Sarah was busy preparing for the exams that she had in the upcoming week, but her parents told her to look after her sister after they leave for shopping. When her parents left the house in the evening, Sarah ordered her nine-year-old sister, Kate, to sleep so Sarah would not have to take care of her. Like always, her sister did not listen to her.

“Cook something tasty for me, then I will listen to you,” Kate abruptly spoke.

Sarah desperately wanted her sister to let her study for her test so she cooked her instant noodles. Kate gratefully ate them. Sarah then set off for her room to study.

An hour passed. Glad that she completely prepared for her test, Sarah decided to take rest. Suddenly the thought of her sister hit her, so she headed for Kate’s room. Unfortunately, she found her vomiting in the wash basin.

Sarah became scared. She decided not to tell her parents since it would worry them and she would feel embarrassed in front of her parents that she couldn’t take care of her sister properly.

She asked Kate to take a medicine, which Kate refused.

Sarah reassured, “Don’t worry. Doctor prescribed me the same medicine when I was ill.”

Hesitantly Kate took the medicine. “Make sure you rest after taking it,” Sarah gently told her. Kate just nodded her head obediently.

An hour passed, curious to know how she was, Sarah headed towards Kate’s room. What she saw was something she never imagined could occur. Her sister had vomited over her bed. Sarah panicked. She could not figure what to do.

To her horror, the doorbell rang just then. She rushed towards the door and opened it to find her parents standing on the doorstep.

Her mother sensed the tension that Sarah tried to hide the tension behind her worrisome smile. Too scared to tell the truth, Sarah cooked up a cock and bull story that Kate swallowed a coin so she vomited. Her parents quickly rushed her to the hospital.

Sarah was so guilty that her sister had landed up in hospital because of her. Sarah prayed for Kate’s speedy recovery and Kate’s condition improved after a day’s stay and treatment at the hospital.

Sarah then realised, with guilt and remorse, that her carelessness led to such a severe outcome. Later, Sarah gathered the courage to accept her carelessness in front of her parents. To her disbelief, they only advised her to consume and give medicines to others prescribed by a doctor only, and read the expiry date because the medicine Sarah had given Kate was an expired one.

Sarah promised them that she would be careful in future and Sarah also apologised to her little sister. All that mattered was that things turned out fine in the end and Sarah learned her lesson.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 30th, 2021