Letters through a lifetime

Polar Opposites

When Angelina was born her father said that the birds chirped and flowers blossomed to celebrate spring, her mother said that she was the most beautiful doll-like newborn she had ever seen. On the contrary when Tamsin was born she apparently weighed an astonishing ten pounds and was covered completely in hair. Her parents were terrified that she was born with some rare genetic condition, she was not. They refused to let others look at her due to her ‘monkey like’ appearance. This set the tone for the life of these two sisters.

Angelina was beautiful and dazzling. She excelled in school and not only that but she enjoyed it. There had never been a child more dedicated. People rotated around her like they were planets orbiting the sun. She was always top of her class. Boys always wrote her name on the take notice board. There was almost nothing that Angelina could not do, she was kind to everyone except her sister, she applied herself to her studies, spoke four languages, and was utterly adored by almost all.

Tamsin was quite a different story. People avoided her because she was perceived as strange. She had a habit of speaking to herself and making up stories in her head, she had a vivid and vibrant imagination. Everyone seemed keen on reminding the poor girl just how homely she was. Her classmate tormented her with constant ridicule saying that they could not believe that she was Angelina’s sister. It is one thing to be ugly and sensible like one might expect, it is another to be homely and opinionated. She was outspoken. Outspoken in a way that just made her subjected to more teasing by her peers. She was passionate and shared her thoughts about everything even things most people believe women had no business in. Boys never noticed her and girls..well she tried her hardest to make friends but everyone seemed to find her off putting. She grew to prefer the company of her imagination and book more than the company of other human beings. In absence of human connection she formed relationship with the characters in her book, streams of water, trees and small animals.

The differential treatment did not bother her when it came to her classmates, she had come to terms with the fact that most of them were benevolent idiots. It did bother her when it came to her parents. It seemed like matter what she did their eyes were always glued on Angelina. She had learned to play the violin because her mother adored it, her concerts and recitals were never attended by her mother who instead choose to go to Angelina’s piano recitals. Tamsin continued to play even hoping that one day her mother might show up, she never did. Her father on the other hand was basically a useless pawn. He never stood up for her when his wife called her useless and made her take on all the household chores but he did later apologize and even snuck her a dessert after supper. Angelina was exactly like her mother which hurt her most of all.

They had grown up almost inseparable. She doesn’t know or understand what changed but one day Angelina started talking and acting like their mother. Constantly belittling every step and achievement her younger sister would make. Even then Tamsin loved, adored and looked up to her older sister