Two sisters - Part 1 (Short story)
They were in the same business, but only one succeeded. Why?
In a village of 60 houses lived two sisters in a humble cottage near an intermittent river, which they had inherited from their ancestors.
It was alongside the river, so in the season, they never had difficulty storing water for drinking and bathing. Off-season, they had to travel across the river to the town of another village to get water from a relative of their neighbour.
Both sisters were young, in their 20s, and beautiful; hence, it was normal for them to receive proposals from men and boys of the village and the town.
But according to them, they were not ready.
They wanted to build something of their own; they wanted to travel the world and live without being dependent on a man. It’s not like they didn’t like the company of a man; they longed for it from time to time, and sometimes, when they got the proposal from some of the noblemen of the village, it made them think twice.
Yet, they always came to their original decision–it was not the right time.
So, they continued to live like they used to. The people of the village were humble, too. They never questioned these two women’s choices and decisions. Never pressured them to get fit in society.
They accepted them as they were.
Because the people were humble, the life in the village was slow and peaceful. No competition, no showoff, and no quarrel over trash in front of my door. Above all, people were helpful to each other without expecting anything in return. If one has lost a job, others will open their doors, offering quality work. If one’s in need of money to go to town and start a new business, the whole village will gather the capital and offer it to the person in need.
If one has lost his wife, the father of another will offer him the hand of his daughter to marry again and live a sane life. If someone has lost her husband, the men won’t pressure her to marry again. Instead, they will support her however needed. Many would offer their hands if she wanted to marry, but it’s up to her who she chooses.
The sisters, despite their dreams of travelling the world, chose to offer their services to the village all because of that quiet ambience it had.
They were in the business of selling garlands made from flowers they had in their smallholding adjacent to the cottage. It was a small family business, so they chose it and never had any doubt about it.
It was two of them, so they didn’t need much to survive. This business they were doing was enough for them to put food on the table and make savings for the future.
The flowers they grew weren’t of many kinds. The smallholding was enough for two varieties of red and white roses and one variety of marigold, the yellow ones. But they were enough to make beautiful garlands people loved to have for decorations and worshipping gods in the temple.
Their day started at 03:30 in the morning. The younger sister would go to pick fresh leaves from the trees on the banks of the river.
The elder sister would go to the smallholding and pick fresh flowers one by one. Both sisters had this notion in their minds that one could only make garlands by using fresh leaves and flowers, and even if one tried to do so, it would not be sellable.
People need the fresh fragrance and the warmth that can only be found in freshly picked ones.
So, one used to pick leaves and the other flowers, and once they were done with that, they used to get together and quickly began the process of knitting flowers in a silk thread. People used to worship before 10:00, so they had to finish making the garlands by 06:30 to reach the temple by 07:00 and sell their fresh garlands.
Because they weren’t able to pick many flowers and leaves, they were used to make around 15-15 garlands together.
However, they kept variety: 5 of roses, 5 of marigolds, and 5 of both roses and marigolds. Hence, together they made 10 of each. Once they finished, they would hasten to the temple and sit next to the stairs.
There, they would sell them till 09:00 and hurry to return home.
On their way home, they bought fresh tea leaves, fresh bread, flour, and some vegetables. The reason for this is that they loved to drink and eat in the morning with fresh vegetables.
Another reason is that earning and spending money in the morning brings one fortune.
You not only do good to yourself but to others as well.
So, after the shopping, they used to quickly return home, finding more flowers and leaves picked by the servant they had. The servant was from another village in the mountains and used to work there till the afternoon.
He would first pick the garland material and then make himself busy making them.
The sisters would engage themselves in different activities. One would prepare the tea and food. And the other would start watering and taking care of the flowers as well as picking more of them.
Then, at noon, all of them, including the servant’s teenage daughter, would eat and then start making some more garlands.
In the middle of their working hours, they used to serve customers, who would come to either pick the flowers or buy the ones that had already been picked. They loved this part of the conversion the most because they had not gone anywhere and still made money.
At 02:00 in the afternoon, they will pack their garlands and get ready to go to the town.
They used to leave the servant’s daughter behind, so if someone came, she could sell the flowers and keep them safe from people who didn’t want to buy them. But, as the people of the village were good, burglary happened rarely.
So, the three of them would leave and first arrive at the shop they had in the town.
There, the younger sister used to sell the garlands.
The servant and the elder sister would help her set up the shop and then leave for another shop they had near the temple. The servant would accompany her and then go for the part-time job he had in the house of the town chief after assisting her in setting up her shop as well.
Both sisters would sell their garlands till 06:00 and then return home.
Till 07:30, they make food and wait for the servant to return. Once he arrived, they would eat together and chat for a while.
Before 09:00, the servant and his daughter would leave for their home, and from behind, the sisters would unknit the garlands they couldn’t sell and put the flowers to dry so later they could make powder from them. Also, before bed, they count the money they had in the day’s business.
Growing flowers didn’t require much investment; therefore, whatever they earned was always more than profit.
But they have been doing it since they were teenagers, so they knew how to manage their income. Some amount they’d put in the savings box, some in the emergency box, and some in the daily spend.
Every night after the count, they’d take a sigh of relief and say thanks to God for offering them such a nice business. They loved God as they loved themselves, and both sisters had immense faith that one day they’d fulfil their dreams.
As they loved God, they loved each other as well.
Both sisters had compassion for each other and had this thought in mind that they would be there for each other whenever the time came. Despite this, something was making the younger sister uneasy.
No, it’s not the worry of the future nor the fear of missing out on boys. But what’s making her overthink is the fact that she was making less money than her elder sister. The fact that even after selling more garlands than her, she was still not able to either match her or do better.
She had tried everything; she had switched places, but somewhere, something was off.
This gap made her envious of her sister, which she didn’t like and didn’t want to continue doing.
So, one night, after the count and offering thanks to God, she asked her sister, “Elva, can I ask something?”
“Why do you think you need to ask me to ask something?” said Elva, smiling.
“I don’t know, maybe you won’t like what I have to say,” replied the younger sister.
“Awe! Why do you think that? I’ll never be mad at you, my baby sister,” said Elva, sitting next to her sister’s bed. “Shoot, whatever you have in your mind.”
“You sure! You won’t get mad at me?”
“No my love! But if you keep asking this same question I might as well.”
“Okay. So, the thing is that, I'm a bit envious of you.”
“A bit?” asked Elva, smiling.
“Nooooo,” replied the younger sister with a short laugh. “Actually, a little more than a bit.”
“Ha ha! And why is that?” asked Elva, caressing her sister's head.
“Well, sis, I don't know exactly how, but you are making more money than I am even though you sell less garlands than me. I have tried everything, even tried working at your shop as well, but the people who buy from you pretend to be deaf in front of me when I tell them to buy from me and that I am your sister. But they never seem interested.
“Also, the shop we have in town has more people, and it's on the busiest street, but I still happen to have no luck. But you, on the other hand, always make more, and if you don’t on some days, you won't feel bad about it, and this is killing me, making me hate you for this, which I don't want because I love you so much.
“So, sister, will you tell me what's wrong? Why am I not able to make more money? Am I uglier than you?
“No,” replied Elva with a smile, “you're more beautiful than the girls in the whole world, Christie. Don't you ever think like that, and you making less money hasn't got anything to do with how you look.”
“Then what is it then?” asked Christie anxiously. “Tell me I'm dying to know.”
“Be patient, you little anxious bird,” said Elva authoritatively, “and there's no need to die, and of course not in front of me.”
“I am, but I can't help it.”
Upon hearing Christie’s account, Elva started sharing what she had noticed about her younger sister’s way of doing business. She pointed out Chirstie’s mistakes and gave a long account of how to overcome them. She clearly mentioned that it would take a long time to finally gain the mastery of doing business well, but she would eventually do it if she followed what she had told her.
“And will I be equal to you?” asked Christie after listening to Elva on how to make more without trying hard.
“You're already equal to me my lovely little sister, but yes, you'll do good in case of money as well.”
A smile came onto Christie's face, and that night, she couldn't sleep. The next morning, she was all ready to apply what her elder sister had told her. However, to her dismay, it didn't work.
But as Elva mentioned, it would take time, so she endured. Days passed, weeks passed, and even months, but nothing, and now it was making her really anxious and doubt her sister's advice. So, she went to Elva with her disappointments and said, “I did everything you told me, but now, I'm doing even worse. Why is that so?”
Elva said that when you shift from one phase to another, it takes time to get settled, “be patient and keep doing what you are doing, and soon you'll be where you want to be.”
Christie believed her sister and did as she said. As the year changed and the season became more soothing, she had to have some business; it gave her hope, and soon, she was doing good. Whatever her sister told her was finally working, and she was happy about it. In the next six months, she did better than Elva, and this was enough for her to love her sister even more.
“Thank you, Elva for having my back,” said Christie, lying in her bed on a rainy night. “I was envious of you but now, I'm grateful to have you. Thank you for being a such nice big sister to me.”
“Shush! It was nothing you fool,” replied Elva in a motherly figure. “ Now, enjoy this rain and its smell while you fall asleep. Also, we have got many things to do together, it's just a beginning, and what I did was yours to have. You're just entitled to it as I was.”
“Still, love you big sis.”
“I love you, too, my sweet little darling.”
Thank you for reading this short story of Elva and Christie. They are truly a symbol of companionship, a team, and family.
I hope you liked it, but there's something missing from the tale—what Elva told her younger sister that helped her achieve her goal.
It was on purpose, which I will reveal in the second part of Two sisters. But before I do that, I want you to guess what it was.
How did Christie manage to make more money?
If you think you know the answer, then share it in the comments; I’d love to hear what you have of this beautiful story of two young and lovely ladies.
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Till then
Be a humble human.
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Excited for second part