OUR JOURNEY

A short-story by Harika l MondayBlossoms - 02 l

'Side by side or miles apart, brother and sister always closest to the heart.'

Having a sibling with an age gap feels nice but having the same one as your twin feels itchy. There's this constant feeling that he's following you every second of your life, even when you follow a different career path. And my feelings are no different from my brother, Aryan.

Aryan and I are born with a difference of 2 minutes, but our personalities are opposites. We almost shared everything in our life.

We went to the same school and were in the same class. Compared to other siblings, we fought a lot, but we always stayed by each other's side.

"Aarthi, you shouldn't call your brother by name." My Grandpa used to give me an earful every time he heard me call my brother 'Aryan'.

"We are twins. That doesn't make sense." I used to argue.

"Still, a brother is always a brother," Grandpa commanded. I never understood that statement. Calling him 'Anna' and 'Aryan' had no difference. Whatever you call it, the bond between us made us strong.

Since we were kids, we always had competition in everything, and studies were at the top of that list. We completed our 10th with him getting 0.3% more than me. And God, he bragged about it for years.

Like a typical Indian, he chose Engineering, while I decided to study CA. Even during our Intermediate, our fight continued, but the time I loved the most was when he brought his assignments.

"Aarthi, can you do this assignment for me?" He asked with a rather sweet voice.

"It costs something," I said with a smirk.

"Cruel. Fine, what do you want?" He asked, accepting his defeat. It was the only time I could demand.

"A chocolate and an ice cream without mum and dad's knowledge," I demanded.

"Fine." He sighed. I have to say he didn't fulfill his promise even to date.

We fought a lot, from watching TV to life-changing decisions, but those fights made no scratches after we got back together, and those were the moments I truly felt how much his presence meant in my life. But the best part was during 'Raksha Bandhan, that festival did have something. It brings our hearts closer as we understand how much the others did for us. Aryan used to keep all his savings and surprise me with a gift. It was the most precious gift I could ever get.

Soon, our lives got busy with studies, and as I thought becoming a CA was never an easy one, I pretended to be strong, but Aryan always saw right through me.

"It's hard, isn't it?" He asked with a soft tone sitting next to me. I nodded my head as my eyes filled with tears.

"It's okay. I will talk to mum and dad." He said, consoling me, and he did talk to our parents and changed their minds about me joining MBA. I thought he only knew how to mock and de-motivate, but he has always cared for me.

As time went on, my bond with my brother grew stronger. During my degree holidays, I titled myself into novel writing. When I was at rock bottom, he was there to lend a hand and pull me out.

"You look like a gloomy pig. What happened?" He asked with a teasing smile.

"Um, I got this idea for a story. I'm not confident enough." I replied, feeling confused.

"Well, no one you know reads. So they can't curse even if they want to." He said with a chuckle.

"Seriously, Aryan?". I shot a glare and didn't say more than that.

"Come on, gloomy head, Put all your efforts. Even if there's none, I will read it for your sake, don't worry." He sounded silly but sure made efforts to make me smile, and that's how my writing career started. It was hard to balance my studies and writing, but at least I had someone to lean on when I was tired.

"Hey, I made a daily plan for your exams." He said, giving me a schedule even when I didn't ask for one. I guess the ability to understand each other's pain will only be there between siblings.

My whole life, he was with me like a firewall to protect me from taking wrong paths and meeting the wrong people. When dad fell sick, I cried a lot alongside mum, but my brother, stood like a rock, consoling both of us. He was crying inside, but he also understood the situation and was stubborn to tear up.

He showered me with gifts when I had a good day, and all my mum ever said was, "You are spoiling her too much." To which he just laughed while ruffling my hair.

Even if he was busy with his work, he was just a phone call away. He was overprotective, gave me fashion suggestions, and saved me a couple of times. Sometimes, he's annoying, and sometimes he's sweet and lovely. He was the best brother I could ever ask for. He sacrificed many things for me. They may be small, but they were hard to let go of in that situation and age.

Having a twin brother has many perks. One of them is that you will never feel lonely. Unlike me, Aryan used to have friends, a lot of them actually, but he always spent most of his time with me even when he has chances to hang out with others.

We are together since the day we were born, since then our journey began, and there's still a lot there to travel, but whatever that's ahead of us, I'm sure my brother will be by my side like he has always been. The choices we take may differ, but this is our journey, and we will do it together.