Conversations with brother

I used to think that my brother is snobbish and ignorant. We used to be close, aeons back, when he was still a chubby thing. Then things shifted.

Adolescence shaped us into moody teenagers; where we would fight over internet time (we didn't had the luxury of wireless back then) and largely turned anti-social human beings; locking ourselves in our bedrooms, listening to indie music (for him) and pop punk (for me), while trying to avoid as much housework and nagging as possible.

Fortunately, because of the 4 year gap between me and him, I grew out of the emotional, my-life-is-so-tough-I-hate-everyone-in-this-family-my-crush-doesn't-even-know-I-exist-puberty-sucks-I-don't-understand-my-body-anymore teenager stage faster then him.

But during my last trip back home, I had a conversation with the brother.

This is something big, considering he is still a creature who prefers not to come out of his room, except to go online, eat, bathe and watch tv.

Darling brother and I had to go to the town to run some errands. He hates it.

The sun was scorching hot. It's those kind of dry penetrative heat; you can still feel the sun's flare on your clothed skin.

By the time we were paying bills for mom and getting groceries for myself, I was covered in cool sweat and ready to slump in the car.

Thank God my brother is driving and the mountain air was sweet and fresh.

Brother started conjuring a conversation. I guess it's odd because he doesn't just talk to me at home. But I was only happy he's talking instead of sulking. It was a half and hour car ride back home, so I guess talking is good.

He asked me if I've read the comic he bought, Sandman. He caught me reading his comics before. I saw he bought new ones the other day but he was like a tigress who just gave birth; he wouldn't like me touch them.  I took it from him and read them, after he was done being so protective over them. I told him I did. I liked it. I asked him what he thought of the Avengers, since he's not a big Marvel fan. He's a DC fan. I know my brother is a guy who has strong opinions and stick with them. So my next question got the ball rolling. It's been in my head for quite sometime, I asked him why he chose DC over Marvel. Sounds shallow, huh? But I know my bro reads up his picks before rooting for them. So he must have a solid reason for supporting what he choose.

I did not expect his answer. He just said it was because of the villains.

He said there's enough superhero stories out there that sells villains short. They make villains so shallow, as in, the only reason why the bad guys in the story are bad guys is for money and world domination. That's the main reason scrpit writers and story writers always sell.

He says that real, solid characters for the villains are people who are bad just because they are bad, and no other reason.

I was as lost as you when he told me that. Huh, but that's stupid, I said.

He said yeah, in his annoying tone, but I kept patience. Because I know he hasn't revealed all.

One thing I can credit my brother is that he has a curious mind. He Googles everything. The hours he spent reading up things baffles me. Every time I glance over to see what he's up to on the laptop, half a time it's a Wikipedia page.

He knows many things. He just keeps them all to himself.

He has grown, more of mentally then physically, he's just not as tall as I hope he would be.

It made me realise how much I've missed out on him growing up.

So anyway, brother quoted something that made me pause and think.

He quoted Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler, one of the characters in Batman comics created by Bill Finger. Brother quoted: 

Real bad guys just want to watch you burn. Real villains taunts the good guys to kill, even to the extent of killing the villains themselves. To prove that the good guys aren't so good themselves.

When he said that, bam! I suddenly understood.

There's only one real bad guy out there. One which I know of. The devil himself. He suits this description perfectly. He goes around like a prowling lion, looking for potential victims. Because he knows he's already doom to eternity, so while he's at it, he will drag as much souls with him.

We always thought our enemies are mare human beings. Or parties or groups of people. People who blackmail us, people who are mean to us, cold to us, people who wants to bring us down.

But guess what? The real villain is just hiding behind he scene. He's just using humans to make you forget he's there. 

I'm glad I had the conversation with brother. Though I didn't point out my realisation to him, he taught me a great deal about who our real enemies are. But there's nothing to fear, because if you know that the devil is real..

..rest assured that God's even more real.