my bursts of inspiration (random short stories)

A changed man

Hey so this is my second one that ive posted, my bro is actuatlly in the RAF and he gave me the idea for this story :) hope you enjoy 

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My eyes widened in realisation, the man standing before me was no longer my brother. He was no longer the person who held me all night when I had a nightmare, or read me stories before bed. Long gone was the person who used to take me out for ice cream when I had a bad day. My mind worked over time as I realised how long he has been a changed man. Even though all the signs told me he was different, I glazed over the idea of my loving brother being any different from what I had always known him as. I ran out of the room and straight into the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the lights and locking the door behind me. I slid to the floor as the tears I had been holding back escaped, my breath catching in a sob. I placed my head in my hands as I thought back to the day he left for the RAF. I was five; it wasn't long after we had moved here when he told us he was leaving. At the time I didn't really understand why he was leaving, just the fact that I would only see him a few times a year. It was dreary, almost as if the weather reflected my mood. I was standing outside in my pyjamas, not having bothered to change. Tears were flowing down my face as I ran to him. He lifted me up and hugged me tight, whispering in my ear that everything was going to be alright. I buried my head in the crook of his neck, taking in the homely smell of his aftershave. But all too soon he placed me back on the ground, and turned his attention to the rest of our family. I was shaking from the cold but didn't care as I watched him get in his car, wave at me, and drive away. I fast forward through my memories to when I was about seven. It was Christmas Eve and he was filming everyone, laughing and joking, I shouted to mum that he was filming us and he turned around, a glare in his eye and he shouted at me to shut up and then swore. I looked at him shocked but shook my head, thinking I heard him wrong, but I kept quiet for the rest of his visit. Ahead a few years. It was my birthday, but I'm not sure which one. He had promised me we would spend the day together and I was so excited. I put on my favourite outfit with my light up shoes and the necklace he had gotten me. I went through to his room and saw him with a girl doing things, back then I didn't know what they were doing but over time I figured it out. He stood up taking me by the arm and dragged me out. He shoved me on the floor and shouted at me to leave them alone, and then he stalked back in and slammed the door. I spent the rest of the day crying. Shaking my head out of my memories I thought about it and came to a conclusion. Ever since the RAF he had changed, he stopped being loving and caring, he became cold and distant instead. We were so close before but now we could barely stand in the same room without fighting. Even mum admitted he had changed. Even though all this happened, one good thing came out of it. I grew closer to my other sibling, no longer were we shouting at each other but instead we were laughing and talking, telling each other everything that was going on in our lives. He helped me with my problems and got me into a few things like anime and manga. I guess that really this whole thing is my fault. For ignoring what was happening to my big brother, for holding on to the image of him that had long faded.  I now realise that my once loving brother, was now a changed man.

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Mik x