Saturday, October 09, 2004
Let me tell u a story:
Once upon a time, two lovely girls were born to this lovely world.Two babies, belonging to the same womb.but something so physical told the two of them apart. Despite being twins nonetheless, they did not look a single bit alike. One had big eyes, and dark skin, resembling the father's side. The other, on the other hand, had smaller eyes and very fair skin, resembling that of the mother's side. Two very different babies were delivered to the same womb at almost the same time. And yes, they became sisters by blood. True sisters who were only one minute apart.But this small difference in time made them so different. Even in the womb, 1 grew more healthily and the other did not. One did not turn around (as babies do when they are about to be born) and the other did. The time came, when both saw the light of the world. They were blessings to the couple who already had a son, and to them, it was a double blessing, after all, are twins that common? Though born and raised primarily by the same mother, the two took up very different characters. One was raised by the paternal grandparents (the one who looked more like them) and the other, by the maternal grandparents. Each side raised the child in their care very differently, and as the children grew up, they were naturally closer to that set of grandparents who raised them.
This was the uncovered bit of the story, which no one took particular notice of. Otherwise, the two girls grew up similarly, attending the same school and same class all through pre-school and primary school.In pre-school, the group of friends they played with were also similar. Literally, they were playmates by birth. Through the first few years of primary school, nothing much changed either. The fact was that girls' brother was very intelligent, topping the class every year.The girls' achievements were rather similar, getting the top 5 each year for their first three years in primary school. It was then when they started to grow up, and things began changing. It was always said that one twin would normally be better than the other. This statement became very true, when the change became evident. The weaker one's achievements were more and more evident,as compared with the better one. She developed an inferiority complex , which affected her so much more.The final examination for primary school made her achieve a result which was way below her abilities, while her sister did very well, almost as well as their brother. Things changed very drastically from then on. Both embarked on different routes of their education, one choosing a chinese-medium top-listed school, and the other, an English-medium mission school. The style of education for the two girls took a change, and two girls of different personalities were thus formed. It did not help either, that their parents loved the older girl (the cleverer) more. They exerted pressure on the younger one, only letting her dwell much more into the abyss of depression. But the choice of the mission school was a correct one, for it not only allowed her to grow up spiritually and emotionally, her confidence was also boosted with the school's characteristic of producing confident and outspoken girls. She did grow up despite all the pressures at home, but he roots of change were already planted sodeeply now, that neither could turn back to the good old days of playing together. People often asked why the younger one did not follow the older one to the 'successful' school, she was always stunned for words. She was not ashamed of her background, for she realised those darkest periods when she cried torrents made her grow up so much more than her sister. She knew she had matured a lot in those times, but the thing was, she wasnt sure whether her twin sister had grown at the same rate. It happened that the other girl did, but these years of different environments took the toll on their relationship.
Now they could not talk freely about anything or play with everything as they had always had. There was still the stigma of the quality of their schools in mind. We can say that though the younger one did grow, she still had no grown completely. Their difference in characters was just too evident that neither, or perhaps one(the younger), could not stand the other now, for the selfishness and inconsiderate-ness and even insensitiveness she had portrayed. The younger girl, having been through ordeals since young, was now truly sensitive and aware of how society had an effect on her. Besides, it was her school's policy of imparting values such as compassion and empathy. The other girl's school, on the other hand, was top-listed and did have people of bad character.And here I am, the younger, telling her side of the story. All she can say now is, she has tried her best to unplug these roots of distrust and antagonism. Till now, she has not succeeded. Let's pray for her and bless that these two God-created girls will become like what God had moulded and wanted them to be,true sisters by blood and life.
embedded in between at 6:00 PM
