The Wild Swans tells of eleven princes turned into swans and banished from their home.Their sister searches the world for them, and when she finds them takes up a tremendous labor in order to break the spell and free her brothers. I think of the years that my brother was enlisted, and how scared I was to have him so far away where I could not protect him. Our brothers hugely impact our gender roles, and are tied to us in a way that will always make us remember childhood.

To Ricky, who cried when I got sick but laughed at everything else...