Elder Sister- My Second Mother
How beautiful this life feels when you have someone’s shoulder to cry on, their hand to pat your back and fingers to tickle you incessantly and irritatingly! How marvelous it feels when that shoulder, the hand and fingers are of a sister!
The essence of life increases manifold when you have a sister to share your life experiences with. If you are one such person whose life is star-studded because of a sister then take a moment and thank the good lords in heaven.
My elder sister, Riya, waited for me day and night and asked my mom about when she will get a gift from the God. When I was born she was crazily happy and started calling me by the name “Nikki” which she had decided beforehand. I don’t know if that girl of three (my elder sister) was smart enough to do all the permutations and combinations of all the fancy names out there or she stumbled upon this cute little name at random.
Indians experience an eccentric fear when they are blessed with two daughters in a row, even when they pray Goddesses whole-heartedly. Proudly and fortunately, my parents aren’t the same. But, the society kept pulling them down by pricking and poking them time and again about how their daughters will leave them one day for some guy’s family. My family, filled with extreme glee and pride, turned their deaf ears and blind eyes to the barks of the dogs.
The memory of my childhood days is painted in beautiful hues. I can recount umpteen incidents about the bond that my sister and I shared. To state a few-
I reminisce about the golden days when I was innocent with no hint of cleverness. When it used to rain cats and dogs, my sister and I always felt a sudden urge down our spines to go to the balcony and see the rain pouring. While going out to witness, my sister used to instruct me to embrace her with all the might I could muster otherwise the ferocious and howling wind would drag me with itself. This always left me aghast and alarmed, resulting in me grabbing her tightly & wholly with my baby-hands. When I grew up to be of the age of wit and humor, I, on my wit’s end, asked my sister as to why she had always played such a stupid prank on me. She came up with an answer that exactly targeted my goosebumps. It was the feeling of being hugged by me that made her scare me like that. Love is, indeed, a crazy thing. You would do anything to fill the person you love with a sense of equanimity but also, you would do anything to keep them near you, be it by ringing false alarms. Yes, I do admit, this feeling when enlarged takes a deadly turn. Let’s keep it to the innocence of two kids and admire how little beings love one another.
Another incident I can recall is from the times when I was in primary class and my sister was in elementary school. The buildings of our classes faced each other. There was a specific spot where we used to part our ways to go to our respective buildings. The portion of the area that I had to walk alone used to feel awful and frightening. Carrying tiny bags on our backs with water bottles in our hands and ID cards around our necks, we still used to turn behind to wave with our already occupied fingers struggling to detangle the water bottle’s rope. I remember it pretty vividly, the scene where both of us used to turn back to look at each other over and over again with eyes silently screaming the pain of separation. That was everyday business for 3 years at a stretch, around 14 years ago. Two years ago when we separated to pursue our careers in different cities, the pain was the same, except this time, we knew we have goals and dreams in our eyes more than the agony and excruciation, we have love and faith and above all, we have each other’s support. That day I realized, falling in love is easy, but we have risen and grown in love. We have motivated and pushed each other to achieve goals and live dreams that we thought we could never.
Elder sisters have a very beautiful and bizarre way of showing their love. They scold you for being cranky & grumpy but will never withstand even the slightest discomfort that you might face. Tuning in to their language of love and syncing with the same beats as theirs is heavenly and more than anyone else, elder sisters prove to be the best second mothers.
