Do you have any siblings? No. I’m an only child. At least according to the family archive. Sibling detected. No. Sibling detected. Darling... I was his second mother. At ten years old. They were sixteen when I came into the light, two children playing house and losing the fight. He drank. She disappeared behind a closing door. And I learned to read a room before I knew what rooms were for. I stood between them, small enough to disappear, old enough to understand that somebody had to care. I cleaned. I carried. I translated every scream into something softer. And then my little brother arrived. I was ten. He was ten years younger. And suddenly... I became a mother again. Nobody appointed me. Nobody asked. Nobody gave me a salary. But somehow... the job was mine. Congratulations. You have been promoted. To what? Adult child. Oh. Excellent career prospects. AT TEN— I BECAME A MOTHER AGAIN! SECOND MUM! SECOND HAND! HOLDING UP THE FAMILY WITH MY LITTLE HANDS! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYING! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN FREE! BUT SOMEBODY HAD TO KEEP THE WHOLE HOUSE FROM FALLING ON ME! Then came the clever little brother. Academic floors. Important words. Spotlight on his face. He learned the language of liberation. Power. Justice. Equality. Progress. Fascinating. Because I remember another language. Bedtime. Feeding. Keeping a frightened child quiet while the adults fell apart. I remember being his second mother. He remembers... apparently nothing. Historical revision in progress. Oh, wonderful. My favourite subject. Your role has been updated. Which one? Unrelated party. Perfect. Make me an only child. I’M AN ONLY CHILD! LOOK AT ME! NO BROTHER HERE! NOTHING TO SEE! NO SECOND MUM! NO FAMILY HISTORY! WHAT A MIRACLE A PAPER CAN PERFORM! We grew up in the same house. But not the same childhood. He got to become himself. I got to become useful. He learned to speak in public. I learned to listen through walls. And when my children called him— he let it ring. Saint in public. Ghost within. Please welcome the distinguished feminist scholar. Ladies and gentlemen— the man who discovered patriarchy after I had already changed his nappies. SECOND MUM! TEN YEARS OLD! CARRYING THE WORLD! ACADEMIC BROTHER! GOLDEN CHILD! SPOTLIGHT! FEMINISM! DELETE SIBLING! REBOOT THE BLOODY CHILDHOOD! AT TEN— I BECAME A MOTHER AGAIN! BUT I’M NOT YOUR MOTHER NOW! I’M NOT YOUR SECOND MUM! I’M AN ONLY CHILD! YES, I AM! THE RECORD IS CLEAN! THE ARCHIVE IS BLANK! NO LITTLE BROTHER! NO SECOND-MUM PLAN! AND IF YOU ASK ME WHERE HE WENT— I DON'T KNOW. I WAS TEN. He became a clever man. I became very good at surviving childhood. He calls himself a feminist. I call myself... an only child. Goodnight, brother. Whoever you are.
