Always our 'candy bar'...

The first rays of sunlight lit up my room. The dawn chorus of melodic birdsong drifted in. I rubbed my bleary eyes and walked to the window. I was bewildered to see the busy city view in front of me. I put up my messy hair into a high ponytail. As usual I went downstairs to drink water and was doing my workout, when out of blue I heard the phone ringing.

“ Mom….phone’s ringing”

“Pick it up, honey. I will come around in a short while.”

“Okay, sure”. My body was sweaty and tired from doing the workout. With an exhausted feeling, I walked towards the phone and pick it up.

“Hello. May I know who is speaking?”

“Hello Darling…I’m Aunt Susan here. How are you, my dear?

“Hi Aunt Susan. I’m good. Mom will come in a short while”

“No worries, my dear”

Just then I saw mom rushing to pick up the phone. She hand gestured asking me who and I told her it was Aunt Susan. Her face suddenly lit up and she motioned me to give her the phone. I quickly gave her and went to continue with my workout. I tried hard not to spy on her conversations but it’s hard for me as she was speaking very loud until dad came downstairs to check on her. I heard her telling to Aunt Susan that she is really happy for her and glad to have her 'candy bar’ back again. Actually I heard that name kind of numerous times since small. Just to avoid the rest of the conversations, I went upstairs and took my shower. After taking a quick shower, I quickly went downstairs and took my breakfast which was laid prepared for me on the table. Did I forgot to mention my mom is quite a great cook? She cooks all kinds of dishes and I loved each one of them.

“Ellen dear, there’s someone special coming tomorrow. So, clean your room as she is going to share yours for now”

“ Wait, mum…I’m confused. Who is coming?”

“ Your sister. The one I told you...years ago....that she was separated from us since small”

I was shocked. All kinds of emotions started swirling inside me. This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through my mind. The memory was still vivid in my mind when she first told me that I have another sister.

_________________________________________________________________________________

2 years ago…

“Mom, are you serious? I have only a sister and a brother. No changing that.”

“Ellen dear, try to understand. When your sister was born, your aunt Susan came to our house. She was single at that time. Her husband died of accident. She was kind of suffering from depression. She asked me a favour of giving Emily, your sister to her. I was kind of reluctant at that time. But seeing her in a terrible state caused me to give Emily away to her. It’s already 3 years without her. It’s all my fault…”

The stored tears continued to flow and the sobs wracked her body, robbing it of the ability to speak – barely allowing a breath to be drawn. I felt so awful for her.

“Mom..it’s okay. I understand. It’s not entirely your fault. You are the best mom I’ve ever had. When she comes around, she will understand that. ”

“Thanks, dear. For now, try not tell this to your sister and brother. They’re awfully young to know this.”

“Okay mom, sure. Mom..why not bring her now?”

“I was thinking the same actually. But your dad said she will understand better when she grew up. So, until then we need to wait”

“Oh…okay then.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

“Ellen…..ELLEN!!”

I was shaken up a bit .I turned around and saw my brother smirking at me.

“Daydreaming…wow. Unexpected sis.”

“Shut up, Oliver. Mind your business…where’s Lauren?”

“She’s still asleep…I guess. What’s breakfast today?”

 “Fried egg, bacon and sausages. Faster have your breakfast. We have some cleaning to do, little bro ” 

I gave him a mischievous smile.

“What cleaning? How come I need to do? Isn’t it a girl ‘thing’?”

“Shut up…You always tend to escape….but not this time.” I laughed at him mockingly.

“Ha-ha. Very funny”

“Enough , both of you. Go and do your cleaning.”

We both went up and cleaned our bedrooms. I went and knock like a crazy person at Lauren’s door. After a couple of minutes, she came out and barged through my room.

“What’s that about?” She paused. “Wait....Do we have to clean our room?”

I nodded. She went back to her room and I continued mine. Just then I saw someone moving next door. Our next door had always been empty. I went downstairs and told mom about it. She brought along some of her cookies and went to greet the new neighbours . I was so exhausted from cleaning. I went upstairs and straight into Lauren’s room. Lauren is closer to me than my cheeky little bro. When I went in to her room, I was astonished to see the room was sparkly clean.

“Hey sis…”

She greeted me with a huge grin plastered on her face. I went and lay down beside her. She was watching “The Chicken Girls” with a bag of Doritos.

“Hey, Lauren…wow....your room is super clean. Aren’t you exhausted?”

“Yeah..I am. Anyway, why this sudden cleaning, sis?

I explained to her from beginning till the end. She was listening to me attentively the whole time. She was shocked at first but then she started to take the news extra coolly.

“ So..we going to have our little sis back?”

I nodded. Her face started to lit up.

“Yeah…I’m going to have a little sis.”

She jumped around the bed like a kid with excitement on her face.

“Have you told Oliver yet?”

“Not yet…we should tell him”

We barged to his room and told him everything. He didn’t believe us at first but, with the serious faces we were having, he can tell that we were not joking with him.

We were all excited to get our little sister back. Mom insisted all three of us to go bed early. I was so excited that I can’t sleep that night. How is she like? Which grade she is in? All these thoughts came swirling in my mind. I tried not to think much of it and I slowly let sleep took hold of me.

“Wake up Ellen….she will be here soon”

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Lauren with excitement written on her face. Then only I realized what she was talking about. I quickly got off my bed and took a quick shower. I quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

My mom was already there preparing a delicious breakfast just for my little sis. She greeted me and I greeted back. Lauren and Oliver were already there.

“Look…who’s late today”

I punched him knowingly at the back of his elbow.

“Good morning, Dad”

“Good morning, Ellen. Excited to see your sister?”

“Yes Dad…very” I handed him his coffee and went back to the kitchen to help mom with her work.

Just then I heard the doorbell ringing. Mom went to check out. We followed her to the living room. We saw her talking with Aunt Susan.

“Good morning Aunt Susan”

“Hi Ellen, Lauren and Oliver. You have all grown up since the last time I saw you all. Oh…I almost forgot to introduce your sister, Emily.

"Emily, this is Ellen, Lauren and Oliver, your siblings.”

We were introduced to a girl with thick, naturally curly hair that hangs a little bit below her shoulders. Her eyes are almond-shaped and very dark brown. She was so cute and she was wearing a dress with Disney princesses all over it. We took turns greeting her. She smiled.

We showed her around the house and I showed her room. She was delighted to have the toys we gave her. For the next few days, we took turns playing with her and having small adventures with her at the backyard. She was happy with us. But I can sense that she is sometimes quiet on her own.

One fine day, I was listening songs in my phone when I heard someone crying. I followed the sound and soon found out that Emily was crying.

“Hey…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing..”

“Emi, you can tell me your problem. I’m always here for you. I know moving here suddenly is hard but I will help you get through it”

“No…it’s just that I feel that I’m not so belonged to this family. I’m sad”

Tears started flowing down her cheeks.

“Why do you say that?...Look, I know it’s hard to move here and also immediately becoming a part of family. But we all here really love you to the extent. You are already part of our family since the day you born. It’s just the matter of time you realized it. Mom love you so much. That’s all you need. Now, go and play with George. He’s waiting for you at the backyard”

“Really?...Okay. Thank you so much, big sis. George….here I come”

I saw her through the window playing with our neighbour’s kid, George. I realized we were so excited of her moving here that we forget to think about her feelings. I told this to mom and she agreed with me. She called my sister and gave her some advice. We started spending more time with her. My sister was so happy that she finally open up to us.

From that day onward , I promised myself to protect her and love her so that she wouldn’t have the feeling of having left out. Many years passed. She grew up to be a pretty fine woman. She became one of the finest doctor in town and we were really proud of her. She married George, yes….the boy next door. What a coincidence, I asked myself. I’m happy for her and she told me that she’s glad to have me as a sister and a great mother. Mom and I both smiled knowingly. I was really happy to hear those words that I’ve been longing for a long time. She will always be our 'candy bar'....then and now...always.