering people around.” Robert was so blocked by Thomas’s words that he couldn’t say anything. After a while, I heard Thomas say, “You’re not leaving no matter what, are you?” Robert said nothing, making it clear he wasn’t leaving no matter what. Thomas laughed coldly. “I’m only not beating you up because I don’t want to scare Chris.” “If you’re staying, you’d better behave yourself. Don’t provoke me.” Thomas’s tone was unusually harsh. I thought he and the scary Robert might start arguing any second. But Robert didn’t say anything more. He silently backed down. That day, I only half understood what Thomas and Robert said. I touched my eyes in frustration. When you lose your sight, you can never get very precise information. Just then Robert came into the room and called out, “Don’t touch.” I obediently put my hand down and felt my way over. As soon as I got close to him, I smelled a faint scent of blood. I grabbed his hand. “Robert, did you fight with someone again? Are you hurt?” Robert said, “I’m fine.” Whenever someone was hurt and I couldn’t judge the specific situation, I always felt very uneasy. I asked quietly, “Did they go to your workplace to cause trouble again?” All the household expenses depended on Thomas, and we were visibly struggling to make ends meet. After Robert moved in, he also swallowed his pride to find work. But his grades weren’t good enough to tutor, and when he was moving things on the street, those thugs spotted him. After mocking him, they went to his workplace every day to cause trouble. Not only was the money Robert earned not enough to deal with the trouble, but he also came home with injuries every day. I held his hand distressingly. That’s when Thomas came back too. He must have been caught in the rain. Water dripped onto the floor. Thomas said, “It’s fine. Just a light rain. Only got a little wet.” From the sounds, Thomas went into the bathroom, and then Robert followed him in. They spoke in low voices, but a blind person’s ears are unusually sharp. “Are you sick? It’s pouring rain and you couldn’t take a cab home? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?” “Saving money. I’m not that delicate.” Thomas paused before continuing, “Look at yourself, covered in injuries big and small. Take care of yourself first.” “Also, if you really can’t earn money, just forget it. Don’t make more trouble for yourself.” They both seemed quiet for a moment. “Why are you still standing there? Get out. I need to shower.” I heard every single word. I sat on the couch, using my fingernail to scratch my palm over and over.
A few days later, when Thomas wanted to take me for an eye checkup, I refused to cooperate. I lay on the bed and wouldn’t get up. “My leg hurts.” Thomas rubbed my calf. “Did you twist it yesterday?” “No, I just don’t want to move.” “You don’t have to move. Thomas will carry you.” I said, “Well, my head hurts too. I want to sleep.” Thomas seemed to laugh. He rubbed my head. “What are you overthinking now?” He picked me up from the bed. “I’ll figure out the money situation. It’s not your problem to worry about.” I felt a bit sad. “I don’t want you both to work so hard.” He pinched my cheek. “When I see Chris, I’m not tired anymore.” In the end, I obediently went with Thomas for the checkup. Before we left, I asked, “Where’s Robert?” Thomas said, “He went out early this morning. Haven’t seen him.” Thomas took me through several alleys. I heard the sounds of a fight. He was about to pick me up and walk faster when I tugged his sleeve. “Thomas, I think I heard Robert’s voice.” At first Thomas walked forward a few steps as if he hadn’t heard, then sighed and stopped. He put me down at the alley entrance. “I’m very close by. Just stand right here and don’t move. If anything happens, call me immediately, okay?” I nodded and listened to Thomas’s footsteps heading deeper into the alley. I pressed my ear against the wall and heard Robert’s voice through the chaotic noise: “I won’t fight back today. I’ll let you beat me up fair and square. But after this, none of you better interfere with my work!” That day’s checkup, Thomas and Robert took me together. I heard Thomas also dragged Robert to the emergency room and got some topical medicine. I touched Robert’s hand distressingly. “Does it hurt?” “Serves him right,” Thomas said while applying medicine to Robert. “Playing the hero.” Robert hissed lightly but ignored Thomas’s sarcasm. He pinched my cheek. “Doesn’t hurt. I’m fine.” Although Thomas’s words were harsh, his attitude toward Robert had clearly softened a lot. The house had two bedrooms. It had always been one for Thomas, one for me, and Robert sleeping on the couch. When bedtime came, I lay in bed. I heard Thomas’s voice from outside. He said to Robert, who couldn’t even stretch out his arms and legs on the small couch, “Come sleep in the room.” I listened to the sounds of doors opening and closing and fell into a deep sleep in the darkness. After that, not only did their relationship improve, but Robert was able to find work too. I secretly asked Robert, “How did you win him over?” “Who won him over?” He didn’t tell me at first. Later, when I annoyed him enough, he said, “I used to cause trouble for him because I once saw him teasing you and I thought he was bullying you.” “So I went to seek justice. Later I found out you were his sister.” “That day when we got into the fight, those people spilled all the stupid things I’d done.” He made me laugh so hard I was giggling. He poked my forehead. “Oh, so you dare laugh at me?” Robert and I were messing around when Thomas finished cooking noodles. I held my fork and ate slowly. I heard Robert ask, “Where’s mine?” “First you have to say, ‘Thank you, Thomas.’” After Thomas spoke, Robert was quiet for a moment, then asked somewhat awkwardly, “Why should I?” “You’re eating food that I made.” Knowing Thomas was deliberately teasing Robert, I laughed on the side. After a while, Robert still hadn’t spoken. Thomas said, “Very principled. Starve then.” “Thank you, Thomas.” The days passed like this. The abandonment and rejection I’d feared never happened. I even gained another brother. They would come to the school for the blind together to pick me up, each holding one of my hands. When we encountered puddles, they’d lift me up together and shout with a laugh, “Jump!” Now Thomas and Robert were in their last semester of senior year. Thomas still made Robert study. After they both got off their part-time jobs, Thomas would go over problems with Robert in the living room while I sat to the side listening to them talk. Thomas tapped Robert’s head with a pen. “Pay attention. Getting into a good college will save us a lot of money!” “Thomas has fallen into the money pit,” Robert turned his head to tell me. “There’s an ad downstairs offering big money for surrogacy. You should tell Thomas to go earn it.” I pushed him with a laugh. “Robert! You’re so bad!” But sometimes they would avoid me when talking. Once I was lying on the couch with my eyes closed, and they thought I was asleep. Robert spoke in a low voice. “The Davis family hasn’t contacted you again?” Thomas’s voice was also very quiet. “They’ve called a few times asking me to come back. Same old story—stop caring about Chris and come back to inherit the family fortune. I said it’s impossible.” Robert’s voice carried a hint of worry. “They’re not going to give up that easily…” After I accidentally overheard this, I didn’t dare show it on my face, but my heart was always anxious. Maybe the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. One day, someone knocked on our door. After the door opened, I could feel the air gradually grow heavy.
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