In Some Parallel Universe

‘Mom! He called me a pig!’ she shouted at the top of her voice, over the railings of the staircase, to the kitchen below.

‘No Mom! I didn’t call her a pig! She is a fat pig!’ I shouted imitating her. She became more furious and I swear anybody could have managed to fry an English omelet on the top of her head. 

‘YOU LITTLE PRICK! YOU ARE GETTING EXTERMINATED TODAY! AND I SO MEAN IT!’ She shouted, lethally waving her hairbrush at me as if that was her lightsaber. I was upstairs and was furious at her. She had creased my favorite book, on its cover. She is ever so careless and I hated that!

‘Uff! How old are you two! One is twenty-three and the other is twenty-seven for god’s sake! Are you ever gonna grow up or what! I spent thirty years doing this! I can’t take it anymore.’ The two storied house rung with our voices. Mostly her and mine. Mom’s was usually suppressed beneath ours. 

‘Mom! It’s her fault! she can’t even read a book without ripping it apart!’

‘What the hell! It was just a minor fold and I didn’t mean to do it! You have lost me my nail polish remover bottles countless times! I never find them when I need them’ she cried out.

‘So, it’s revenge, is it? Did you hear Mom, are you sure this is what you taught her?’ I shouted down to Mom.

‘Give me a break! Leave me out of it this time!’ Mom sighed loudly from the kitchen.

I went back to my room when I heard quick silent steps, I knew it was her. She wanted to knock me flat on my back for calling her a fat pig, which by the way she deserved. My room was never my choice of ring to fight and incidentally her favorite. I anticipated her motives and I dashed for the door to the adjacent corridor. Her room was just across it and I had to get there – to abduct a promising hostage, perhaps one of her favorite dress or lip-gloss – for letting me go! You know girls, they always have a lot of stuff they won’t ever need but still treasure it like trinkets. When I reached my door I saw her at the top staircase at the other end of the corridor. She obviously thought I won’t hear her tiptoeing.

‘Oh you idiot! NOT MY ROOM YOU MONSTER!’ she shouted at disbelief.

I smirked at her and broke into a run towards her room and she after me. This was my usual defence and she knew it. I got to her room, pulled open her wardrobe and grabbed one of her dresses. She froze at the door.

‘Bhai please! Not that one! I will kill you if a single thread is tampered!’ she threatened. Her voice quivered and I picked up the indication instantly. I smirked and began my negotiation.

‘Leave me alone then. Say you are sorry you wrinkled my book.’ And I took a step forward towards the door where she was still standing frozen.

‘Okay! Okay! I am sorry.’

‘Say it will never happen again!’

‘Okay, I swear it won’t happen again. Just give me my dress back.’

I picked my steps cautiously towards the door, holding the dress like a hostage being used as a human shield. She stood in rapt attention and didn’t take her eyes off mine. I crossed her and after taking a few steps away, I threw the dress at her and ran for the stairs. She tried to chase me but tripped over her dress and – CRASH! She fell on her knees and moaned painfully. I dashed back to pick her up.

‘Tell me nobody broke any bones!’ Mom called from below calmly. She was thoroughly familiar with this sort of occurrences.

‘No mom, I am okay.’ she called back to her.

I put my arms around her gently and picked her up to sit on the floor. She rolled up her pajama she was wearing and rubbed her knee while I examined it.

‘Didi, come I will take you to my room and will get some ice.’ I said gently with a smile. I melted on the way she didn’t try to blame it on me.

‘Naah, I will be fine, just fetch me that tube of pain relief creame from my wardrobe and it will do.’ She said messaging her knee.

I didn’t know she kept medicine in her wardrobe but I did what she told me to do. I rummaged through her wardrobe and my fingers caught something hard. It didn’t seem like a dress, nor the tube of creame she was talking about. I carefully took it out and my eyes went rolling and tumbling, probably out of the solar system. It was the Calvin & Hobbes hardbound collection – Rare edition.

‘Tell me you like it! It was a difficult pursuit!’ she grinned as she stood on the doorway, biting her hairbrush she was carrying. I ran and hugged her tightly. She giggled away furiously.

When I let her go I saw her eyes, sparkling like a little baby on her happiest moment.

‘After all it’s Raakhi, bhai!’ she beamed.

I asked her to fetch my pen from my drawer. I always wrote my names on the books.

I watched her as she limped away towards my room, and a while later, it was my turn to treat my ears to a scream. An overjoyed one.

She had been goggling at a beautiful Prussian blue dress, which was on display in a shop, a few weeks ago and when she had saved up enough and had gone to get it, it was gone.

Well, guess who bought it!