00:00i got married young too young probably one day i was the oldest sibling changing diapers tying
00:16shoes breaking up squabbles and the next i was a husband a father and trying to hold down a full
00:21time job but here's the thing i never stopped missing my siblings especially my little brother
00:28jake he was the wild one always the loudest always trying to prove something and when i moved out
00:34i knew he felt like i'd abandoned him truth is i kind of felt that way too so i did what i could
00:40i stopped by when i could i take them out for movies little adventures random ice cream runs
00:47but between my job my kid my wife and bills the visits got fewer and every time i showed up
00:54i could feel it that weird mix of resentment and smugness from jake so when i finally managed
01:00to schedule a whole saturday just for me and jake to do something epic together i thought hey maybe
01:07this is it our reconnection moment we planned a rock climbing trip just outside the city he'd always
01:14loved climbing as a kid and i figured it'd be the perfect bonding experience but the moment i picked
01:20him up i knew something was off he tossed a big overstuffed lunch cooler into the back seat
01:26and said with this smirk man mom really outdid herself turkey ham pickles chips gatorade two sodas
01:36he looked at me paused oh she didn't pack you anything huh that right there i smiled through it but my jaw
01:46clenched i knew what this was it wasn't just about the sandwich it was a message you left you don't
01:53belong we take care of each other not you and jake was enjoying every second of it the hike to the
02:00cliff was beautiful clear skies quiet trails but my mood was anything but peaceful as we geared up
02:08jake kept poking man i hope you remember how to belay someone or are you too grown up for that now
02:15i gritted my teeth and stayed calm this was supposed to be our bonding trip i wasn't going to snap
02:22but as jake started climbing down one of the routes something inside me shifted he was halfway down
02:29suspended maybe 20 feet from the ground relying entirely on my belay line i had full control and
02:37suddenly an idea crept into my head petty beautiful glorious idea i tied off the belay rope
02:45securely making sure he wasn't going anywhere safe but absolutely stuck then i let go of the rope
02:52and walked away i took a slow stroll back to the car popped open the cooler and sat on the hood
02:58cracked open his gatorade sipped it slowly unwrapped that turkey sandwich and took a massive bite
03:05there's something deeply satisfying about eating someone else's food when they've just spent the last
03:11two hours flaunting it like a trophy but knowing that he could see me up there on the ridge that
03:16made it perfect i waved at him with the sandwich how's the view i yelled he didn't respond just hung
03:24there fuming i could almost hear the rage bubbling through the wind now listen i didn't leave him in
03:30danger the gear was solid the knot was tight and he was in no actual risk just completely helpless
03:37like i had felt every time i tried to be the bigger person and he twisted the knife anyway
03:42he wasn't just dangling off a cliff that day he was dangling off that smug superiority he loved to
03:49throw in my face i took my sweet time finished both sodas ate the chips and polished off his dessert
03:56all while he swayed 30 feet up probably planning my death and yeah that part made me smile
04:03eventually i walked back real slow untied the rope and belayed him safely to the bottom
04:09he landed with a grunt and didn't say a word but the look he gave me pure smoldering rage and i drank it
04:17in you want to hear the funniest part a few years later jake became a cop and every time someone asks
04:24me why i joke probably so he can legally shoot me next time i prank him like that we laugh about it now
04:31kind of but i think in a way that day changed something he knew i wasn't just his big brother
04:38who could be pushed around and mocked i was the guy who'd leave you tied to a cliff and eat your lunch
04:43in front of you and suddenly we were equals
04:46so
04:57you
04:58this
05:00you
05:01this
05:02here
05:03here
05:05here
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