The Last Born

A childhood tale

Roger Vile:
Far be it from me to insinuate that other siblings are less important in a family. Or more useful for that matter. But no one got it harder than I. I was bullied, beaten, abused, criticized and all other forms of mental and emotional atrocities that you can think of.

To this day, I remember the taste of my brother's dirty socks tugging at my tongue, and no amount of toothpaste or mouthwash could scrape it off. I can feel my legs pinned down by my sister, the weight of my brother on my chest, my body wiggling like a maggot trying to shake them off but no avail.

I can feel my brother's fingers boring a hole on my cheeks to force my mouth open, my mouth watering out of shear disgust as the socks went in and my mouth clamped shut. I remember the tears and the wailing, trying to get my mother's attention, but she- mired with parental stress- could not come to my rescue.

And as I sat there, feeling defiled, spitting my tongue out, listening to my siblings' boisterous laughter, I could feel the hatred stir within me. An anger that made me have impure thoughts. I could see myself slamming a piece of metal on my brother's head, throw my sister over the balcony and watch her squish like jelly on the hard ground. Time and time again I thought this.