The Miracle of You

Since that day, Joanna began to avoid him. It seemed that Will’s conversation hadn’t gone well at all. It wasn’t that surprising.

Not that it mattered to Michael. Being 13 years old, he could care less about his sister. He was more concerned about his school life, his friends, and what he could do from now on.

He had been such a free spirit before the accident, so he hated being tied to the bed. He had so much energy, but he couldn’t release it the way he used to. It was an overall frustrating situation.

His parents were aware of the simmering discord between him and his sister, but for some reason, they chose not to intervene.

He once overheard his mother telling his father, “It’s just puberty. She’s been having mood swings lately, and she probably has her period. She’ll come around soon.”

Michael did not know what that meant, and he didn’t really care to know. Not when he had a leg to pay attention to from now on.

Once upon a time, he had admired his sister. Will was competent, but compared to Joanna, there was admittedly a huge gap between them.

Joanna was exceptional. No matter what kind of challenge was thrown at her, she could handle it with ease. She soaked up information like a sponge and was always eager to learn.

Not only that, but when it came to her parents, she was eager to please. Maybe she found out that John was not even considering her for the CEO position, so she decided to step up and overshadow her brothers as much as she could.

Unlike Michael, Joanna was passionate about business. Even as a little girl, she wanted to be a businesswoman. She was interested in everything to do with business. She was a bookworm and read all kinds of books.

Most of the time she would hole herself up in her room and read all day. She was a studious child, but she tended not to socialize much. Of course, she had her own friends, but not that many.

As a boy two years younger, Michael grew curious about his older sister. Every time he tried to talk to her, she would nonchalantly brush him off or say she was too busy to talk to a kid like him. Will was gentle and affectionate, so Michael didn’t seek his attention too much.

That was probably the reason why he kept pestering his sister. He also wanted to be close to her. He had been an energetic child, mischievous and curious about everything. Pestering his sister was one of his pastimes.

But now they were so distant from each other. So full of anger.

Sometimes he wondered what had gone wrong. Should he have tried harder? Would it have made a difference?Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He had saved her as a small child and even suffered a serious leg injury in the process.

He loved her. She was his sister.

But sometimes it felt like he was the only one who cared.

So in the end, exhaustion won. There was no point anymore.

***

A few months after Hailey left her family and disappeared into thin air, Michael operated on auto-pilot mode. He attended classes, never skipping a single one, just because being in school reminded him of her.

He still hung out on the roof during recess, thinking about her.

‘I used to think that I would stray from my family’s path and become a chef someday…’ he thought to himself absently as he took a bite from his homemade lunchbox. ‘But now, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.’

He gripped the edge of the box and narrowed his eyes.

‘I have to find her.’

He couldn’t understand it.

‘Why?’

‘Why did she have to leave the country?’

‘It doesn’t make any sense.’

He kept asking himself the same question, wondering how it had all gone wrong. He had absolutely no idea about her family situation, and all he could think about was how helpless she might be out there, alone and without a family.

He thought about contacting her brothers, but that would be strange. He didn’t know them, and they didn’t know him. He didn’t even have their number.

He thought about asking Will for help. But Will was currently studying at a prestigious university and was usually very busy, so that was out of the question.

He finished eating his lunch and shoved the closed lunchbox inside his bag.

***

“What did you just say?”

“Help me.”

“Excuse me?”

Michael finally found himself at his sister’s door, shamelessly asking for her help. He didn’t specify what exactly, but he didn’t know what he could do on his own.

Asking his parents was out of the question; they would only scold him for even suggesting it.

The only other family member he could ask…

‘But would she help?’ he wondered to himself as he stared at his sister’s stern, intimidating face. ‘I don’t think she will if she realizes that it’s for a girl who’s already technically an adult.’

‘But then what else can I do?’

Joanna stared down at him menacingly, her arms folded across her chest. She always had this intimidating aura about her, an invisible wall that prevented other people from approaching her first.

But she was beautiful, just like her mother. She had long brown hair down to her shoulders, soft, wavy curls that looked so silky, you wanted to touch them.

Her eyes were the same color as his; brown, with amber flecks visible where the lighting cast illumination on the irises. She had that perpetual slight frown on her lips, as if she was always displeased about something.

It occurred to Michael right then that he had rarely seen his sister smile before.

He wondered if it was just that she never smiled when she was in the same room with him.

This was probably the first time since his accident as a child that he faced his sister seriously like this. Suddenly, he felt a little nervous, but he forced himself not to show any emotion on his face.

“Can you help me, please?” he repeated quietly.

She raised an elegant eyebrow. Honestly, he was surprised that she still didn’t turn him away at this point.

“…With what?” she finally asked.

He took a deep breath.

“I want to learn about the business. Will you help me?”