They both looked up at the same time. Small clouds drifted across the bright blue sky, forming whimsical shapes. Suddenly, one of them clearly took the shape of a young woman’s face. Susan and Paul froze. It was hard not to believe, after that, that the souls of our loved ones never leave us, but are always nearby, supporting us in difficult times.
Alex loved the camp. He quickly made friends with everyone in his cabin, became close with a few of them, and even developed a small crush on a girl from the neighboring cabin. During the day, like the other kids, he swam, played soccer, marched in line, loudly sang songs, and in the evening, sat by the campfire. More songs with a guitar, roasted potatoes, and a feeling of pure happiness. Life is a funny thing. One day during rest hour, Alex went outside and saw a boy from the next cabin sitting alone in the gazebo, drawing in the sand with his foot.
“Hey,” Alex called out. “What are you doing out here? If the counselors see you, you’ll be in trouble.”
“I’ll go in a minute,” the boy said glumly. “The guys in there are having a pillow fight. I’m not in the mood. They’re acting like little kids.”
“Why?” Alex asked, surprised. “That sounds like fun.”
“It’s not fun for me,” the boy sighed.
Alex went over and sat next to him, looking at him closely. The boy was about the same age, with the same dark hair as Alex, and in general, looked a lot like him, except his eyes were brown.
“What’s your name?” Alex asked.
“Nick.”
“Are you in that cabin?” Alex nodded toward the cabin where the kids from the group home were staying.
“Yeah, I’m from the system,” Nick said with a hint of defiance, looking challengingly at Alex. “So what?”
“Nothing,” Alex shrugged. “You know, my mom’s gone too, and my dad… it would have been better if he never existed. He was a criminal. They say he died in prison.”
Nick looked at Alex in surprise.
“Mine died too. And my mom… it hurts to even think about her. She used to be so beautiful, and everything was so different.”
Nick told Alex that his family used to be rich, lived abroad for half the year, and his father had a business.
“Then I got sick, my dad passed away, and my mom started drinking,” Nick barely managed to get the words out. “The worst part is, my mom blamed me. She said if it wasn’t for my illness, we’d still be living like we used to. I never understood why she said that.”
“Forget it,” Alex said comfortingly. “She probably just said it without thinking.”
“It just really hurts. You know, other kids in the home, they have relatives who visit sometimes. But no one comes for me. I heard the staff whispering that my mom has really hit rock bottom. She used to be so beautiful. Want to see a picture of us? All three of us are in it.”
Nick pulled out a photograph, slightly crumpled from being carried in his pocket. Nick was in the center, smiling, looking happy. On one side, a laughing woman with blonde hair had her arm around him, and on the other side sat him. Alex went pale when he saw the man.
“Who’s that?” he pointed at the image.
“That’s my dad.”
Nick looked up at Alex, surprised.
“You know him?”
“I wish I didn’t,” the boy muttered, staring at Nick.
“I don’t understand. Maybe they just look alike? What was your father’s name?”
Hearing the full name, Alex went pale again.
“This is unbelievable, but it looks like… you’re my brother,” Alex finally said.
Now it was Nick’s turn to stare in confusion. Alex, gathering his courage, began to tell his story, but they were interrupted by a counselor.
“Guys,” the young man in a green bandana tied around his neck said reproachfully, “head back to your cabins. If the camp director sees you, I’ll get in trouble. It’s rest hour. Wake-up is in 30 minutes, you can talk then.”
The boys nodded and ran to their respective cabins. At the doors, they both paused and looked at each other. Could they really be brothers?
That evening, while all the other kids at the camp were at the dance, Alex and Nick met again in the same gazebo. It was not an easy conversation. For Nick, his father had been the best. Yes, he had made a mistake and gone to prison, but the boy didn’t know why. Then his mother couldn’t handle the hardship. Nick felt sorry for her, even though he didn’t want to live with the woman Julia had become. But until today, he hadn’t understood why his mother, after drinking, blamed him for everything that had happened to their family. It seemed Alex was telling the truth.
“I still don’t believe my dad could do something like that,” he said, shaking his head.
“He was always so kind, so cheerful, because he saw you as his son. But to him, I was nothing,” Alex said sadly. “And he ruined my mom’s life. Nick, look, I’m not trying to convince you of anything, I’m just telling you what happened. You can decide what to believe. But either way, I’m glad you’re alive and well. You know, all this time I’ve been thinking: how’s my brother? I was supposed to save him, and I couldn’t. I had my own health problems. I even felt ashamed. Here I am, alive, and my brother probably didn’t make it.”
“As you can see, I’m alive,” Nick smirked. “I got really lucky back then. Though someone else, I don’t know who, wasn’t so lucky. There was an accident, and a donor became available for me.”
“So that means…” Alex’s voice trembled, “your father went through all that trouble for nothing.”
“I don’t know. And I still don’t believe he could do something like that. And why should I believe you? We’ve only known each other for a few days. Today was the first time we really talked.”
“Fine, don’t believe me. You think you’re so perfect. Maybe you think we’re going to be friends now? Don’t count on it. I’m not trying to be your friend, and whether you believe me or not is your business. I’m not going to try to convince you.”
The boys glared at each other. For a moment, it seemed like they were about to start fighting. Then Alex turned abruptly and walked away from the gazebo. “Some brother.” “He’s not my brother. I didn’t know him my whole life, and I don’t need to now.”
Nick also went back to his cabin. His head was spinning. He had a brother? He was lying.
For the rest of the session, the boys didn’t speak. If they saw each other, they pretended they were strangers. But as they were leaving, Alex suddenly walked up to Nick and pressed a piece of paper into his hand.
“Here, I wrote down my phone number. Call me if you want.”
And he ran to his bus. He had thought about it for a long time before deciding to do it. If fate had brought them together, it had to be for a reason. So he gave him his number. Whether Nick would call or not was another matter. Nick glanced at the numbers and was about to throw the paper away, but at the last second, he stuffed it into his pocket. And so, the brothers parted ways.
At the train station in their hometown, Alex was met by Susan and Paul. They had missed their boy so much!
“Alex, you’re so tan!” Susan exclaimed. “And you’ve grown so much this month, you’re almost as tall as Paul.”
“He’s a man now!” Paul smiled. “How was camp? Find yourself a girlfriend?”
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