August 1996: Remebember Achoubi? My idol, my eldest sister! I couldnt help but go back home to see how my dear family is handling with the little wave of shock my sister gave them by eloping with her lover.

My parents were okay with that. Why okay??? She presented them with a "fait accompli"!

For me it was a bolt from the blue. I heard that there used to be child marriage during pre colonial and colonial days when my grandma married my grandfather at the age of 13! I heard that it was abolished years back and why is my sister so keen on repeating some unwanted social phenomenon??

There"s a saying that when a person has no worries to be deal with, the person seeks to find new worries. I worry day and night about my fate, I worry day and night if good fortunes wont miss my path... maybe because of all my worries I was left with no leisure time to dream about a man in my life, elope or get married.

I feel that maybe I shoudnt blame my little sister totally because she might have been fed up of the pleasures of living with parents, the security of "my own home", things which I am deprived of.

May be I might be having a boyfriend by now if I were in her place. There's a saying that the grass in always greener on the other side. Anyway both me and my sister are human beings with basic human nature and instinct!

Why did I mentioned my sister Achoubi and continued with my "misfortune seeking" younger sister's story??

Well, I was surprised as to how she handled everything so perfectly. She is the right candidate for a marriage in our family though by fate, her little sister snatched that from her.

And she has no problem with that. Even if both of them aren't, but I am really mortified! Comon, she is thirty years old now! And all her friends and batchmate have already been married with dozens of kids! Some had even eloped with their second "to be husband".

My sister has no problem with that too. She says its better to live the life of a spinster and look after our old parents then to live an unhappy married life. And now she is looking after many things, many living beings are dependent on her along with my parents! Her ducks and chickens! (she has started her own little poultry farm near our little hut).

Our only brother is very studious and his academic performances had put on renewed interest and zeal to our big sister. She and our parents have high expectations and hopes on him. They want him to become an army officer or a doctor.

Her fifteen ducks and chicken have been kind enough to lay eggs everyday and sacrifice their flesh for their Godly "shepherd" so that she can earn a few bucks to buy books and candies for her favourite brother.

When I look at my sister tending to her little creatures, I couldn't even find a trace of sadness. She seemed lost in a world of her own where there is just "she" and her ducks and chicken.

I coudn't even find a trace of emptiness, the pangs of loss and seperation that lovers usually feel after a heartbreak. Well,I failed to mention that this oh-so-good sister of mine had broke up with her boyfriend of six years.

Reason was very simple because the guy coudnt wait any longer for this miss goody responsible girl. He had already married another girl. My sister didnt informed earlier and I came to know about it only when I came back home. All I could say is that a desperate man lost an angel.

When the evening sun lit up her dry honey tinted skin as she was tending to her poultry, I felt a sudden surge of emotion! I feel like saluting this lady. She was my childhood hero and will always be!

My sister is what you define as greatness. She was so unselfish, such a selfless sacrife for our family and for her brother. My job and my responsibilities were nothing compared with hers. For I first time in my life....I feel so "small".

Though I was taking up new responsibilities at some alien place but she was taking up the responsibilities of our entire family, carrying all the burden of this world along with her own. Though she tried to hide away her sorrows, I know how much she loves her ex-boyfriend. I had grown up seeing their love and the glow on her face, the dancing eyes whenever I mention his name.

16th August: My sister seldom cry but today she nearly broke down at midnight after long hours of story exchanges between sisters, could never forget this day. I was happy because it will be a releif to her, all the heavy emotions clinging to her will be washed away along with her tears.

I hold her tight and let her cry. I didnt realize that my eyes were also soaked with tears. Now I came to realize why God loaded our eyes with tears.

We cried, we cried....the tears seemed endless..

17th August: Today both of us woked up all puffy and swollen. None of us talked about the episode of tears last night nor try to reason it. But we know that the reasons were many and justified.

Both of us were happy that we cried our heart out because the tears were our weapon of defence, to helpless people like us (though I hate to refer ourselves as helpless, but at that point of time, no vocabularly suit us better), to lessen those burden of unwanted satuarated emotions.

30th august: End of the month and here I am ready to go back to my "new home". I had prolonged my stay at home and uncle had come to take me again.

I had mixed emotions because litle Vicky had also come with uncle and aunty to take me. I suddenly realized that I had missed him so terribly! He came running to me with his best smile! I was happy that my little baby missed me too!

Its not that I dont want to go back but I dont feel like leaving my sister Achoubi at home, with all her responsibilities and sorrows alone.

Our parents coudnt attend to her personally or chit chat about her personal life as they were also busy with life's never ending struggle for existence. Besides among all our siblings it was only both of us who could connect emotionally and mentally so well.

I tried to shed as minimum tears as possible as i leave, but my heart was strong with a resolution.

"I will come back for you sister....i will rescue you...."

To be continued ....

NOTE:
There is strong opposition against child labour in the entire world and mostly in the third world country. In our very own state manipur,there is a common practise of giving away innocent children as domestic helpers by the poor parents. Some are lucky enough to be treated as the children of the new home while some children have to face the brutality from their "new home". But even if the childrens are being adopted as the children of the new home,what about the innocence that they have to compromise with by exposing them to the various facets of life at an early age? Every one of these children have a story of their own which is as important as anyone of our life story. They are the unsung heroes who had learnt to face life"s challenges since early childhood. My story is an adaptation from the real life story of one of the domestic helper whom I know and had grown up with though the names and certain events have been slightly modified.