My momma is gone. Rethe answered, and Parisa offered a very foolish, “Oh,” as her eyes widened on her little sister. It’s not fair! The anger was warranted, but it still surprised Parisa, who pulled her head back and looked briefly alarmed. Rethe said more, and her shouts turned to the saddest noises Parisa had ever heard someone make. A soft look crossed over Parisa’s face, one that didn’t often make a home there, just as Rethe crashed up against her.
Parisa was no stranger to physical affection; her mother gave her plenty. But to have a tiny, younger sibling crash themselves up against her, looking for support? When she was smaller and had a nightmare, she remembered Charmeine waking her up, and how she’d blindly and fearfully crushed herself against her older sister’s side. Charmeine had held her, hadn’t made fun of her for crying or called her a big baby. This moment reminded Parisa of that, only she had a different role to offer as comfort-giver.
Parisa draped her neck over Rethe and pulled the girl in, holding her close for a moment. “I’m sorry, Rethe,” she said, and her words were more quietly spoken than how boisterous and loud she otherwise liked to be. For a moment there was a little bit of quiet and Parisa just held her little sister close, wondering why Kohelet was gone without Rethe. She huffed a small breath and then pulled her face away just enough to look at her baby sister. “At least you only gotta worry about one parent telling you what to do now, huh?” She offered in an attempt to lighten the mood, then snorted and grinned a little at herself. “Well, it’s not like dad is ever going to be able to tell you to do anything, I guess.” Her eyes brightened a bit more. “Hey, I bet everyone is going to feel really sorry for you right now, so if you ever wanted to do something bad but not get punished too much for it… Now's your window for opportunity.” She grinned.
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