When you look at the American version of a family, you get a two-car garage, a white picket fence, and a family of four who goes to church on Sunday. This is not always the case. With divorce rates increasing, families are fragmenting. Yet, sometimes, strong brotherly bonds can bring people closer than ever. However, sibling rivalries can also force someone over the edge or push them into the deep, treacherous tides of depression. They can shatter the very foundations on which your family's bonds are built. On the corner of my father's desk is a photo of two rambunctious preteens, a memory of my sister and I laughing together for what was the last time in years. We were young (she was thirteen, I was eleven) and best friends forever, or so we thought at the time. The last thing I expected was to be hurt by my closest friend and my sister. But alas, I learned that all wounds heal with time. One morning, shortly after taking this legendary photo, my body woke up in a way that scared me. My body ached from head to toe, signaling that I had overslept. School had started almost three hours ago! My mother had never tolerated any of us kids sleeping too much, so I knew something was terribly wrong. As I tiptoed down the hall, my ears picked up sounds that reverberated throughout the house, many voices that I couldn't tell apart, but I knew they didn't belong to anyone I knew. had never met. At that time, we realized that my sister was missing. The voices belonged to police officers talking to my mother about my older sister. She had disappeared in the middle of the night; my mother's car had also vanished somehow... middle of paper ...... sy, my reluctance to forgive her and her uncontrollable behavior caused the failure of my family on an epic scale. Once we were able to put our differences aside, things were much easier. But to this day, I don't think any of us have given him full forgiveness. However, she slowly rises through the ranks to become a functioning person. We hold our breath and wait until it spirals back down. I learned that sibling rivalry can be an incredibly powerful thing. But now our family is no longer dysfunctional because of it. We just work together to create the support my sister needs to function. After a complete nervous breakdown, my parents finally admitted that not only had they neglected me, but also my younger sister. Slowly they started to compensate for the pain we endured and I learned that time heals all wounds..