On the half-hour drive south to horse therapy, Dani, 9, stares out the window while her brother Willie, 10, tries to provoke a giggle by tickling her. Willie was accustomed to living as an only child, with his four older brothers already out of the house, but his selflessness and closeness in age to Dani has led them to develop a unique brother-sister bond.
I loved watching the relationship between Dani and her new brother Willie develop and strengthen as we got deeper into their story. While we were in the car that afternoon, I noticed how low the light was getting in the sky and how when the kids looked west, toward that sunset, the light washed over them and lit up their faces. I love that on the surface this photo may look like a typical brother-sister relationship, with one antagonizing the other in the backseat of a car on a long drive. In reality, it’s anything but. For me, Willie’s touch, their smiles, and the light emanating from both of them imbued a simple gesture with a deeper meaning.
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