"I don't want to play your stupid game!" Kevin had that pout on his lips and his hands on his hips which meant he was not happy at all. The little girl he was staring at was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking at her dollhouse she had just set up in the middle of their playroom. Her face was red and her hands were shaking a little, and Kevin knew she was about to cry. He hated seeing that.
Still with the pout and his hands on his hips he turned around and stomped down the stairs to the living room. Dad was watching the basketball playoffs. He tried to look sulky, so that Dad would ask him what was wrong. That's how he always got to tell him what he felt.
"What happened Kevin?" This was the time. He had to make sure he got it right the first time. "I hate Susan! I HATE her!" "Why, what did she do this time?" Dad was still focused on the game. "She's always doing things her way, Poppa! She's taking up all my space!"
"But she's just four years old, Kev. She's your little sister... don't you want her to be happy?" Kevin was still sulking. "Mmm yea I guess. But I don't want to drink tea with her stupid dolls... I want to race my car!" Dad turned down the TV volume all the way. "Come here, sit with me."
"You're 7 now, Kev. When I was your age, I didn't have someone younger to take care of..." "Hmph, lucky you!" Kevin pouted his lips even more. Dad laughed softly. "It's wonderful to keep someone happy, Kev. It's the best thing in the world. Just that sometimes you have to understand, that to put her happiness first, you'll have to put yours second. But imagine how you'll feel when you see her happy." Kevin stopped pouting and looked at Dad "Really Poppa?"
"Can I play House with you Susan?" Kevin was standing in front of the dollhouse where Susan was still arranging her little tea cups on the dinner table. Susan didn't look up. Her pretty face was still moist. "But you hate dolls. And you hate House!"
"You can make me like it, Su."
In the bright red glow of the setting sun that filtered through the Plexiglas window, in the little smile that Susan had when she turned her face up and looked at him, Kevin felt happier than racing a hundred cars.
6 comments:
Awwwwwww. This made me miss my brother now :)
Brilliant!
However, in my case, my sis (who happens to be 4 years younger) always rode bike, played cricket and yeah, raced cars.
That sort of a thing.
Loved your story though. BTW did the recent CF discussion got yourself going at writing a story ;) ??
@hema: i guess all of us can relate to it in some way... brother/friend/girlfriend/anyone who's been part of ur life!
@ojas: ur sis sounds like quite a character man! :) i'm really the story writer kind... it's more of personal experiences i try to make into a story!
@g: smile away!
beautiful
@@ojas: actually meant to say "i'm really *not* the story writer kind" :D
@banjo: anything to make u believe i wrote that cf story myself! ;)
But even the bigger question in my mind is how long should one keep pushing his/her priorities to the second place, how many times should one sacrifice for others, and is really your own happiness of any less value than the happiness of others? Sacrificing may also bring happiness, but at the end of your life when you look back you may only be left with sense of dissatisfaction and resentment for having missed out on all the little things that you liked and cared for.
On a lighter mood, I think Kevin should have just slapped her silly and drive her out of the room, what good does it serve to have brothers and sisters if you can't bully or beat them up? :)
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