Adopted.

That day seemed to be quite good until you came home. Mom and Dad didn’t tell me one word. They just brought you in, carrying a tiny bundle of sheets, as soon as I opened the door. Rocky sniffed about and howled angrily thinking a stranger has entered the house. His booming barks must have scared you then because right when I thought Mom had only a few napkins in her arms you let a wail so loud, I almost jumped back in surprise. Dad bent lower and waved a threatening finger at Rocky; whimpering as a protest at not letting him do his duty, he retreated to his corner. God, the irritating noise coming from you still rings in my ears. She hugged you and walked about in front of me. I was a bit scared to even look at what she was carrying. After a good two minutes of crying that could’ve blown up the roof, normalcy was restored in the house. Confused with the sudden turn of events, I looked from Mom to Dad with my “what’s going on?” face. Dad simply smiled and mouthed the word ‘surprise’ in silence. Mom sat beside me on the couch and said “be careful, okay? Keep your hand under her neck, like this.” You were 1 month old then, lying in my lap with a face a little bigger than my tennis ball. I didn’t know how to react or what to say, I remember having tears in my eyes. “Say hi to your little sister-Meena” Dad’s voice had been the sweetest when he told me this.

Meena, to tell you the truth, I was afraid the moment you fell into my hands. Afraid that you would take away my parents from me. Afraid that Mom and Dad would love you more than me. That’s what Rahul said had happened when his parents brought his sister home. I wasn’t ready to let you do any of that. No! So I thought if I dropped you on the floor or threw you against the wall, I wouldn’t have to deal with this sibling nonsense. I was 6 back then and innocent, please forgive me. Instead all I did was, placed my fingertip on your tiny nose and said between sobs, “she’s so small!” Daddy came to me and hugged us both gently. The next day Dad took me into the garden at night and told me the story of how he found you lying on the floor in his hospital, sleeping at peace not knowing that your biological parents had abandoned you because of your gender. Mom decided then and there that they would adopt you no matter what the consequences  
turned out to be. It seems that Nani was apprehensive about your blood and lineage and pleaded in vain to hand you over at an orphanage in her village. But nothing she ever said could alter Dad’s mind. He put his hand over my shoulder while walking back home. And that was all the assurance I needed to take up the responsibility of being your brother.                                                                                     

Somewhere between sharing chocolates and toys, fighting for the TV remote, feeding Rocky Karela when mom wasn’t looking, cleaning Dad’s car on Sundays, getting excited for Raksha Bandhan and all the things we did in the process of growing up together, I realised that without you everything was drab. It isn’t exactly easy to be a brother you see. Every time I was whacked by either Mom or Dad or worse, both, because of your act of mischief I swear I never knew how strong this love-hate relationship of ours was going to be. Remember the time when I thrashed up that Roshan when I saw him thrusting a ‘love letter’ in your hand? The way you blackmailed me to take you to the movies whenever you caught me smoking in our garage. Oh, those good old days! If not for you I
wouldn’t have been what I’m today. If not for you I wouldn’t have stayed strong when Shalini left me saying I didn’t have a future she could rely on. If not for you I wouldn’t have left home to pursue my dreams against Dad’s wishes. If not for you I wouldn’t have written my first novel and got it published.

When you called up to tell me that I’ll have to address you as Dr. Meena, I shrieked in joy and scared my editor who questioned my sanity for quite some while. You couldn’t have imagined how badly I wanted to join you when I saw the picture of you in your graduation robes with Mom and Dad on your side. Did you notice how Dad’s eyes were twinkling seeing his daughter become a doctor like him? That was worth all pain I had taken to tell him that my passion lay in something other than medicine. You have lived both our dreams, little one. Now you’re getting engaged to Suresh. My best friend, Suresh, how fair is it on your part to tell me about this a month before the event? How convenient was it to hide
 this from me when I never kept a secret from you? So you thought your brother knows nothing? The day he gave Roshan another round of sound thrashing I sensed something was cooking up. I’m so happy for you both! Lately I had worried a lot about which house you would go to, will you be happy there or not. But after you broke the news to me, I was more than relieved. Take my word, Suresh is a gem of a guy. I can’t wait to get home and listen to the entire story. Till then, take care! 

With a careless sign he sealed the envelope with the letter and got up to drop in it in the postbox.  His phone rang. “Mr. Ashok, we’ve just recorded a sale of 1 million copies of your novel, congratulations, sir!” “Oh………. Wow! Thank you.”

(I hope Ashok didn't turn out to be another CB or DD or RS or SN.)