The Disappearance

The Disappearance

It never occurred to me that I would ever get along with my older brother Harry. He would cause non-stop chaos, ruining many things for me, including some of my relationships. He would always cause trouble and I would get the blame almost every time. Our family lived in a small town in South Australia and owned the most beautiful winery. Our family was believed to be perfect, with a mother, father and two ‘beautiful’ sons. That reputation was ruined when Harry hit his teen years, starting physical fights at school, and even getting expelled. These days, he works under the supervision of my father. Only during work does Harry behave himself. Things became difficult for me in school, as my older brother gave me a reputation. After his expulsion, everyone began to watch my every move, as if I were a clone of my older brother. When things got hard for me at school, I desperately needed Harry’s guidance as mother and father were always too busy for me. Every time I tried to approach Harry, he’d say I was ‘selfish’ and ‘never listened to him.’ The truth was, I listened to his passive aggressive rants daily and never got a break. Many times, I wished for him to disappear, but alas, we must be careful what we wish for.

It was a dark and stormy night. Mother always said rain was good for the vineyard, as grapes would grow to be ripe enough for February next year. I sat at my window, watching the rain drops elegantly fall onto the vines in the moonlight. For a moment, I felt happy and relaxed, as if nothing could harm me. This moment was short-lived as I began to hear yelling and screaming coming from the kitchen. I groaned, as this was a normality I’d been living through for a very long time. I heard aggressive footsteps in the hallway, followed by the sound of the front door slamming shut. I knew it was Harry going outside to get fresh air, as I saw him walk towards the vineyard. Raindrops violently hit him, causing his jumper to become drenched. I found myself worried about my brother, so I opened the window and shouted “Harry? What are you doing? Come back inside!” Harry ignored me and in the blink of an eye, began to speed towards the other side of the vineyard. I knew he was in a bad place, so I opened my window and jumped outside to follow him.

I ran across the muddy vineyard in the darkness. My sneakers hit the muddy ground, causing a splash. I was annoyed that Harry put me in this situation, as the raindrops caused my pyjamas to become completely drenched. Using my hand to shield my eyes from the violent rain, I stared into the distance; Harry was still running through the vineyard. I took a deep breath and began to run after him, screaming his name. The rain had stopped, but soon came thunder and lightning. Harry stopped in his tracks a few meters away from me. “Harry, what the hell are you doing?” I shouted angrily. “I hate mum and dad, they’re assholes!” he snarled. “Mum and dad have given you infinite chances and you continue to mess everything up,” I shouted. “Yeah well, their biggest mistake was having you,” he sneered. My heart sank, my fists clenched, and my body became numb with sadness and anger flowing through my veins. You know what? I wish that you would just disappear! You’d be doing us all a favour” I screamed at the top of my lungs. All of a sudden, a huge lightning strike struck the ground between us. Startled, I fell backwards, onto the ground. On the ground, I looked up, only to see a purple lightning tornado behind Harry. The lightning tornado began to follow Harry. “Harry, look out!” I shouted. Harry turned around and faced the lightning giant. A flash of white light caused me to shut my eyes. The second I opened them, the lightning tornado was gone, and so was Harry.

My older brother had vanished in thin air. I couldn’t believe what I had just saw. I frantically ran back towards the house, calling out for mum and dad. I entered through the front door and ran straight into the kitchen, leaving a trail of mud behind me. Mum and dad were sitting at the kitchen table, eating dinner. “Oh, Daniel, you left a trail of mud!” mum shouted. “Mum, dad, Harry’s missing! He just vanished into thin air!” I shouted. Mum and dad looked at each other with confusion. “Who’s Harry?” dad asked.