Concepts of “Brotherhood” – and “Siblinghood” – from Cain and Abel

It was the summer of 2007. My family went on vacation to Mendocino, about 3 hours Northwest of Castro Valley. We were visiting a small shopping center next to the beach there, looking to see what kind of souvenirs and other goodies we could find. My sister and I visited a bookstore, seeing some cool toys (namely, Lego) in the window. My parents decided to wait for us to finish looking, right outside the store. My dad thought it was a getting a little cold, and decided to go back to the car and get our jackets. Browsing around, I first went through the store and looked for the small toy section. I found it, marveling at all the Lego that I didn’t have, although it was probably a trivial amount compared to the entirety of my current collection. After that, I went to check out the rest of the store, eyeing interesting picture books and funny book covers. In the midst of so many extraordinary books and souvenirs, I spent a good half an hour in that bookstore, browsing the many genres and types of books.
Finally at the end of my escape to "Bookland" (as dumb as it may sound), I decided to go back out to my parents. My mom called my dad, who, unbeknownst to me at that time, was at the car getting our family’s jackets. She told him that she was going to take me down the boardwalk further, and browse more stores. After she hung up, we headed down the long line of shops and restaurants, pausing occasionally to walk inside the quaint, snugly side-by-side stores and browse their individual items on sale. Eventually, my mom got tired, so we found a bench to sit on and patiently waited for my dad.
All of a sudden, my mom’s phone rang. It was my dad, with a loud, almost screaming voice. He said (in Chinese), “DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR DAUGHTER...

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...s her. In the English Standard Version Bible, Genesis 4:9 reads ‘Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?”’ This verse really applies to me, not in a brotherhood way, but in a siblinghood way. Me being a guy, and my sister being a girl, I will never experience (hopefully) the pains of menstruation or childbirth, but I can try to connect with her in all the ways other than these two. I feel that I am my sister’s keeper, both literally and figuratively, simply because I am older than her, in addition to being her brother. My dad always makes it my job to be responsible for my sister. Though I may hate it, because it means me having to go with her to the mall even with her friends, I know there is nobody to blame but myself for this burden of being held accountable for my sister when we’re not at home.