The Battling Sisters

The Battling Sisters

If memory serves me right, there were eight of them. Ms. Katherine had eight children, six boys and two girls. For the most part they were a relatively quiet family. They never bothered anyone; they mostly came and went about their business. I lived right below them for fifteen years and they never made much noise, yes they were a quiet family. They didn’t have much as far a material items may go, but they loved each other and to be honest, especially today, that is more valuable than any material or monetary wealth. Oh, my apologies, I was talking about Ms. Katherine’s eight children, sometimes I get easily throwed off mid-sentence, if I do it again, please don’t be ashamed to redirect me.

The only people who ever caused a ruckus in that house were Tirina and Veronica, the two girls. There was a six- year age difference between them and they were like night and day. Veronica was the timid, shy one who usually stayed to herself, while Tirina was the exact opposite. She was loud, hung out with a bunch of girls and always drew attention to herself. We used to call them the battling sisters because they always stayed at each other’s throats. Being that I lived right below them, my ceiling played host to many of their matches. I laugh when I think about them because though they fought like cats and dogs, if anyone else said anything about the other or tried to bring harm to the other, that person had to deal with both of them. They were very interesting girls, and it was apparent that they loved one another.

It has been fifteen years since I moved from my apartment and I always wondered what happened to that family, especially to Tirina and Veronica. About two weeks ago, while shopping on 125th street, I could not believe my eyes when I saw this big brown woman smiling such a bright smile in my direction. It was Veronica. She was walking with a girl who appeared to be three or four years old. I was pleased to hear that her mother was still alive and well and that most of her brothers were doing well. I asked her about her sister and jokingly asked if they were still fighting. When I asked about her sister, I noticed that her facial expression had changed. She explained that her sister had died four years ago due to complications of a cesarean section. She explained that she and her mother were raising her sister’s three children. I felt just awful; I gave her a hug and offered my deepest sympathies. She smiled and told me that it is still painful, but she feels her sister’s presence all around her and that she will forever live on through her children. I began to cry. Veronica gently rubbed my back and said that she was fine and that she will be fine. We hugged once more before we said our goodbyes and exchanged telephone numbers. I watched her as she walked up the block as tears continued to roll down my face, I felt a sense of peace and I knew deep down that Veronica and her family would be just fine. Life has a funny (not haha funny, but funny ironic) way of teaching us valuable lessons. Veronica now has the opportunity to bestow all of the love that she had for her sister (though expressed in unconventional ways) to her sister's children. I still smile thinking about that family, they damn near brought down my ceiling, with that damn fighting, Tirina and Veronica.