8

A few months passed quietly, and I endured it all silently, hiding the truth from everyone. I still see my brother falling into the water from time to time, and the fear always follows me.

I also gradually recalled the real reason why my brother drowned. It was the summer of 2014 , and there was no one at home. I took my brother to the lake in the park to play in the water. The sun was scorching, and the park was almost empty. When I was playing in the shallow water, my feet were suddenly entangled by water plants, and I couldn't get rid of them. The water plants got tighter and tighter, and I was dragged to the center of the lake. My brother was so scared that he screamed and jumped into the lake to save me. He tried his best to pull the water plants off my feet, and I felt my feet loosen up and swam to the shore. However, my brother didn't come up again. I was exhausted, my feet were shaking, and I could only run back to ask adults for help. Afterwards, I realized that the kick I kicked might be the real reason why my brother drowned.

This scene repeatedly appeared in my mind, tormenting me frequently in the middle of the night. I was extremely weak and had trouble sleeping. I looked in the mirror and saw that my face was sallow and I had dark circles under my eyes. However, these could be temporarily covered up by applying lightening lotion.