Sacrificed Son, Unbreakable Soul

gan. I had done it. A full scholarship to MIT. I felt a surge of pure joy, a feeling so unfamiliar it al

hands like a holy relic. "Mom! Dad! Sarah!"

younger brother, Caleb. A banner that read 'Congratu

looking up from straightening the banner

oice softer now. "MIT. W

n and then back at Caleb, who was admiring a new, expensive watch

tone flat and dismissive. "But we're a lit

to steal the spotlight, aren't you, Ethan?

up all night while they slept, hiding my ambition because I knew it made them uncomfortable.

the one I had placed so carefully on the hall table, was torn into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. Beside it,

ges, the clean rips made by human hands. T

ful of the shredded paper. My hands were shaking.

ven's sake, Ethan, it's just paper. The wind pr

y I couldn't contain. "This was my ticket to

g in front of Caleb as if to shield him. "You are upsetting your brot

l of his victory, a reward for his mediocrity. The whole party, the expensive gifts, the family's undivided

ience fair. My parents didn't attend the ceremony. They were at Caleb's soccer game, where he sat on the bench for the entire match. I remembered hidin

thrown away some paper; they had thrown away my future. They had shown me, without a shadow of a doubt,

mbalance. "We just want both our boys to be happy." Were those words ever true? Or were they just another tool to

me. I didn't slam the door. I didn't have the energy. I slid down agains

s. The pain was too deep for that. It was a hollow ache

e paper, now just trash. I felt like those scraps-torn up, discarded, and

ience to their perfect family dynamic? For a terrifying moment, I believed it. I believed