Dear My Sister

 

I have a younger sister and she is five years younger than me. She was born on a rainy day and she was a sickly baby. As a result of which, she was coddled at home. She and I never got along.

Even as a child, she possessed the emotional intelligence which I lacked. She would cover my parents’ with a blanket when they sleep and make sure that their feet were covered so that they wouldn’t be bothered by the mosquitoes. She never did any of that for me though.

I am five years older than her and I was used to living as an only child. Suddenly, there is a whole new person introduced into my life and I struggled to get used to her.

My sister was attached to our mother and I was attached to my father. When I was in third standard, she and my mother visited our grandmother. Both of them stayed at our grandmother’s house for a few days before returning. When my sister came back, she was wearing sunglasses. She refused to remove it even after dusk.

Why was she so stubborn? Turns out that during her stay with my grandmother, they burst some crackers and a spark hit her eyebrow, injuring her. My father was overprotective and my mother was worried about what he would say. My sister was barely four at that time yet, she understood my mother’s position and covered her eyes with sunglasses.

The cat came out of the bag eventually but the effort matters.

We used to fight a lot – we still do – and one time she scratched my cheek. Once I poured nail polish into her eyes by mistake and I was scared that she would lose her sight. Fortunately, her nothing happened that day.

Once I got mad at her because she wanted milk in the middle of the night. We were on a trip and our father almost missed the train when he got off to get her some. The stories are endless. We never got alone until my sister was in her tweens.

The silver lining of Covid in my life was that it brought us together. Our bond deepened during this time. Since we couldn’t meet our friends, we used to talk to each other instead. We used to go to the café together and she would hang out with my friend.

When we were isolated during Covid, she used to video call me everyday. We used to talk a lot during that time.

Now my sister is busy with her board exams but still we find the time to talk to each other. We banter every night and laugh out aloud. I have never said this to her but I am happy that I have her in my life.

She combs my hair and does my make up. Words cannot express how much I appreciate her. All I can say is:

She is my best friend and our bond is the strongest.