Standing straight, smartly dressed in a cobalt business suit stood Anna, hastily signing the last document that formally made her the owner of the business run by her late parents.

Since the tragic car accident that had taken the lives of her parents, the business had been in the hands of indolent managers who had caused the company significant losses. Thus, Anna was swamped with all kinds of paperwork, business deals and meetings.

Exhausted as a phone with low battery, Anna burst home one day only to find her younger sister, Beth, sitting dejectedly on the bottom step of the spiral staircase. All thoughts of a warm meal and a comfortable bed forgotten, Anna sat down beside Beth.

“Something wrong?” she asked. “Nothing. I was just bored,” Beth lied, turning her face to the window.

“Alright, I’ll just stay here till you want to tell me,” Anna replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“It’s just that I was remembering things,” Beth stuttered slowly.

“What? Who?” Anna asked.

“You,” Beth told her; wiping away a tear that had made its way to her cheek.

“But why? I am right here,” Anna asked in surprise.

“That’s just the thing. You are not.”

As Anna continued to stare at her in bewilderment, Beth sighed.

“I miss the times when we used to play together. Spend time together. Now you are all grown up and busy with all this business stuff. Every year, you took me to the school fair. Next week I have to present my science project at the school fair and this time, for the first time, I won’t have you to look for in the crowd,” Beth said and exhaled deeply as though heavy stones had been lifted off her chest.

For a moment, Anna was speechless. For two minutes, there was complete silence. In the silence, one could hear the rustling of the leaves outside in the harsh, merciless wind.

“Things may be different now that I am grown up. But one thing will never change and that is that you mean more than any business deal. So I promise to always make time for you. I promise I will be in the crowd watching you at the fair next week, as always,” Anna finally spoke.

The next few days Anna came home early and the two sisters spent their evenings together, just like they had done in childhood. Then came the day of the school fair. Anna picked up her bag and was walking towards her car when she was stopped by her manager.

“Madam? Where are you going? You have a meeting in half an hour,” the manager called after her.

“Now? But I have to go to my sister’s school fair right now,” Anna answered.

“But this meeting was scheduled two months ago and it involves a very big business deal that we just can’t afford to lose,” the manager countered and Anna found herself being led away.

As Anna went over statistics and the goals of their business at the meeting, Beth’s words kept coming back to her: “You are all busy and grown up … for the first time you won’t be there in the crowd.”

Suddenly she stood up.

“I’m sorry. I made a promise to my sister that I will attend her school fair today, so I have to keep it. I am going. I will be in touch to reschedule this meeting. Good day!” she addressed the delegates.

With that she turned around and fled. At Beth’s school, when she saw the delight on her sister’s face, she knew she had done the right thing. Beth ended up winning the first prize too.

As they were going to the parking lot, Anna found herself face to face with the business owner whose meeting she had just left.

Before she could open her mouth to speak, he said, “I am impressed by your character. Promises are very important to us as well. My daughter also studies here and I remembered she had also told me that she was participating in the fair. So I too decided to come over and surprise my daughter. Deals can wait, but milestones in our loved ones’ lives can’t.

“Thanks to you, I got to see the delight on my daughter’s face on seeing me here. If you have the time now, we can go back to your office and I would be happy to sign the deal now,” the man offered.

With a smile Anna signed the last paperwork that finalised a big deal for their company. Anna still had to attend meetings and sign paperwork, but from that day onwards, she remembered her priorities.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 24th, 2024