We'd just rounded up practice as the band dispersed and I headed home with my brother Bryan. Although I was only two years older than my brother who was thirteen years old, since we were kids he'd formed the habit of always following me around.
At first it had been sort of a disturbance to me since I couldn't hang out with my friends without having him around, but as we grew older i got used to it and having to part for simple things as attending our different classes in school sometimes felt weird.
Joe, do you think i can make it into the band Bryan asked
Why not?, you're talented and you've obviously got what it takes. Just keep practice and you'll get your chance bro I replied to a smiling Bryan.
Seeing him smile always brought me joy, but in this case I was a little worried because although I knew Bryan was very talented and was obviously interested in joining the band. I wanted him to join because he actually loved it and not simply because I was there too.
umm Bro, don't you wanna join any other activities?. Like maybe the football team, I know how much you love that I asked Bryan.
Haha don't worry bro I have it all figured out. I know I'm gonna make into the band because if plan A doesn't work he replied winking at me
WE KEEP AT IT we both shouted in unison
We keep at it was our motto to keep us motivated and the word WE was intentionally worded into it to show that no matter the circumstance or situation our support for each other would never waver.
Just as we were about to get to the front door Bryan whispered to me Joe I need to tell you something
What's that bro
I've been feeling this pain for sometime now and I think it's getting worse
As at the time he said those words, we both didn't know that they would eventually change our lives.
Over the course of the next few months the pain continued to increase until Bryan was finally taken for a medical check-up and was diagnosed with cancer, it was a devastating blow to the family.
The doctors implied that it had been discovered late and there was a chance Bryan wouldn't recover. It was devastating particularly for me as I had to watch my once vibrant brother turn into a shadow of his old self. He was always brooding and didn't take classes serious anymore, but the one thing he still kept at was practice with the band which he'd eventually gotten into some months back.
Bryan eventually got weak to the point where he couldn't exert too much physical strength, but that didn't stop him from coming to listen to us whenever we had a show. One night it occurred to me that although Bryan had always joined us for practice, he'd never joined us on stage to perform before.
I decided we had to organize a performance specifically for Bryan. The next day I met up with the band and they all agreed it was a great idea. We immediately announced to the whole school that we would be holding a free performance at the football field and it was aimed at raising awareness for cancer patients.
Three days to D-Day and Bryan passed. I'd gone into his room to check on him and discovered he wasn't moving anymore. I'd known for some time that he wasn't improving but somehow didn't accept it.
I zoned out for the next few days as our family prepared for his burial arrangements. I'd completely forgotten about the proposed performance until one of my band members thought it would be a great idea to do it on the eve of his burial. A sort of farewell from the band.
The next day almost the whole of our school were crowded on our small football field as I climbed the stage that had been set. We sang our usual songs and everyone was literally going crazy. It was the most important performance of my life and I believed the crowd could feel the raw emotion I put into it. I was still screaming into the crowd as I thought tomorrow I would cry for my brother but tonight I would honor his name with ONE LAST CHEER
