A Birthday Gift

Part 1: Angry Sister

“But Dad!”

“I am sorry sweetheart. But I am stuck until the end of this lockdown. There are no means available for me to travel.”

That was my sister Neha and my father talking. My sister was upset because our father couldn’t be there for her birthday next week. He had been stuck in Chennai for more than a month now since the lockdown began. In all these years, he had always ensured that he was not on his business trips so that he could be there for his children’s birthdays. But not this time.

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My sister Neha is usually a chirpy bubbly kind of girl, but she can get emotional too. She is affectionate and caring. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about others. I am more like a prankster and a little selfish about my approach. To tell you more about my family, we live in Goa. My sister is 23 and is working as an HR manager for a multinational company. I am 21, an engineering college student in the final year. My mother runs a boutique at home where she designs and sells her own range of clothes, along with some other variety of speciality clothes that she procures from other places in the country. She has two big rooms in our building that acts as her speciality boutique shop and a storage.

Like any brother and sister, we quarrel a lot, and our mother tries her best to not get involved in our fights. We both are adults but when we two are together, we are more like teenagers. I know she loves me, and I think I love her too. But I never expressed it, or I don’t even know how to express it. My mother says that I will learn how much I love my sister when she gets married and goes to some other place to stay. Since my sister is elder to me, I call her didi or di as is the convention in any north Indian family.

Coming back to the situation with Neha didi’s birthday, she was upset and she came and sat next to me. I was watching a Hollywood action movie which she didn’t like. “Just change the channel to something nice, dumbo”, she said in anger. But I just ignored her, and turned up the volume a little instead.

“You know if I had a younger sister instead of you dumbo brother, she would have obeyed my request and gave me the remote to watch TV.’

“So you want a sister just so that you can watch TV?”, I said.

“Not just that. I would have had a lot more fun with a sister. She would understand my feelings unlike you. And we both could be having fun at home too when we are stuck in a lockdown.”, she said wondering about having a sister.

“What kind of fun?”, I turned down the volume a little and asked her out of curiosity.

“I can’t tell you. You are not a girl. You won’t understand.”

“Ok fine. I don’t care anyway.”

“Ok.”, she said.

She sounded upset and I knew the reason. Though I wasn’t really a caring person, but I knew she is sad because dad is not going to be there, and she is dad’s favourite anyway. So, I tried to be a little considerate.

“Di, your birthday is coming next week. So what gift do you want from me?”, I asked.

“You can’t give me the gift I want.”

“I will do anything to get you that gift. I promise.”
“Ok. I will tell you but you will have to fulfil your promise.”

“Of course. Tell me what do you want.”

“Alright. I want you to be my sister for that day and spend time with me.”, she said with a big smile on her face.

“Nice joke, didi. Now be serious.”

“I am serious. I want a sister on my birthday.”, she said. I thought she is being childish.

“Ok. Since I promised, you can call me as your sister on your birthday.”, I agreed.

“No, dumbo. That’s not going to be enough.”

“So what else do you want?”

“I want you to dress up as my sister that day, and act as my real sister.”, she chuckled at her own suggestion.

“No way. Have you gone mad?”

“But you promised.”, she said nonchalantly.

“Forget it.”, I said and started watching TV again.

She got sad and went to the bedroom without saying a word.

Later that day, I was lying on my bed playing PUBG and she was busy painting her nails. And without saying anything to me, she turned towards me and started to paint nails of my toes. I didn’t realize that as I was busy playing PUBG.

After some time, I noticed that she was doing something with my feet. So I asked her, “What are you doing with my feet?”

“Nothing. Just timepass.”, she said.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Di. You know what happens when I get angry”

“Oho… don’t worry. I am just cleaning your toenails like girls do in a pedicure. You will feel better, I promise.”

“Ok.”, I said though I didn’t like the idea of getting a pedicure as a boy. But whatever she was doing, it definitely felt nice and a little cold on my toes.

It must have been a little later when our mom called us for lunch when I started walking towards the dining table. And I was startled to hear some sound as I took each step. It was the sound of payal (anklet). But Neha didi wasn’t there so the sound couldn’t have come from her. And then I noticed the sound was coming from my own legs! Without looking at my feet, in anger, I ran towards the dining table. The anklet made even louder sound as I ran. There, I told my mom about what Neha di did to me.

But Neha di kept laughing and said, “Look how beautiful your legs look with painted nails and payal on it!”

I looked down and saw my toe nails were painted in red, and there were heavy payal (anklet) in both my legs.

“Why did you do that?”, I said in anger.

“Just to show you what kind of fun I could have had if I had a sister.”

I wasn’t too happy with her answer. I started shouting at her. I took out the anklet in anger and threw at her. I didn’t realize how hard my throw was, and it her on the back of her neck. She started to sob.

Now, our mom started scolding me for hitting her so hard. But as I was angry, I went to the bedroom and locked the door. But I could hear the sound of Neha di sobbing. But I didn’t even feel like going out and consoling her.

Later in the evening when I had calmed myself a bit, I went out and saw that Di was sitting on sofa and watching TV.

I went and sat next to her and said, “Sorry, di. I was angry at that time. Look I still have my nails painted. I don’t even know how to get rid of it.” I tried to lighten the mood.

“I don’t want to talk to you. Just leave me alone.”, she said without looking at me. My effort went in vain.

I understood that she was angry with me. So I sat silently next to her without saying another word.

At night, after dinner, she helped mom in the kitchen for clean up. So I thought I will make her bed ready and arranged her bed as she does daily. I thought that would make her feel better. But when she came to the bedroom, she just took her night dress from the cupboard and went out.

I was just waiting for her so that I could apologize to her as she had stopped talking to me since the afternoon. I was feeling really bad about my behaviour. But she didn’t come back, and went to sleep with mom in her bedroom.

She didn’t speak with me at all for the next few days. And to make things worse, my mom too was angry with me. I tried to apologize to Neha di but she wouldn’t talk to me.

The next day, I woke up early and when my mom came out to make early morning tea and breakfast, I asked her to do something as I feel sorry for doing what I did.

Finally, mom understood that I was repenting my behavior. So she said, “You had hit her very hard, Pravin. You know she was crying for two hours that day. There is mark below her neck because of what you did.”

“I told you mom I was angry that day.”

“I know, Pravin. Look we all are stuck at home during this lockdown. We all get bored. And she did a little thing on you for a little fun. Painting nails and putting on a payal is not a reason big enough to get this angry.”

“I understand that mom. But what has been done has been done. I can’t change that. But please convince her to talk to me again. She doesn’t even look at me anymore.”, I got emotional as I said those words. Apparently, I cared for my sister a lot more than I realized!

“Ok, ok. Now don’t get too emotional. She will eventually start talking to you. She can’t be mad at you forever.”, mom said.

“But when, mom? I will do anything to make it happen sooner.”

“Hmm … in that case, you need to be ready to give your sister a surprise gift on her birthday.”

“What surprise gift, mom?”

“The same gift you had promised her that day when you fought. I was listening to your conversation that day.” Mom said and smiled at me.
“… and if I do that, she will start talking to me again?”, I was ready to do any stupid thing to make my sister happy.

“Of course. Just remember to wake up early on her birthday morning so that we can wrap the surprise birthday gift in time.”, my mother laughed.

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Two days later, it was Neha di’s birthday. As my mom had instructed, I woke up early at 4 am that morning. When I woke up, I saw my mother standing in front of me smiling.

“We need to hurry up. We don’t have much time before Neha wakes up.”, my mom said. She handed me a cream and a body lotion and asked me to apply while taking a bath. I merely nodded and did as she said.

And what happened because of that cream? All my body hair got loose and fell on its own. My skin became smooth to touch. It was a completely new experience to me. It almost fell like I got a new body, a girl’s body. I realized that mom had given me some kind of hair removing cream.

When I came out, my mom was waiting for me for the next step. I saw a salwar suit lying on my bed. And there was something else too. I used to call it “an unmentionable” in my own mind. In reality, it was a bra. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen or touched a bra before. I had done that multiple times whenever my mother asked me to pick up dried clothes from the balcony. I would always find bras and panties hanging there. And with all other clothes, I had to pick those too. But neither I nor my mother would mention it. It was just there like my own underwear hanging there. I should have treated it like any other piece of cloth but I was always a little uncomfortable handling a bra. So, I would pick it up just using a thumb and a finger as if it is something that should not be touched. And now there was a bra sitting next to the salwar suit, and I was supposed to touch it, handle it and wear it. I didn’t know how to even talk about it to my mother.

“Mom, is that really needed?”, I said with a little anxiety pointing towards the bra.

“Of course. Don’t you want your sister to speak with you again?”, mom said.

“Yes, I want her to speak to me. But is that thing really necessary?”

“That thing is called bra, Pravin. Now be a grown up and go ahead and wear these clothes. You shouldn’t feel uncomfortable with bras. I have seen you how you handle bras and panties in the balcony when I ask you to pick up dried clothes. Be a grown up man now. This is just another essential item that one needs to wear. That’s all.”, my mom said as a matter of fact.

But I was too uncomfortable to even say the word ‘bra’. “Ok, will you help me wear it?”, I asked because I had no idea how it is done. She happily agreed. She asked me to slide my arms through the straps and proceeded to hook it up from the back. That was a very strange feeling. The feeling of tightness around my chest and back. The band of the bra was really snug. It felt like it was good for my size. Though honestly, I had no idea what the right size of bra would mean for me.

“Now, go ahead and wear the salwar suit. Remember, you need to tie your salwar with a string.”, mom said as she handed me a red colored salwar suit.

A little embarrassed, I did what I was told. I slipped the kurti over my head. But that kurti had a zip on the back, unlike men’s shirt that has buttons on the front. So, naturally, I could not zip myself on the back.

My mom once again came to my rescue. But before doing that, she pushed something inside my bra cups, possibly cotton balls that fitted well inside the bra. Then she zipped me up from the back. I noticed my reflection in a mirror in the other corner of our room, and my body looked like a girl’s body. The bra had given me a nice shape.

“Stop looking at the mirror. We have to work on your looks before Neha wakes up.”, mom said and asked me to sit in front of the dressing table in my room that belonged Neha di. Except this time, instead of her, I was the one sitting there.

I wanted to ask my mom what is she going to do. But before I could do that, her phone rang. It was a whatsapp call from my dad.

“So, did he agree to do it?”, my father asked my mom.

“Yes, he did. After all, he could do at least this much after how he treated his sister.”, my mother laughed and so did my father.

“He has already worn salwar suit. Do you want to see your son?”, my mother asked him and she turned the phone pointing at me. I felt embarrassed looking at my dad.

“Pravin. I had been telling you for years that you should never raise your hands in temper. But you never listened. Now, be a gentleman today and make your sister happy. I don’t want to hear anymore complaints about you. Is that clear?”, my father said.

“Yes, dad.”, I replied.

“Ha ha … at least put on a wig to complete your transformation.”, my father said and then started talking to my mother for the next few minutes.

After the call was over, my mother turned her attention towards me. She started to apply some kind of makeup on my face which I didn’t understand.

“Which color lipstick do you want to apply?”, she asked with a big smile on her face.

“Mom, you are really enjoying my predicament. Aren’t you?”, I said.

“Of course. Let me get a shade that would match your dress.”, she said and got a bright red lipstick to go along with my red salwar suit.

“This looks great. Isn’t it?”, she asked me.

“Yes, it does. It made my face a lot more attractive.”, I said. I shouldn’t have said.

“Looks like you are enjoying being a girl.”, my mother said as she proceeded to apply a small round bindi on my forehead.

“Your ears look barren. We should do something about it?”, she said looking at my face.

“What will you do?”

“Put on earrings, matching jhumkas.”, mom said laughing.

“No way, mom. I won’t get my ears pierced.”, I said.

“Relax your horses. I have something that would not require any piercing.”, mom said. It seems she had all the things planned and she had something from her boutique collection that could be worn just by pressing over the ear lobes.
“Now, you look great!”, she said smilingly.

I saw myself in the mirror and thought, “Great? I look horrible. The figure is ok. Make up is fine too. But it all looked so off because of my short hair. Girls don’t have hair like me.”

“Just for one day.”, I thought to myself as I convinced myself that it is ok to look ridiculous for a day.

But looking ridiculous is not an option when your mom is there to transform you. She then took out a wig from a bag and carefully placed it over my head. Voila! I was transformed into a girl in a few seconds. My mom had picked out a wig from the dozens of wigs she has for the mannequins she has in her boutique store that she uses to showcase her designs. The wig looked close to real. I was amazed at my own transformation. I looked myself in an awe.

And then, mom put on anklets on my feet, and then, placed a dupatta on my left shoulder. She taught me how to handle it during the day. That dupatta made my look complete. I looked like a real girl now.

Priyanka has morphed her face in these pictures to get her dream look.

All the pictures in this page are provided by the writer Priyanka. She has morphed her face in these pictures to show how she would have loved to look in the described situation.

“I think you look more beautiful as a girl.”, my mom smiled. I could only blush.

“Now, come with me. Your sister should be up anytime now. It is almost 7 o’clock.”

I went out to the hall with mom and sat their waiting for my sister to come out. When she came out, she touched mom’s feet and took her blessing as is the custom to do on someone’s birthday. In the meanwhile, I was standing their turning my back towards Neha di.

“Mom, who’s this girl? And what is she doing early in the morning here during a lockdown?”, Neha di asked mom.

“Go, check her out and see if you recognize her.”, mom said.

“Mom, don’t play games with me in the early morning. Tell me who she is.”

“Why don’t you go and ask her yourself?”, mom said.

As Neha di started approaching towards me, my heart beat got faster and faster.

“Hello, may I know who is this?”, she asked as got near me.

I turned around and hugged her tightly without giving her a chance to look at my face, and I shouted, “Happy birthday!”

“That sounds like Pravin’s voice. Oh my god! Is that you Pravin?”, di said and she tried to get out of my hug so that she could see my face.

“Yes, di. It’s me.”, I finally revealed my face to her.

“You … you … fulfilled your promise.”, Neha di got emotional.

“How did you do that?”, she looked at me from top to bottom.

“With mom’s help! You wanted a sister, and you got your sister for your birthday!”, I said.

Then she stepped back and started to look at me from top to bottom again. But she soon went out of the room without saying a word. I thought she is still angry with me. I tried calling her but she didn’t look back, and she went to mom’s room and locked the door.

My eyes started wobbling up with tears. My mom saw this and she came to wipe my tears.

We both were sitting on a sofa when after some time, Neha di came out and stood in front of me.

“Stand up you idiot”, she said.

I did as she said with my head down. She took my hand in her hand and put something on my hand. When I saw, she was putting bangles on my wrists.

“My sister is incomplete without bangles.”, she said and hugged me.

Tears started to roll form our eyes. Neha di was happy to have a sister, and I was happy that my sister was talking to me again.

Then she asked me – “What name should we give to my sister?”

“Anything you decide.”, I said to her.

“Ok then. I will call you Priya!”, she exclaimed.

“Ok”, I smiled.

“Alright, Priya. Let’s get ready for the birthday.”, she said.

“It’s your birthday didi. You should get ready.”, I said.

“It is not just mine but it is your birthday too. Because I got my sister today.”, she said. And then, she took me to the bedroom to get ready.

Mom was also happy to have two daughters. I was happy because I got my sister back, and my sister was happy because she got a little sister.

So, this is how my dressing started.

In next part we will see what happens in the evening birthday party!
 

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To be continued …

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