Descriptive + Narrative Writing + Random short stories

Home At Last. (Narrative)

Narrative

My brother.

I was constantly being compared to him, saying how much we looked alike, even though we were 5 years apart. "Looks may be deceiving," they say, as they gesture to me. I was just like my brother on the outside, but truly, we were opposites.

He was the top student while I struggled to catch up in basic math. People fawn over him for his musical talents, yet I sit here tone-deaf. He was charismatic, always interacting with the townsfolk, while I would rather enjoy the silence of my quarters. Even though I was the oldest, I would hear my dad sometimes chuckling to the other nobles about how he would rather give his throne to my brother instead. It hurt, even if he was just joking.

I tried to improve, I did. I studied hard, to get the same results over and over again. I tried to step out of the palace, to be friendly, but all I was met with were judging looks and cold shoulders.

"You try too hard to be your brother."

That fateful day, while my brother and I were training together, he had told me that the throne was going to be his, and that my father wouldn't take no for an answer. I remember lashing out at him, my trembling hands gripping the practice sword pointed at his neck, blunt to a sense of mockery. I remember his heavy breaths, the scalding tears that threatened to spill. But my emotions had overwhelmed me, and all I wanted was for him to be dead. To be gone. To never exist in the first place, so no one had to compare me with anyone.

After the incident, I was exiled. Thrown out, like a tattered rag doll that no one wanted to play with. I had lost my position. My honour. I had lost myself. And yet, as i stand here now in the bleak, dark forest, I couldn't help but feel a sense of... belong. The cold wind seemed to embrace me. The grass cushioned my weary feet. As i look up, I could see the first few stars blinking through the ebony sky. It was hope, and I clinged to the feeling like a lifeline. For once, there wasn't anyone there to jeer and compare now. For once, I didn't have to live up to anyone's expectations. For once, I was free. I loved it here. I was home. I was home at last.

I used this one in my actual IGCSEs with slight changes (because my memory short-circuited) and i got nice marks in my total so hehehe