It was on a lovely fall day, about a month after school began when the “incident” occurred.
It was four o’clock on a Tuesday and Elizabeth was sleeping. She was in a deep sleep but woke up when she heard a noise close by. She thought it was just thunder and turned over but the noise continued. Half asleep and half awake, she turned around and opened her eyes and saw her sister pilfering through her top drawer. She had her hands on one of Elizabeth’s expensive rings and was trying it on. She didn’t notice that her sister was now awake and continued with her search.
Seconds later, Elizabeth cried, “Erin, what are you doing?! Those are my things and I don’t appreciate you going through them!”
“What do you mean? I’m only going through this because I thought I mislaid my own jewelry yesterday.
Still groggy, Elizabeth replied, “You think you mislaid your jewelry in my drawer? That sounds kind of stupid, Erin! And by the way, take off that ring! That is mine…”
“So what! I just didn’t want to lose it for you…Here, see, I’m putting it back.”
“Thank you! Now, go back to bed. It’s only four in the morning and we’ve still got two more hours before we get up. And, don’t let me catch you doing that again, O.K.?”
“Yes, big sister! Will do as you say…”
Both returned to their beds and all was quiet until the alarm went off at six that morning.
At breakfast, no one spoke. School went as usual for both and at the end of the day, after dinner, Elizabeth decided to have a talk with Erin.
Upstairs, Elizabeth broke the ice, “Erin. We need to talk. This incident that happened this morning, that’s not like you. We’ve always gotten along and I want you to tell me why you did this!”
Erin dropped her eyes to the floor and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that. It was so wrong of me. I guess I’m jealous of you, Elizabeth. You have it all—brains, beauty—all the guys at school that you want…I don’t seem to be going anywhere.”
Elizabeth looked sad because she loved her sister and noticed for some time that Erin didn’t have an interest in her studies or her appearance. So she replied, “Erin, I don’t have it all. Yes, I do well with my studies but only because I study hard. And as far as my looks, I’m no prettier than you but I take care of myself—try to wear clothes that make me look good and fix my hair. Believe me, I don’t have many boyfriends and I’ve seen many of them looking at you! So, sister dear, you have more than you think and could have even more, if only you work a little harder. I love you and let’s work this out!”
Erin said very little, walked toward her sister, hugged her and said, “Love you Lizabeth. Thank you for your wise words.”
Who would have guessed that years later they would become the best of friends—each with a good life, knowing that they could count on each other for advice and love.