Not My Marrow to Give

The call came just before my bone marrow donation. It was my brother, Henry.
“Hey,” he said casually, “if I get your marrow, will I turn out ugly like you?”
I was too on edge to process it at first. He continued, “I’m grateful, but I’ve always liked Talia more. She’s beautiful. Giving me your marrow… that’s your duty as my sister, right?”
His words struck like a blow, leaving my mind blank. Then my parents chimed in from the background.
“Henry, stop,” my mother said mildly, “your sister is about to have surgery.” Then she added, “But he’s not wrong. Don’t get worked up.”
“You’ve never been a beauty, Nora,” my father rumbled. “Not like Talia. She’s pretty and charming. Everyone likes her.”
Suddenly, it clicked. This wasn’t just about my looks—it was punishment for calling off my engagement after discovering my ex was cheating with Talia.
Fine. If that’s how they felt, there was nothing left to say.
I swung my legs off the hospital bed and began removing the sterile gown.
My parents rushed over. “What are you doing? Stop making a scene.”
“Let go of me,” I said, my voice low and cold. “Or I’ll call security.”

1
My mother grabbed my arm. “The doctors will be here any minute! What are you doing? Do you want to make us a laughingstock?”
My father’s eyes were filled with disgust. “A man who cheats before the wedding is only going to be worse after. Talia took a bullet for you and shielded you from disaster. You should be thanking her, not holding a grudge.”
I tilted my head back and let out a cold, sharp laugh.
The story was pathetically simple. My cousin Talia, the girl who had spent her entire life trying to take everything that was mine, had finally snatched my fiancé, too. She’d done it at our engagement party, wrapping her arms around him right in front of me. I’d lost my mind and demanded we call the whole thing off on the spot. Ever since, my parents had blamed me for ruining Talia’s reputation.
“How’s Henry doing?”
Just as we were locked in our standoff, Talia herself appeared in the doorway, a vision of concerned grace.
My parents’ faces instantly softened. “Talia! What are you doing here?”
As if summoned by a psychic link, my brother Henry burst out of the sterile isolation ward, ignoring the frantic protests of the nurses. “Talia! I knew you’d come see me!”
I watched as they all flocked around her, a bitter taste rising in my throat.
Talia’s eyes found me, and she offered a gentle smile, holding out a small, elegant gift bag.
“I wanted you to have some wedding favors,” she said sweetly. “I’m getting married this weekend. Your uncle said you’d probably still be in the hospital, so… we didn’t send an invitation.”
My eyes burned with rage. I glared at her, and Henry immediately jumped in front of her, shielding her like a knight. “Why are you looking at her like that?” he snarled. “You’re an ugly, vicious witch! No wonder no one wants you!”
He took a step closer, his face contorted with disgust. “The thought of having your marrow inside me makes my skin crawl!”
I froze. Was this really my brother? The same brother I had been caring for day and night since his diagnosis, ever since we found out I was a perfect match? Now, for Talia, he could say something so vile.
With a monumental effort, I fought back the tears and turned to my parents, my last hope.
My mother stepped forward and smoothed the collar of my shirt. For a second, the warmth of her hand on my neck made my heart ache, and the tears threatened to spill over.
But then she spoke.
“You have always been such a disappointment,” she sighed. “The surgery is in an hour. Why must you always cause trouble?”
“Look at Talia. She’s so busy with work, yet the moment she heard Henry was having his operation, she rushed right over. And then there’s you.” Her voice dripped with condescension. “This is why everyone loves her, Nora. And why no one loves you.”
Her words landed, and every sacrifice I’d ever made for them turned into a cruel joke.
In that moment, something inside me snapped. I grabbed my donation consent form from the bedside table and, with a single, violent motion, tore it to shreds.
My mother lunged for me, but I shoved her back. My brother started to shout something, and I slapped him, hard, across the face.
“You give me…”
Before I could finish, a storm of slaps rained down on me. I instinctively curled into a ball, shielding my head as my father’s rage descended. I stumbled backward until I crashed to the floor.
He stood over me, panting, his eyes bloodshot. “Get out! You are no daughter of mine.”
His voice was raw with fury. “We don’t need you. Someone else can donate to Henry.”
It was as if I’d been waiting to hear those words my whole life. The last, stubborn thread of hope inside me finally died, and in its place, I felt a wave of absolute, liberating peace.
Now, I could finally leave them for good.

2
I used a nearby bed to pull myself to my feet.
My parents and my brother were clustered together, protectively surrounding Talia, staring at me as if I were a wild animal. A hysterical laugh bubbled up inside me. I never knew they were so afraid of me.
Sensing my resolve, my mother tried a different tactic, her voice softer now. “Don’t be so dramatic. Families say things they don’t mean. Are you really going to abandon your brother?”
“No matter what, we’re family,” she pleaded. “If you want, I’ll apologize on their behalf. I’m his mother, I’ll get on my knees. I’ll do anything, if you’ll just stay and save Henry. I’ll be your servant for the rest of my life, how about that?”
Talia glided over, taking my hand. “Everyone was just emotional,” she cooed. “Your parents are getting older; we should be more understanding. Besides, if you leave, what will happen to Henry? You’re his sister. Can you really bear to watch him die?”
I almost laughed in her face. “If I leave, he’ll still have you, won't he? You were a match, too, remember?”
After my uncle—Talia’s father—died in a car accident and his wife remarried, my dad brought Talia to live with us. Perhaps out of guilt or nostalgia for his late brother, my parents began to shower her with affection, growing colder and more distant with me each day.
It’s true what they say—being loved makes you bloom. The more they doted on her, the more beautiful and radiant Talia became. I, on the other hand, was thin, sallow, and unremarkable. Whenever we went out, people would praise my parents for raising such a wonderful girl in Talia. As they soaked in the compliments, their resentment towards me grew.
At the dinner table, any plate with meat on it was always placed in front of Talia. If I dared reach for a piece, my father would slap my hand away. “Were you raised in a barn? Look at you, like a starved stray. It would be a waste of good food anyway.”
My entire childhood was a battle against this injustice. So, as an adult, I threw myself into my work. I gave them everything I had, desperate to prove I was better, more successful, more worthy of their love than Talia.
When Henry was diagnosed with leukemia, I was the first to get tested. Even though both Talia and I were matches, I rushed to the hospital to sign the consent forms without a second thought.
And what did it get me?
The unloved child is always invisible. No matter how much I gave, I would always be the one they despised.
Rather than pour my life into a bottomless pit, leaving was the only choice I had left.

3
I grabbed the duffel bag I’d kept with me at the hospital. It was filled with things for Henry—special foods, clean clothes, everything he’d need. Now that I was leaving, I wouldn't be taking them with me.
I turned and handed the bag to my parents and Talia, explaining each item.
“After this incident, the doctors will be even stricter about his isolation. These apples and pears need to be steamed before he can eat them. And this…” My voice broke. “This is a plane ticket to Sweden for him. The air quality there is better; it’s good for recovery.”
My vision blurred with tears. I looked up and saw their faces, still masks of arrogance and disgust.
I wiped my eyes, turned, and threw the entire bag into the trash can. I ripped the plane ticket in half.
“Hey! What are you doing? You said that was for me!” Henry yelped, reaching out as if to stop me.
I shoved the bag deeper into the bin. “You want it? Go ask your precious Talia to buy it for you.”
I turned back to the four of them. “If there’s nothing else, you can leave now. I need to change.”
They stared at each other, stunned. It seemed they never expected me, the family doormat, to finally grow a spine.
When my parents still didn’t move, Talia gave Henry a subtle look. The two of them each took an arm and escorted the older couple out of the room.
Through the glass window in the door, I saw the four of them huddled together, with Talia at the center, plotting. My mother kept glancing nervously in my direction. I don’t know when it started, but every family decision, big or small, was made by the four of them, without me. I used to cry and scream about being excluded, only to be told, “Are you crazy?”
My only confidant was my dog, Daisy. I hugged her every night just to be able to fall asleep. When Talia found out, she must have said something to my parents, because they exploded at me.
“You don’t even care about your own family, but you cuddle that stupid dog all day,” my father had yelled. “You’re losing your humanity.”
He threw a knife at my feet and locked both me and Daisy out on the balcony.
“You can come back in when you’ve killed that animal,” he’d said. “Otherwise, you can starve out there.”
Then, he, my mother, Talia, and Henry all left for a week-long vacation.
It was the dog days of summer. The heat on the balcony was suffocating. For seven days, I survived on dog food and sips of rainwater. But my poor Daisy… the heatstroke took her.
When my parents returned, they didn't ask how I’d survived. They only asked, “Are you done with your nonsense now?”
After that, I stopped fighting. No matter how close the four of them were, I never protested again.
After packing my things, I was ready to leave. Henry pushed the door open, an impatient look on his face.
“Fine, I’m sorry, okay? You’re my sister. I shouldn’t have called you ugly. I shouldn’t have called you a witch.” He sighed dramatically. “There. I said it. Now you should go apologize to Mom, Dad, and Talia.”
I just rolled my eyes. “Thank God I didn’t give you my marrow. You don’t deserve it.”
Growing up, he had always been the bully. I had never said a harsh word to him in my life. Hearing me now, he flew into a rage, raising his fist. “Don’t push it! Who the hell do you think you are, acting like everyone owes you something?”
I shrugged. “If you’re done talking, move. Good dogs don’t block the door.”
He laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. “Walk out that door and you’re never coming back. Mom and Dad will never forgive you!”
The spot where my father had hit me still throbbed with a burning pain. A family like this, a home like this… I was better off without them.
Talia approached, her eyes red-rimmed. “This is all my fault. I’ll make sure Henry and your parents spend more time with you from now on,” she pleaded. “Everything they buy for me, I’ll give it to you. If that’s not enough, I’ll leave. I’ll go away and I won’t come back until you’ve forgiven them.”
For all her supposed tears, not a single one fell. It was her classic routine, and I was sick of it. But some people always fell for it. Henry, who had just “apologized,” was now her champion again. “Talia, why are you begging her? We like you because we want to. Some people are just born to be hated.”
Behind Henry’s back, Talia’s tearful eyes were filled with triumph and provocation. The sight made me nauseous. She grabbed my hand again. “It’s my fault. Please don’t go.”
I was so tired of her games. I tried to pull my hand away, but somehow, in the movement, she stumbled back and knocked over a thermos of hot water sitting on a table. It splashed all over her arm, instantly turning her fair skin an angry red.
Before I could even process what had happened, Henry’s fist connected with my face.
“You just had to take it too far, didn’t you!” he screamed. “She apologized to you! What more do you want?”
He grabbed my shirt. “I’ve hated you for years! If Talia hadn’t stopped us, Mom and Dad would have kicked you out long ago!”
I tried to fight back, but before I could even raise my arm, my father clamped it in an iron grip. “You ungrateful viper. I knew this day would come.”
My mother, ever my father’s loyal supporter, jumped in, grabbing a fistful of my hair. “How could you attack your own family? You have no conscience!”
Fearing a scene in the hallway, they dragged me by my hair to the far corner of the room. As I struggled, I managed to pull out my phone and dial 911, screaming my location into the receiver.
Seeing the phone, Henry lunged, snatched it, and stomped it into pieces. “What are you doing? Do you want the cops to arrest Mom and Dad?”
When they finally stopped, I was a bloody mess on the floor, every inch of my body screaming in pain.
I stared at them with pure hatred. “Unless you kill me right here, right now, I’m going to make sure the police arrest every single one of you.”
My mother and brother flinched, but my father stood his ground. “So what? I was disciplining my own child. What’s that got to do with the police?”
Thankfully, the police arrived quickly.
My father was still fuming. My mother immediately pointed at me. “Officer, arrest her! She promised to donate bone marrow to her brother, he’s already in the sterile ward, and now she’s backing out!”
“And she assaulted us!” she shrieked, holding up Talia’s scalded arm for the officer to see. “This woman is a menace to society!”
The officer looked at Talia’s arm, then at my bleeding face. His expression grew grim. “This constitutes assault. All of you are coming down to the station.”
My father, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. “My daughter didn’t hit anyone,” he said firmly. “She’s planning on applying for a government job soon. A police record would ruin her future.”
The daughter he was referring to, of course, was Talia. He would move heaven and earth for her.
To make me drop the charges, my father transferred ten thousand dollars to my account as “compensation.”
I accepted the money, then looked him straight in the eye. “Some things can’t be solved with money.”
My parents glared at me, wishing they could devour me whole. “What else do you want?”
“Simple,” I said.
“I’m going to the records department.”
“I, Nora Harris, am formally and completely cutting all ties with you.”

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