My (29m) sister (26f) falsely accused me of molestation when I would have been 12 and she would have been 9, and it has ruined my immediate family.

From the time we were kids, my sister and I never really got along. I was always more reserved and didn't like to be the center of attention, and she was the opposite. From a very young age, I always hated this about her. This was apparent to my parents early on.

We lived overseas growing up and would frequently go on family trips. I'll explain the relevance of this momentarily.

A few years ago, when I was about 25 or 26, my sister randomly came out to my parents and told them that one time, when we were in (xyz) city, I molested her when they were out to dinner with their friends. They left us in the hotel together on this particular evening, and they were only gone for about an hour or so. They very rarely left us alone together, knowing how much we disliked each other. This was one of the few instances that this happened. She claimed that I masturbated in front of her and touched her, and also tried to have sex with her. When my parents approached me with this information when I was visiting home (she lived there), they told me that she told this to them in confidence and that they didn't want her to know that they told me. I didn't care that they wanted me to stay quiet, so I completely blew my top at my sister and made sure to tell her how much of a piece of shit she is. I left shortly after that.

The sad part is that I actually remember that evening quite fondly. My sister and I actually got out some of the board games that were in the TV cabinet of where we were staying and played things like battleship or checkers. It was actually one of the best bonding experiences that I ever had with my sister.

My parents' position on this is that they can't take a side. They have said that since they weren't there, they can't take a side because if they're wrong, it would seriously damage "whoever is telling the truth". Since my sister has had some mental health issues, it's been implied in private conversation that my parents believe me, but they won't come out "publicly" to both of us to call my sister out for her bullshit. My sister has even had one-on-one conversations with extended family members, like aunts, uncles, and cousins, about my alleged misconduct. Each of those family members have, at some point, approached me to tell me they're sorry that my sister has made these accusations and that they're here for me. I suppose the reason for this is because my sister also has a reputation for being manipulative.

To this day, my sister stands by these accusations to a degree that I consider insane. The result is that my immediate family hasn't even had dinner together since then. We have to work around holidays to make sure that my sister and I don't come into contact, and I hate going to family functions that she's present at. I don't even want to look at her. The crazy part is that she loves it whenever I do happen to be at these events. It's almost like she takes pleasure in how angry she's made me. My parents are wonderful people, and they don't deserve this. I wish I could convince them to just call her out, but I do actually understand why they feel the way that they do.

I don't know what the point of this was, I just wanted to vent. It's such bullshit, and it makes me so sad for my parents that they will probably never be able to sit at the table with both of their children at the same time.

I would be willing to reconcile with my sister if she would apologize, but she refuses to. She insists that she's telling the truth, and it's just crazy. I think that she has actually convinced herself that her allegation is the truth. She won't back down. I still love my sister because I know that she's mentally ill. I know how hard it would be to back down from an allegation like this. It just sucks for everyone all around.