SISTERLY ACT

Kalpana and Sangeetha were sisters,just a year apart. Both were tall, had powerful brown eyes and long black hair that curled up into little ringlets at the ends. They were beautiful girls and were mama's pride and joy since the day they were born.

But the two sisters never got along. They fought constantly. When they were little, they fought over toys. When they became a little older, boys replaced toys. They constantly competed with each other. In school, both girls competed to get the better marks; they competed to get more prizes than the other in all the cultural shows. The girls competed for their teachers' praise and for their mother's attention. They were ruthless to each other; friends who knew them wondered how sisters could treat each other this way.

For instance, for Kalpana's sixteenth birthday, she was throwing a huge 'sweet sixteen' bash at home. She had planned for it for months and was very excited about it. But Sangeetha wasn't- she despised the fact that her sister would be the center of attention at the party instead of her. So, the night before, when Kalpana was sleeping, Sangeetha crept into her room with a pair of scissors and got to work. It was a good thing Kalpana was a sound sleeper. The next morning, the entire house was woken up by a piercing scream from Kalpana's room. When her mom ran into the room, she saw Kalpana sobbing on the floor, with hair all around her. Her crowning glory was gone; her beautiful long hair mangled. Instead, she was left with frayed locks of hair, some that reached down to her shoulder, some to her neck and some only to her chin. Kalpana's sixteenth birthday was ruined and there was a pall of gloom all around the house except in one room... where Sangeetha slept peacefully, with a smug sense of satisfaction.

More than 10 years passed like this. Kalpana got married and started teaching at a local arts school. Sangeetha went the scholarly route which meant that after doing her bachelors and masters in Chemistry, she was now pursuing a PhD and doing top-notch research in the same field. What this really meant is that at 28, Sangeetha was still single, still dirt poor, still living in a small apartment with roommates and was spending her 5th year doing research that no one gave a flying rat's ass about. Though both sisters lived in the same city, a huge distance had crept between them. Several bitter fights had completely ruined their relationship. After their mother passed away, the only unifying thread between them was gone. So they never met or spoke to each other again.

One day, Kalpana got a phone call from her sister. She was very surprised and didn't really know what to say. Sangeetha asked if they could meet and they agreed upon a local coffee shop for the meeting. That evening, Kalpana walked into the coffee shop to find Sangeetha sitting quietly at a corner booth. But she was unrecognizable- she looked thin and frail, her face pale and her cheeks hollowed. After greetings were exchanged and coffees were ordered, they began to talk and Sangeetha had some shocking news. She said that she had been diagnosed with Stage II Lymphoma a little over two months ago. She said that the disease was progressing, but that she would be starting chemotherapy from next week to fight it. She said these things in a calm, almost emotionless manner- it terrified Kalpana. They spoke about it for over an hour and at the end of the meeting, Sangeetha asked if Kalpana could come sit with her for some of her chemo sessions; she said that she really needed family now. Kalpana agreed without hesitation.

The next week, Sangeetha started her chemotherapy sessions and Kalpana showed up at the hospital as promised. Sangeetha watched her sister enter her room and thought she looked different somehow. She was wearing a red salwar kameez but she had draped her dupatta over her head- maybe it was sunny outside, Sangeetha thought . But, when Kalpana removed the dupatta, it was Sangeetha's turn to be shocked. All that beautiful black hair was gone- Her sister was completely bald. Kalpana broke the silence and said,

"Once your chemo kicks in, you'll start losing your hair. I've never let you be the first at anything, You didn't expect me to let you be the first in this,did you? So I beat you to it!"

Sangeetha understood and smiled. She reached for her sister's hand, gave it a tight squeeze and smiled.
short story