The day I became an elder sister
I remember being woken up around 2 am by my father asking me to dress up quickly. Usually, I would be annoyed at being woken up before 6 am, but today was different. I can still feel the excitement I had in me because I knew today we were taking my mother to the hospital for delivery; I would be a big sister!
I had always wished for a baby sister, and during prayer, I would particularly ask God for the same. I wanted a baby sister so that we could buy the same kind of clothes; I could tie her hair, help with her makeup and also play ‘girl- games’ with her.
I remember a dream where I saw an angel blessing my mother with a baby and how I narrated it to all my relatives when they visited me. All my cousins had siblings, and I was a single child for nine years. This fact added to my excitement when my dad woke me up early in the morning.
At the hospital, both my grandparents, dad and I were waiting impatiently for the new member of our family. I found it hard to kill time in the apartment like a hospital room. I have always thought of hospitals as dirty and smelly, but this particular hospital was amazingly neat and possessed state of the art facilities.
There were two rooms in the apartment; the room was where my mother and baby would be. The outer room had sofas, a fridge, a washbasin and some drawers to store things. I remember my amazement when I saw the curtain-like partition in the washroom, between the shower and the toilet, because I have only noticed that in top-ranking hotels and highly reputed places.
I don’t remember what I did to kill time; probably I would have thought about my friends because it was a working day. Finally, in the afternoon, the nurse came to our room. I was super excited, but for a moment, I got stuck when the nurse said, ‘’It’s a baby boy.’’ I didn’t know if I had to be happy or sad. Nonetheless, I wanted to see my baby brother soon. Boy or girl, a baby is always cute and lovely to me. I don’t remember what I did when I became confused, but I must have done something because my grandmother took me out of the room and walked me up and down the corridor.
In the room opposite ours, another family was awaiting a baby. I remember being scared if the doctor would accidentally mix up my baby with theirs. An old lady, somewhat around my grandmother’s age, came out of that room. Along with her was a boy of my age. My grandmother talked with them for a while, and I was a bit jealous to know that they had got a baby girl. Surprisingly, the boy wanted a baby brother like I wanted a baby sister. I remember wondering if God had accidentally misplaced the babies in our mothers’ wombs. The boy’s grandmother told me that having a brother is good because he will take you on a bike. I wouldn’t say that I like her explanation because it is too lame.
Later, once my baby brother was brought into the room, I remember being by his side all the time and waiting for him to open his eyes, smile at me and call me ‘Chechi’.
Contributor: Nithya AS
About our Writing Program Student
Nithya is a grade 10 student studying at Greenvalley International School, Trivandrum, Kerala. She loves reading, painting, gardening and is also a Kalaripayattu practitioner. Besides, she enjoys spending time with nature and is always keen to contribute something to the environment.
