big sister

From as early as i could remember, i was always someone's big sister. Only on occassions rare and far between, I played a content role of a little sister to a cousin of mine. This was when the two of us became little rascals and we came up with more mischief than the adults could handle. I even put up with the her gimmicks when she tried to defeat me in a game. She was, beyond my imagination, a self-taught guru in frog fishing, story telling, bat shooting, survival in the wild, and crab catching. In fond memories of the last, she was cluey, thorough and methodical. She surveyed the fields well, never leaving a stone unturned, and she possessed an acute sense of conservation (marvellous for an 8 yo) as she always told me to let go of the small crabs. "We'll catch them when they are big enough."

She was a dedicated hunter, stopping at nothing to grab her trophy. This explains why she was mad when one day I fished a crab out of a rubber pipeline which the mountain people used to duct spring water to their household. Parts of the crab were curiously red, as if prematurely cooked. We were both admiring him, when at an unfortunate turn of the event, the crab, with that disproportionately long and gigantic claw of his which I failed to appreciate in the spur of euphoria, pinched my thumb vigorously. I jumped up and down, shaking my hands and swinging my arms. She immidiately tried to calm me down. Of cos i couldn't remain as calm as her. The crab took advantage of my moments of vulnerability and launched himself into the pool of water with the aid of my shaking. My big sister's eyes locked deadly on his trail like that of an eagle on her prey. She leaped towards the pool, only to stop short and surveyed the depth of the water and the underwater terrain. Seeing the crab contemptuously retreated into a pile of rocks, she lashed out her frustration, "You idiot! It wasn't going to pinch you for long! If only you could stay calm and let me get it!!" "It wasn't my fault." I said, my thumb still aching from the attack. "ok, now now, let me see your thumb." she gave in.

I still laugh when remembering the scene where watching from moist eyes the crab bid his swift and smug retreat in grand victory. That was the only time my big sister called me an idiot.