a tale of two sisters

The last time they saw each other it was as if no time had passed.

Old wounds were rendered fresh,

and the distance they had come only found them back at square one.

They shared very little common ground,

but that little ground

meant the world to them.

Everyday they would convene

to stand watch over the grandfather they loved

as he rested in his hospital bed.

They would take turns holding his hand,

speaking to him softly,

but loud enough to overcome the chatter around them.

They would do all this together,

but from opposite sides of his bed.

It felt like opposite sides of the earth.

As the days progressed

and their grandfather weakened,

the two sisters were more akin to strangers.

The conversations between them had ended.

No more time was spent together.

They would once and for all go their separate ways.

On their last night in the same town,

the eldest sister prepared a meal for her parents.

It was to be a quiet evening at home.

But an unexpected guest arrived.

With trepidation she approached her sister

and then uttered five words:

"Grandpa waved to me tonight."

In an instant, those five words erased all that had come before them.

The two sisters embraced one another

and in their last night together

they managed to find reasons to laugh, smile, and cry tears of joy.

Sisterhood means different things to different people.

In the case of this tale of these two sisters,

sisterhood simply means love, despite everything, love.