The Story About My Brothers

I have two older brothers who were born on the same day, two years apart. My sister Tal and my brother Itai. Ever since, they have been very close, and because of the age difference between us, I wasn’t as close to them. I was always the little sister, and like in any family with older and younger siblings, we fought a lot. I always saw them and admired their bond, I wanted to be a part of it, and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t. I wanted to be their partner in their games, in the birthdays they always celebrated together, in their conversations, and in everything they did together.

As time passed, the age gap became less noticeable. I grew up, and so did they, but I was no longer the annoying sister who just bothered them. Now, I’m the sister who can have conversations with the older siblings. When I was about 14, one evening when we were sitting in my mother’s living room, Itai and Tal kept whispering to each other. I didn’t give it too much importance, but my mother, who heard their conversations, got angry and called them to her room. After a long few minutes, they called me too. The tension was palpable.

In retrospect, I understand that Itai was asking me guiding questions and began to ask questions about himself, such as what he always has in his bag (he meant creams) And what does that say about him? He didn’t really know how to ask or what to say.  of course I didn’t understand what he wanted from me. After long minutes, my sister lost patience and simply said, “Michal, I’m a lesbian and Itai is gay.”

My mother immediately got upset with her directness. But sometimes you need to speak honestly and directly, even if it hurts or is hard to deal. As a 14-year-old girl, I didn’t know how to react to the situation, I didn’t know what to say or what I was supposed to do from now on. I just replied, “Okay.”  I went back to my room and started crying without even knowing why I was crying. Maybe because I didn’t know what to tell my friends? That my siblings are different? As a child, you don’t want to be different from the environment around you, you don’t want anything no normal in your family.

The first thought was, maybe I’m a little embarrassed of them now? Over time, as I grew up and understood, that Itai and Tal are the same Itai and Tal they were before they told me, they are the brothers I adore, the brothers I wish everyone had. I won. I won the best brothers in the world, and it doesn’t matter to me who they love, and I don’t care about other people’s opinions. They are my brothers, and I will stand proudly by their side and behind them at every stage in life. I won.