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Sister Act

Someone once asked me what I would want if I were granted a wish. I replied that I would ask for an elder sister.

When my mother was expecting a second baby, I was 6 years old. I distinctly remember saying that I wanted a sister and that I had already decided a name for her. Well, my brother was born and I couldn't give him the name I had thought of. I do love having a brother and we have had really good times. But somewhere at the back of my mind, I still wish I had a sister too.

While growing up, I saw friends who have sisters and they wanted to kill each other all the time. They fought over everything and they were as different as chalk and cheese. But as we all grew up, somehow the sisters got closer and their relationships matured. The same siblings who couldn't stand to be around each other, now talk to each other everyday, even if they are on different continents. I have grown up watching my mother and her sister talk to each other about everything in their lives and my mother-in-law shares a very close relationship with her sisters.

I did have very close girl friends all my life with whom I could share intimate details of my everyday life. Girls who I could call at any time of day and night just because I felt like talking. These friends are still there for me, but now I know they have their lives, husbands, careers and kids. I haven't called any of them in a long time until there was a reason to do so. Its not that I can't, but its just that friendships have become more distant than they were during childhood. This is where I feel a sister's relationship would have been different.

This whole grim sense of being sisterless hit me once again last month. My mother had to go through a minor surgery. And, she called her sister who at that time was visiting her daughter in Singapore. As soon as my aunt heard about her surgery, she dropped everything and flew back to India in 2 days to be with my mother. For the last 20 days, she has been helping my mother through her recovery and also taking care of the house. Who else, but a sister would do that?

I can't help but dread feeling doomed in my old age.

Comments

Madhu said…
You could still hope for a daughter :-)
March 27, 2015 at 7:45 AM
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