Sibling Love
Sibling Love
Life was a contest. This truth Zamir had learned early in life. He and his sister competed over everything: who got to be the line leader in class, who got the best grades, who got to climb to the higher branch of their favorite tree out in Paradise. Sarika pushed him. She forced him to be better than he thought he could be. Sarika was the biggest reason why he was successful, in school, in athletics, in life. It all had to do with his sister.
He adored her for it. For pushing him, for making him better. So many other companions didn’t have that. They didn’t have someone always making them rise above everything else. He looked at those other companions, and part of him pitied them a little. They lazed about in Paradise, forgetting to do assignments, watching the days pass them by as if they could get those days back. Zamir didn’t want to waste a single day! Days wasted withered into the past. They could never be recovered. So the kingfisher chose to do his best in everything. He didn’t want to have any regrets.
On days he won Zamir rejoiced because he’d bested someone that he always thought his equal, if not his better. On days he lost he felt grateful, because it showed him where he needed to improve. He would thank his sister for those loses and work even harder. Sometimes, Sarika looked upset even when she won, and he never really understood why. Celebrating winning appeared beneath the girl sometimes…or maybe she just didn’t believe she’d won even when she did. Zamir wanted nothing more than to keep his sister smiling. They only really had each other, after all.
She certainly hated losing more. Zamir could see it in her deep eyes how upset she was with herself over not being able to best him. Part of him wanted to ease off on days when he saw that hurt, but the other part of him knew better. She’d despise him for not trying because it meant she couldn’t win on her own merit. He couldn’t believe how often she forgot about how she beat him, how even they really were. When the boy tried to point things like this out to his sister she’d brush him off and either walk away or challenge him to something new. He always took up the new challenge with vigor. When it came to the two of them it was supposed to be fun!
When it came to the rest of the world though…that was serious. If the two of them were together on a team nothing could stop them. Those challenges felt the best, when it could be team kingfisher against anyone else. It was almost unfair- allowing them to be together against the kids who didn’t have someone who knew you so well. But that was the other lesson Zamir had learned so far in his short life…not everything was fair. Not everyone could win. But with Sarika and him together no challenge would be too great for them.