Sisterhood

I've been happily playing big sister to my friend's younger sister, also an N, in the past few weeks.

She has been sharing my room and I'm glad to report that she keeps to her side of my four-post bed, in spite of her restless leg syndrome (the poor girl never gets a good night's rest).

We've been sharing quite a bit of stuff lately (she has been "living precariously" through my life, as she said). We went to Dali's art exhibition together, to the beach together, to the movies together, to the clubs together, to my dates together, to my work engagements together, did almost everything together. I thought, ah, this is what I've been missing out by not having a sister.

The other day, when I was feeling a tad moody from being maxed out at work, she surprised me with a lovely cake. Oh, how not to gush over her! That brief episode left my brother feeling, well, a little left out, as he shuffled to his room and holed up himself in there for the rest of the day.

I suppose it's just different having a brother... or is it? I can't talk about girly stuffs to him, but surely there are many things under the sun we can chat about? Are there really gender differences that govern the relationship between brother and sister?

N has shed a different light though:

N: "Your brother thinks you're fierce."

E: "Me, fierce?"

N: "Yes, you come across as the no-nonsense type, although you're one of the gentlest souls I've ever known."

Ah, such things she say. Makes me want to kidnap her.

But there's truth in what she said. I do give my brother a harder time than I give her, considering she'll be here only for a while until she goes home to New Mexico, where she has been living for half a decade.

So, for now, I'm just going to enjoy her company, and be thankful that at the very least, I got a taste of sisterhood. And perhaps learn to be my brother's sister.

Pic: Pablo Picasso circa 1921