Other side of the picture

June 17th, 2016:
"...and the way she giggles every time she hears something funny. You know, she has a habit of tucking strands of hair behind her ears when she's nervous. She's so beautiful. And her smile is..." I sat with my arm across his shoulder, looking at his animated expression when he spoke about her. Ah, kids these days. How come the 21 year old me hasn't found the need to love any guy (yet) but my 16 year old friend, slash little brother, has managed to be in love with the same girl for three years? I've been listening to pretty much the same thing from him everyday since he first saw her. If we didn't meet, he'd text me, only to talk about her. He hasn't gathered the courage to ask her out. For all he knows, she could have a boyfriend. The thought hadn't occurred to him.
"Sam. SAM. Why aren't you saying anything?" he frowned up at me. "Maybe because I've heard the same thing a zillion times before, and it's better to listen to you than interrupt," I smile back. "I'm going to do it," he says, sitting up straight. "I'm gonna ask her out." Wait, what? "Carl, no. You know she doesn't look at you the same way. It's okay to love her, but if you come on too strongly, you'll end up ruining it." "But I need to know, Sam. I need to know if she'll ever be mine." I look into his playful eyes. I shouldn't have let it go. I should've stopped him. But the look on his face made me stay quiet.
June 25th, 2016
"Here's your Nutella shake. Isn't it your favourite?", I plop down on the bench beside Carl. He has a big smile plastered to his face as he grabs the shake from my hand. Apparently, he was going to meet her today and, well, confess his love, if that's how I can phrase it. "Boy you're excited about this, aren't you?" I ask. He says nothing and continues smiling. "When can we meet after today?" he asks me. "In a month probably. I have tons of project work to do," I sigh. "Oh, okay then I'll call you and tell you how today went," he brightens up again. "About that. I broke my phone. So just hold it all in till we meet again, okay? I've got to go now." I kiss his forehead and leave.
August 31st, 2016
Carl's late today. I don't have my phone so I wouldn't know if he's on his way. I decide to take a walk around the place and buy him his Nutella shake. About ten minutes later, drink in hand, I see him sitting on a bench, with his back facing me. His shoulders are hunched and he's shaking lightly. I walk up to him and hand him his drink. "Hey lil fella. What's up?" He doesn't answer. Neither does he accept the shake from my outstretched hand. I see that he's been crying. I sit beside him and hold him for a while. "Carl? What is it? Did something happen at college?" His head is still bowed and I cannot see his face. I force him to look at me, and gasp. He has deep red gashes across his cheeks and some on his neck. "What in the world happened to you?" I shriek. "She said no, Sam. She said she would never fall in love with someone who looks like I do. She said I don't match her standards. She wants me to never talk to her again. I just asked her out, but she said I don't deserve to fall for a girl like her. She said I'm not handsome enough and that I'd be a black mark on her reputation in college. She..." he broke off, sobbing into my arms. I hush him and console the boy. "This face is something she never wants to see again. So I ripped it." Listening to that, my heart shattered into a million shards.
Well, what's my point here? In this little incident I've narrated? Nobody had the right to break my brother's heart that way. Nobody has the right to do that to anyone. If you don't like a person the way they like you, there are polite ways to say it. You do not damage a person by putting them down in such a crude manner. Many of you might relate to this. Many of you might have done this. But do you see the other side of the picture? What you've done to that person? You've put him down in his own eyes, and in the worst way possible.
Carl was only 17. But he had had his heart broken by his first love. And I think that would stay with him for life, disturbing his days and haunting his nights.