To My Sister, With Love.

I wouldn’t call my sister my best friend. Nope. We’ve constantly fought all through our teens. We’d be at each other’s throats over the silliest of things and stay mad at each other for days. I’ve seen my parents fret and despair, wondering if we’d ever bond as siblings. Surprisingly, all those silly wars did little damage to our relationship. To be honest, it only brought us closer as adults. I still wonder what changed over the years? When did the worst of adversaries become the best of allies? Honestly, I don’t have an answer. We’ve fought over clothes, make-up, pens, books and what not! I still remember the day I wore her favourite dress for a movie, without asking, and came home to find that she was already back from college. I couldn’t actually waltz in through the front door with her dress on, could I? So I sent my best friend in and made her go to my room on the pretext of borrowing a book and got her to grab one of my outfits. I then got changed in the stairwell (I know!) and walked in demurely with her dress tucked away in my backpack! Crazy, right?

Once the precarious years of our raging hormones were behind us, we ceased to see each other as rivals. We became co-conspirators! Good times and bad, we’ve seen it all – crushes, heartbreaks, secrets, family crises. Sometimes I wonder if our bond was strengthened by the very differences that kept us squabbling through our early years.

Today, despite the hundreds of miles between us and phone calls that are few and far apart, whenever we do speak, it is like things haven’t changed a bit. Our conversations need no preface, we just pick up right from where we left off. I can talk just about anything with her without the fear of being judged. I love the way she remembers so many little details from our good old days –  the hotel we stayed at on our vacation to Darjeeling, or the name of the book of fairy tales I got on my sixth birthday! I love the way she is intensely interested about every little thing I have to say. I could tell her I killed someone last night and be sure that she’ll have my back, no questions asked!  I don’t think I have that kind of a connection with anybody else. Nope. Not even with my husband.

It is hard for me to even imagine how life without my sister would have been like! So, here’s to the coolest, most amazing sister on the planet –  I Love you!