Uchi No Otouto Maji De Dekain Dakedo Mi Ni -

Because he moves like he’s still small. He folds himself into chairs gently, never slams a door, speaks in a murmur that forces you to lean in. When we watch TV, he curls up like a cat on the end of the sofa, knees to his chest, somehow taking up less space than me.

“Maji de dekai,” I’d mutter, watching him squeeze through the train doors sideways. People stared. Kids pointed. He’d just shrug, pull his hood lower, and keep walking. uchi no otouto maji de dekain dakedo mi ni

So yeah. Maji de dekai. But look closer—you might almost miss him. Because he moves like he’s still small

I’d measure him against the doorframe every birthday, pencil marks climbing higher each year—first my shoulder, then my ear, then the top of my head. By middle school, he already looked down on me. By high school, he had to duck under every lintel in our grandparents’ old house. “Maji de dekai,” I’d mutter, watching him squeeze

(“My little brother is seriously huge, but to the eye…”) It started when we were kids.

But the strange thing is—mi ni tsukanai. You don’t notice it right away.