23rd September, the phone rang. Papa said it so loudly and clearly, "Darling, wake up. You are a grown-up girl now; you have got a sibling." A big smile on her face explained the joy she felt. Her prayer had been answered. It meant a big full stop to her loneliness. It was one of the most awaited moments of her life. At 7, she had seen a boy who could have been her brother, but God took him away before letting him open his eyes in this world. (Doctors called it a stillbirth) This grief was so painful for her. But the morning's news made her forget the rest. She was so happy that she couldn't even wait to listen to her grandma's words, "अगं, नाश्ता तर करून जा!" (Have your breakfast and then go) This ecstatic girl wanted to be the first one to see him. That wasn't possible, anyway.

She rushed into the maternity ward and saw him lying beside her mother with such a sweet, tiny eye that had not even appropriately opened. These scanty eyelashes covered his eyes, little hands, white chubby cheeks, and small, folded lips. Without saying any word to anyone, she continuously stared into his innocent eyes, looking at his face and wondering, 'Does he look like me?' She tried putting her finger to let him hold them firmly, ignoring everyone present. She was reborn as her brother. She was in a new world thinking about him. By the doctor's advice, her mother would get the discharge in a few days. But the girl was reluctant to leave the place and remained thinking, 'When will he grow up like me?'
Days passed, and both of them grew up with all the fun, shared, and cared things, and the essential thing, silly, stupid fights where the girl was a winner every time, being older than him. And the boy never stopped fighting back. The pair always had something or the other to fight about -- starting from sharing food to watching TV shows. Every time they fought, the girl was too old to lose, and the boy was too young to win. When it comes to brother and sister, their mom is between saving her younger one, yet they never stop fighting!
When the boy was 6, she left the house for her studies. And unexpectedly, both of them started missing those fights, feeling the absence of either one. The boy was too young by then, but the mother could sense his anxiety to meet his sister. Things would often get so bad that the boy would cry, saying, "दिदीकडे घेऊन चल ना मला! मी नाही त्रास देणार तिला.” (Take me to my sister. I won't trouble her.) He used to think she went away from him because of their fights.
About the girl, she missed him so much that whenever she phoned her parents, the first question she would ask "How is bhaiya? What is he doing?" (Even though he is her younger brother, she calls him 'Bhaiya,' usually called an elder brother.)
Things never changed, but later, he realized that his sister would only come in between her vacations. Looking all the way just to see her playing with him, asking her to come home for every festival, saving a special place for her as soon as she got into the house, demanding all sorts of things as when she starts earning, complaining about mom-dad, cause they scold him for his excessive troubles. This good behavior lasts a few days before returning to their everyday fighting world.
Little ways down the road, the boy turned 11. Though it was a bit late, she planned to write a post for his birthday; Hoped he would read it and feel her love and care someday. Even now, this crazy duo fights for every little thing, but the love behind these fights can't be imagined.
Love you a lot, Bhaiya!Keep going high, my little champ. :)🙂
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