Zara and Sara were twin sisters based out of Karachi. They were in their tenth year since birth, with Zara being elder by just two minutes. The two had stark difference in their personalities, which showed up during their routine behaviour.

Whilst Zara worked extremely hard at everything she did, including daily chores, Sara, on the other hand, was exceptionally lazy and couldn’t even complete the simplest of tasks properly.

This difference in character traits between the sisters was evident within their academic performances and schooling life. Zara was a performer who topped her class frequently and was a teacher’s favourite, whilst Sara was a below average student who would nearly always get rebuked.

Even outside of class, Zara remained active whereas Sara would depend on her sister to get things completed. The elder twin sibling frequently warned her younger sister to ‘get straight’ and agile, but to no avail.

One fine evening, the sister’s parents went out to attend a wedding ceremony, leaving instructions for the children to complete their dinner appropriately. Zara decided that it was the right time for her to teach her sister a lesson. She informed her younger twin sibling of her intention to visit the neighbour’s house.

The whole time that she was alone, Sara only watched television and drank water, not making any attempt to eat her meal. Zara returned to the house a little later only to find her sister lying on the couch. She wasn’t responding and hence Zara got worried. Zara then got a jug of water and sprinkled it on her sister’s face, which woke her up.

Sara, confusingly asked as to what had happened to which Zara angrily replied that she had possibly ‘fainted’. Sara then committed to her sibling that she would never be lazy and casual again.

A couple of weeks later, Zara caught her sister looking through her bag and checking notes made for test preparations. She kept quiet and, as expected, Sara did well in an upcoming test during class. Zara then approached Sara about her having gone through Zara’s notes, which initially Sara refused to acknowledge. Finally, she confessed, saying that she was trying to improve herself.

So, Zara decided it was time she kept her academic things away from her sibling once and for all. This withdrawal from the elder sibling kept Sara at bay temporarily and put her in check, and, as expected, she underperformed in some of the immediate assessments that took place.

One fine day Zara picked the courage to address her sister directly and asked promptly, “Why do you love following me around? Why can’t you become independent and work responsibly for once?”

Sara also promptly responded, “You just think you’re ‘Miss Perfect’ and everything revolves around your personality.”

The sisters kept arguing for some time, with Sara finally going upstairs and locking herself in her room. Zara, also decided not to talk any further to her sister and eventually dozed off on the couch.

After some time had passed, Zara awoke and immediately felt upset at the incident that had taken place and decided to go to their bedroom and talk matter through. There was no response at the door, hence Zara decided to look elsewhere.

Whilst going through the house she eventually ended up in the kitchen and found Sara making pancakes. Zara was astonished and in shock. Sara had a smile on her face and told her sister to relax. Both the girls then sat and ate the lemon pancakes together, with Sara not only apologising but also informing her elder sibling that she was going to take a new route in life and learn some important lessons for her own betterment. Zara was finally relieved that Sara was finally learning to be a more responsible person and she was now a sister she could count on.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 11th, 2020