Brother Broken


Foreword Clarion Review 

Alf Reads about pesky kids...

Denis needed quiet time to recover from the accident, so Mom and Dad gave him a bedroom all to himself. If he needed to escape the din of the rest of us, he could find solace there.

He fixed his room to suit his personality. He organized his stuff with precision and kept his space neat and orderly. There was a Meccano set with all its parts, a stamp and pad collection with no missing stamps, and an assortment of Elgo building bricks. A chess set occupied a prime location next to his bed. He kept his books on a shelf, arranged in precise order. His organizational system intrigued me and drew the attention of all his younger siblings. We were attracted to his room like magnets to metal. Knowing his space was off limits only made us keener to trespass.

“Denis, kin I watch you?” I stretched to see above the tabletop.

“OK, but don’t touch anything.” He resumed his task, and then added, “Who was in my stuff yesterday? You guys need to stay out of my room.”

To keep us out, Dad installed a hook-and-eye lock on the door of Denis’s bedroom. We couldn’t reach the lock unless we used something to stand on, so Dad gave us a stern warning for added effect.

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