Maria was fourteen years old, and she had a little brother named Tomás. He was only five, and he followed her everywhere. When Maria wanted to read a book, Tomás wanted to play music. When Maria wanted to talk to her friends, Tomás wanted to sit next to her. Sometimes this made Maria very tired.
"Why does he always follow me?" Maria asked her mother one evening.
Her mother smiled. "Because you are his big sister. He thinks you know everything, and he wants to be like you."
Maria did not fully understand this. But one Saturday, everything changed.
Their parents went to work early, and Maria had to take care of Tomás all day. She felt a little worried. What would they do for so many hours?
At first, Tomás wanted to watch cartoons, but Maria had a better idea. "Let's build something," she said. She found some old boxes in the garage and started to make a small house out of cardboard. Tomás watched with big eyes.
"Can I help?" he asked.
"Of course," Maria said. "You can paint the walls."
Tomás worked very carefully. He painted the boxes blue and green, and he even drew a sun on the roof. Maria was surprised. Her little brother was more creative than she thought.
Later, they made sandwiches together in the kitchen. Tomás could not cut the bread well, so Maria showed him how to hold the knife safely. He tried again and again until he did it right. He looked so proud of himself.
In the afternoon, it started to rain, so they could not play outside. Instead, Maria taught Tomás how to play a simple card game. He lost the first three games, and he almost cried. But Maria did not let him give up.
"Everyone loses sometimes," she told him gently. "You have to keep on trying."
By the fourth game, Tomás finally won. He jumped up and shouted, "I did it! I won!" His happiness made Maria laugh, and she felt truly happy to be his big sister.
That evening, their parents came home and found the cardboard house in the living room, the card game on the table, and two tired but happy children on the sofa. Tomás was already asleep, his head on Maria's shoulder.
"Did you have a good day?" their mother asked quietly.
Maria nodded. "Yes," she said. "I think I finally understand why Tomás follows me everywhere."
"Why is that?" her mother asked.
Maria looked down at her sleeping brother and smiled. "Because when I'm with him, he feels safe. And now, I feel the same way when I'm with him."
From that day, Maria never felt annoyed when Tomás followed her. Instead, she felt proud to be his big sister, and their friendship grew stronger every day.
Years later, Tomás told his new friends a simple thing: "My sister taught me that losing is okay, if you keep trying." Maria heard this, and her heart felt warm.