I looked at the crowd, all staring at me- some with compassion, some with anger. There was nothing I could do. Except begin.

I cleared my throat. It was still raw. “I knew early on that my younger brother was destined for greatness. By the age of eight, he had already mastered the art of looking people in the eye and giving a firm hand shake accompanied with a genuine smile. You could feel him enter a room, and it was like someone had started a fire inside- a spark of light and then gradual warmth. Five years younger than me and he was better in every way- sports, academics, even working under a hood of a car came naturally. There is so much to say but I’ll start with the most important- I know in my heart that he died because he loved me, but he also died because he loved all of you. The warmth that every one of us felt was his love for us. He gave that up for-”

I sniffed once, trying to hold back the tears and emotions but it was impossible. Looking up at all of the eyes on me, I let the tears come.