My mom had been undergoing chemotherapy for a year when she told me that her one remaining wish was to see the sea one last time. I asked my brothers to split the cost so we could make the trip happen together, but one refused because he couldn’t risk missing work, while the youngest cruelly suggested buying her a cake because she “wouldn’t remember anyway.” Hurt and disgusted, I stopped asking them and decided to make her dream happen myself.
The day before her birthday, my brothers suddenly began calling me angrily. My mom had been posting photos on Facebook of herself packing and happily thanking “her daughter” for making her dream come true. Family members began asking why her sons had not helped, and my aunt even shared a screenshot of the family group chat showing exactly how my brothers had refused. They demanded that I make the situation disappear, but I hadn’t exposed them—Mom had simply been happy out loud. I chose not to interfere.
