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The Parents

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For Ted and Lottie family was the most important thing.  They had been married many years and both were growing old.  They were not as firm as they used to be.  So, Ted and Lottie relied more and more on their children.  Their children were the apples of their eyes – they only had eyes for them.

 

They had many children.  They had thirteen.  Thirteen was not an unlucky number for Ted and Lottie.  They considered themselves lucky, they considered themselves blessed.  Ted was protective of all his children and he was also protective of Lottie – she was so much smaller than him.

 

As Ted was getting older, he recognised that family was the most important thing.  His family ties were deep rooted.  He did not have to dig deep to uncover affection for his children.  It always came to the surface.

 

Ted and Lottie had to make a decision.  If truth be known it would be Ted who had the final say.  That was the way their relationship worked.  Ted was head of the family.  He was the one who sat on the throne.  Ted was nearing the end of his life; life was eating away at him.  He had to decide on a successor, someone to inherit his crown, someone to take over his mantle.  It was not a straight-forward decision.  There was not a natural successor.  That was never the way they had done things in his family.  Ted was the one who would have to decide who was the pick of the crop.

 

 

 

The Siblings

 

 

 

 

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Boy 5

 

 

He was considered a soft touch, a gentle soul.  So, people took advantage as people always do to people who are considered a soft touch.  It is human nature and humans are not always naturally good.  Survival of the fittest; and he was not strong by nature.

 

He was an uncomplicated soul who was popular with everyone, especially to those who were also as uncomplicated as him; those who, on the surface, were not aspirational.  If truth be known, those at the top of their game, the ones whose lives had the trimmings of success, also found him endearing.

 

He was an uncomplicated soul who was popular with everyone; there were few that he did not get along with.  People liked his uncomplicated nature.  He had a comforting nature and people felt comfortable with him.  He never pretended to be something he wasn’t.

 

A simple soul.

 

It is human nature to pick on the weak and, for as long as he could remember, he was picked on.  His parents could not understand the fights, why he never defended himself.  To them he was simply a simple soul – a mild man.  But fights there were and he always lost.  He did not have a fighting nature.

 

He was always beaten to a pulp.

 

Most people wanted to smother him with warmth.  He was an uncomplicated soul.  It was what he deserved.

 

But not all people.

 

Some people, some with that nature, wanted to destroy him.

 

It is human nature to pick on the weak.  It is human nature and humans are not always naturally good.

 

 

Girl 2

 

 

Although not the oldest, and not even the oldest girl, she was the one who united all the family.  She was the most maternal.  She was the one who drew everyone together, especially on special occasions.  Christmas was the time she most looked forward to - it was her speciality.  This was the time that she shone, like the Christmas star and everybody sought her out.  She had a warm and welcoming nature and there were always great expectations of her presence.  She never let any of her family down.

 

She was not as refined or as svelte as others, certainly not some of her sisters.  She was, if you were being polite, called portly.  If you were not being polite you would say she was fat, fat all over.  Females did not consider her threatening, males embraced her.  Men considered her cuddly.  No woman wants to be described in this manner.  No woman wants to be fat.  And, if anyone did call her cuddly, it was one of the few times she would show venom; she would virtually spit with anger.  It was the only time her tongue would lash out.

 

She would give them a roasting.  She did not like to be judged.  This was because she was bruised.  To her, with her maternal streak, being welcoming and warm did not mean she was less of a woman; did not mean she had less desires.  She always had desires.  Her desires were to please others.

 

If she had a failing it was that she did not always please herself.

 

Usually, and predictably, she would make everyone smile.  She was the ingredient that bound everyone together.  She was special; especially special for families, for celebrations, for occasions, for Sundays at home surrounded by the people you love.

 

If she was portly, she did not spread herself thinly.  She was often free with her time and free with her nature.  If she had anything extra in life, she would share this with you.

 

She was dripping with generosity.

 

 

 

Girl 6

 

 

She was, by nature, a pale and sickly child; much paler than the rest of her siblings.  As she grew older, she, as so many others of her years, detested the way she looked.

 

As she grew, she did not like her shape and wanted to change; change is not always easy.

 

It was all to do with the perception she had of herself.  But, if truth be known, we do not always see ourselves as others do.

 

To everyone else she appeared well-grounded, well-rounded.  This is how many consider plain children to be.  This is how many consider plain adults to be.

 

From this viewpoint everyone thought she had things in perspective - she knew her place.  They thought she saw the world and accepted her place in it.  The consideration was that she knew what was what and she could see the world for what it was.  She had no mis-conceptions that the world was flat.  The world was round and she could clearly see that.

 

She was well-rounded.

 

That was exactly how she viewed life – seeing things for what they were but it was not the world that everyone thought she saw.  The world labelled her as modest and unassuming.  The world thought she was not like her sisters in that she accepted her position in life, in the pecking order, in her presentation – but she did not.

 

Everyone assumed that plain, unassuming girls, wanted to remain so.

 

No growing girl wants to be noted for being plain and unassuming.  No growing girl wants labels attached to their personality.  Especially if they are the wrong ones.

 

So, she wanted to change.

 

And, to everyone’s astonishment, she did change.

 

Some commended and admired her.  Her parents and siblings looked on in horror.

 

Two changes.  Two major changes.

 

She became not the girl she was, not the girl expected of her.  The changes were drastic.

 

First it was the diet, she became less than half the size she was.  She did this quickly without telling the others.  It made sudden impact.  But nobody commented on it so she assumed she was not small enough because nobody had noticed.

 

Everyone had noticed but nobody commented.  They assumed, the non-assuming, well-rounded girl had things under control and their opinion was of no concern.  She had changed because she wanted the concern of other people’s opinions.  But nobody commentated.  At heart they still considered her the plain girl - and she knew it.

 

Next, it was her personality.  With her new look, her confidence was growing.  She spoke out more and she spoke with a clearer voice, a more refined voice. 

 

Gone were the rough edges.

 

Yet still there was the paleness in her complexion.  Her new shape could not hide this, however good she now perceived herself to look.

 

There was nothing she could do about it herself.  There was nothing she could do about it herself – so she enlisted the help of others.

 

This was a slower process, one that was done over time.  She took her time to ensure her new colour was golden and thorough.

 

An all-over tan.

 

She was a different creature.  It is human nature to judge others by their looks, to label them but that is exactly what happened.  Human nature came to the front.  Suddenly the comments came.  Now she was worshipped and feted - admired and wanted.

 

To her she was the person she had always been – if only someone had looked.  They looked at her now.

 

She had cut her critics down to size.

 

She had come full circle.

 

 

 

Boy 1

 

 

What you saw was what you got.  He was the eldest and had to be so.  He was the whole deal.  He took it upon himself to be the tough one, tough skinned.  He was he eldest of the siblings.

 

Sone people thought he was slow in his ways.  It is in human nature to make observations of others and to judge accordingly.  In his own judgements he was meticulous and wary.  He was not a one to rush into things or make rash decisions.  He would step back and analyse, and then take action.

 

To the frustration of some of his siblings he took his time about everything; everything was thought through.  Whenever tasked with responsibility he stepped up to the mark but he always took time to deliver.  Things, if perfected, could not be rushed.

 

In the modern world shortcuts are always taken, it is the accepted way so people got impatient with him.  It is not in the human nature of the modern man to wait.

 

Planning for him was the key.  Plans had to be thought out – planned.  There could be no half measures.  This would be unacceptable.

 

He was the eldest and he was the biggest in stature - bigger, larger and older than any of the other siblings.

 

Despite his stature, despite his basic instincts (or in spite of these attributes) he was often invited to parties.  He relished the ones in the open air, in the Summer.  However, all seasons suited him.  He was the one you would go to for a warm embrace in the Winter.  But it was in Summer that he often took centre stage.  Outdoors he was the disco king; his trade-mark silver jacket as recognisable as his dad-dancing making him appear large as life.

 

Welcomed by all but always more welcomed when he had a companion on his arm; there had been many to accompany him.  He was the type who shone beside whoever he attracted.  It was as if he needed the company of others to be himself.

 

So, he had a range of girlfriends that came with him.  All of his companions were popular but human nature is what it is and everyone had their own favourite – the one they would remember best.  And people chose to have the company of the ones they liked.  They liked him by himself but often preferred him when he was together with one of his girlfriends.

 

Tastes change.  People are fickle.

 

That is human nature.

 

 

 

Girl 5

 

 

If you are in the middle there are always others around you.  Having others around you can hem you in.  Expectations vary with position and age.  They are high for the first born of each gender then there is re-invigorated love for the young, especially the youngest.   Amongst many it is easy to be over-looked, forgotten.

 

If anyone had looked, had observed they would have been able to see.  She was the natural successor.  She was the brightest; she was the one who excelled in studies.  She was the gifted one – if anyone had noticed.  Nobody noticed her.

 

She had wanted to do more.  She did not have the courage to ask.  That was her weakness.  She could blame others for not hearing her voice – but no-one can hear a voice that is soft – that is silent.  She never spoke up and so she was never heard.

 

It is human nature to think that when people say nothing, they have nothing to say.

 

Shyness is a disability; it is disabling.

 

Of all the siblings she had the most ambition, the most dreams.  She was the brightest.  She had a world that others could only dream of.  She was the one who wanted to branch out, to reach higher.  Regularly alone, lacking company – along with her thoughts.

 

She wanted to make more of herself.  She wanted altitude.

 

She was gasping for air.

 

Becoming a bystander, she watched as the others overtook her in life.  They seemed to achieve the goals that she had aspired to, goals she had not attained because she was held back.  Held back by herself, by her shyness.

 

She was the brightest, the brightest star that went unseen. 

 

She never shone.

 

When her siblings were ill it was a blight on the family.  But families rally round families, taking care of each other – recognising the symptoms and administering what was necessary and right and doing so with love.  It wasn’t that she was unloved but her symptoms were more than skin deep.

 

There are no symptoms for disappointment.  No sores or spots - nothing obvious.  No signs to be detected; no warning signs.  People see what they see and their eyes were not on her.  People see what they see.  It is human nature.

 

She suffered in silence.

 

Unnoticed.

 

They noticed when she wasn’t there.

 

She would never be the successor.

 

 

 

Girl 1

 

 

Others had to follow in her wake. She was a natural leader.  Head Girl.  She thought that others should aspire to her level; that they should rise to the top.

 

She was the eldest girl of the siblings.  So, she presumed they would look up to her.  People look up to an image, to a mirror.  Sadly, she did not reflect on life; she was too busy looking at herself.

 

She set herself apart.  Always dainty, always the best dressed and her choice of designs was always French.  She considered her tastes to be chic; she considered chic.  It was all image, a French image of fashion and culture.  Always the best.

 

She thought she was a cut above everyone else.

 

She thought she was above others – flying high, floating in a world of her own.

 

Magazines gave her inspiration – no novels or tomes for her.  Glossy and attractive, they gave her aspirations.  Paper thin.

 

Shallow.

 

She bathed in her own success.

 

For those who are naturally beautiful they do not understand the struggles, the climbs of others.

 

If another is in pain you can sympathise but, if truth be known, you cannot empathise.  You don’t feel it.  Unfortunately, that is human nature.

 

If you are beautiful you do not understand what it is like to be ugly.

 

If you are always adored.

 

 

 

 

The Twins

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They were not identical, of course they weren’t.  For a start they were brother and sister.  They certainly were not like two peas in a pod; more like chalk and cheese.

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Boy 3

 

 

He had broad shoulders.  He took whatever criticisms labelled at him with a pinch of salt; he took it all on the chin.

 

When he looked in the mirror, he liked what he saw.  He had worked hard at it.  He worked out three times a week and it showed.  Broad and well-built, he easily filled a space – there was no missing him.

 

Outgoing and outspoken.  He did not care what people thought of him.  He was comfortable in his own skin.  Self-confidence affects people in two ways.  Some are attracted and drawn to it while others find it too full in the face and avoid it at all cost.  That is human nature.

 

He was well-known and gregarious.  He was outgoing and was hardly ever seen at home.

 

He cared about his appearance.

 

 

 

Girl 4

 

 

She was slight.  For as long as she could remember she had watched her weight.  This was because she thought everyone was watching her and she couldn’t bear it; she couldn’t bear any comments about her shape or size.  She took everything to heart.

 

She was thin-skinned.

 

She was not comfortable in her own skin.

 

When she looked in the mirror, she hated what she saw.  There was nothing to look at.  There was nothing of her.  She had worked hard at it.  Doing nothing requires energy so all her energy went into her shape, her lack of shape.  So, when she looked in the mirror, she was constantly watching herself, watching her weight.

 

Blink and you could miss her.

 

Introverted and quiet, she was always worried about what people thought of her.  Self-consciousness affects people in two ways.  Some admired her strength in her constant battle with herself, the drive and determination that goes with her efforts to be slim.  Others found her shallow and self-obsessed.  They thought she had little depth and avoided her at all cost.  That is human nature.

 

She was well-known and liked but she preferred solitude, preferred to be at home.

 

She cared about her appearance.

 

 

The Twins

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Some liked him and some liked her.  That was the difference between them.

 

That was human nature.

 

So alike.

 

So different.

 

Twins.

 

 

Boy 6

 

 

He was defined by his dress sense.  Always fashionable.  He had a swagger about him.  Immaculate, defined.  He knew what he wanted in life; everything was clear cut.

 

Of all the siblings he was the one who knew where he was going.  And he was going abroad.  It was Scandinavia that seemed to beckon him.  The coldness, the definitive of a cold climate was what attracted him.  It was clear cut.  It was cool.

 

He always felt he did not belong within his family, that he had inherited different roots and these roots were foreign.  He felt alien.  He knew he resembled them but his outlook was different.  He was colder than the others, he thought of himself more.

 

He thought of the others less.

 

He was a child of his time, and time is of the essence.  A photograph tells time in an instant.  He would always put himself forward for photographs.  Social media welcomed him as they do fashionable things.

 

He was fashionable, he was trendy.  His style was almost retro – sharp cut suits, fitted.

 

He dressed in the same way that he organised his life – with precision.

 

Trends fade, fashions change.  However, he did not look to the future.  He was a star ascending.  Women like stars.  They like ascension.

 

It may have been the fashion sense, the smartness, it may have been his different outlook on life, it may have been many things that women found attractive.

 

People like confidence. People are attracted to confidence.

 

Of all the siblings he had the most.

 

Women loved him.

 

They loved his wide eyes, his precision, dress-sense but most of all they loved his wide smile.

 

 

 

Boy 4

 

 

Nobody likes to be compared with siblings. It either means living up to their expectations or overcoming the reputations they have established.

 

Everyone wants to be individual.  As a child you do not want comparisons – lines drawn.  He was constantly compared to them because they had been born before him.  And everyone loves twins. So, how could people love the next born except by ways of comparison.  He was always compared to them.

 

He hated it.

 

The likeness between himself and the twins was something he could not and did not want to see.  To his perception the twins did not even look like each other, let alone him.  However, this was the label he had borne throughout his life – comparing how much he looked like them.

 

So, he needed to define himself.  He needed to be different; to be different he needed to distance himself.

 

It was almost like a marketing exercise.  What he wanted was differentiation.

 

So, he became an upmarket sort of chap.  If truth be known he became, in reality, an upmarket version of the twins.  Those who knew the family knew he was the same but he was desperate to be different.

 

His friends moved in different circles.  That was what he aspired to.  He barely acknowledged the existence of the twins.

 

Made from the same roots, although he wanted to deny it.

 

Himself and the twins.

 

They looked alike.

 

 

 

Boy 2

 

 

In his youth he was plain, nothing exceptional.  No complications, the salt of the earth.  While many of his siblings had high ambitions, he aimed low.  He knew who he was and where he wanted to be.  This did not mean, however, that he wanted to stagnate.

 

He was ready to expand his horizons.

 

So, plain he would be no longer.

 

He always enjoyed his outfits and relished new designs – whatever was flavour of the month.  Constantly changing but his friends knew he was basically the same lad he had always been.

 

Of all the siblings he was the most down to earth.  He was sociable and liked company.  It made sense that he gravitated towards pubs.  He encouraged casual chats, laughs amongst mates.

 

Wherever there was drink he was there.  He encouraged it.

 

If truth be known his other siblings frowned upon him.  Whatever new persona he devised, however much he aspired to be different, to them he was the common one.

 

He did not attempt to hide from their labels.  They could always find him out and always knew where to find him.

 

But he had been there when friends celebrated, when women cried at films, at parties and feasts, when people propped up the bar as they are wont to do.  He had listened to rants, to opinions, to debates, to arguments.  His company was thinly spread but he was there when people wanted to share.

 

If the siblings considered him common, his success was that he had the common touch.

 

 

 

Girl 3

 

 

She always knew she was different.  She did not, however, know in what way she was different.  But she was different from other girls.  Other girls liked other boys.  She never liked other boys.

 

She liked other girls.

 

So, she had to pretend.  She pretended to be what she was not.  It was a shell, a veneer – one that few people could see through.

 

She appeared harsh – a tough coating.  Nothing was sugar-coated.  It was all a façade – the army jacket, the hardened image.  She did not want people to see her for what she was.  She would not roll over and concede to conventions.  No-one saw her inner self, only those who took the time.

 

People judge by appearances.  It is human nature.

 

The army jacket was camouflage.  It meant she couldn’t be seen.  She did not want men to see her; she wanted her own kind.

 

Appearances are deceptive.  She looked hard but, if truth be known, at the tiniest provocation she would crumble.

 

She would crumble if someone touched her.  Everyone wants to be touched, appreciated, devoured.

 

Without fear she was not afraid to dive deep in her longings.  Anything to protect herself.

 

Underneath it was a different story.  When the defences were down, when the barriers were broken, all that remained was softness.

 

That was the essence of her.

 

She was soft inside.

 

If only people took the time to discover that about her.

 

 

Boy 7

 

 

Often children that come later in the life of a family, when it had been assumed that there would be no more siblings, are called accidents.  Certainly, he was not expected.  If there are no expectations to meet, he could only exceed them.

 

He was not expected but he was welcomed, welcomed by his parents and by all his siblings.  It was perhaps the only thing that truly united them.

 

An early arrival meant he was small.  For some smallness is a sign of weakness.  His premature birth meant he would never acquire the stature of some of his older brothers.

 

You do not have to be big in size to be big in stature.  You do not have to be tall to be looked up to.

 

From the moment of his birth they all knew he was special; that he would be the one.  There was something about his demeanour, the way he held himself.  He had a regal stance which came naturally – he did not have to try.

 

He was born to it.

 

There were no airs and graces.  That was why he was quickly assumed to be the heir.

 

The youngest, the smallest in stature, the strongest in nature, the most becoming.  The heir apparent.

 

Apparently.

 

 

 

 

The Family Tree

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