Amelia

Celia and Delia

"Delia take a look at the edge of my gown. I think it is stained with mud that accidentally splashed on me while you asked me to look at the indecipherable cloud looking like a castle, with all your intentions to get my gown dirty. Congratulations, you stand successful," cried out Celia as if the distance between her and Delia was of a shore apart, only to tell that they were as close as any two enemies who are agitated yet want to preserve a dignity by not getting into a physical combat would observe.

"Yes, I know it's dirty but not so besmirched like you. It's fortunate that we possess a stain removal technique, though it's unfortunate that we can't erase the black sheep of our family," retorted Delia.

"Your aimless blabbering has no end. I pray that each person sees your demeanour and the way you behave towards your elder sister is witnessed by people to make you an object of eternal condemnation," shouted  Celia.

"Oh! Make me some space and let me move out of this messy situation that you have solely created. I really deserve some fresh air." Saying this Delia shoved past her sister and stepped down the three stone stairs standing now in the front yard, inhaling the presence of her beautiful environment and exhaling the rough castigation that had recently passed.

"Go away and let the ducks peck you," shouted Celia behind her sister and then climbed up the stone staircase reaching her bedroom entrance with a grand wooden door which opened to big windows, sheer drapes and a big bed with four posts which had a glittery sheer white curtain hanging at one of its edges. Quickly she opened her vintage wooden almirah to take out a fresh gown and went to the washroom adjoining the room to change her clothes that she still believed (maybe it was true) were spoiled due to the irresponsible attitude of her sister.

Meanwhile, Delia was in the front yard having a good time seeing the rabbits run, the ducks roam and the cows moo. The pigeons too were flying around and the stable was empty as the horse was taken away by her father like always for his frequent trips to the town. Being a merchant he had to fill his conscious with the goods in trade, those demanding supply and take adequate measures to fulfil his duties of sometimes transporting them and satisfying the orders and to these long absences of their
father and the habit of witnessing the empty stable, his daughters were well accustomed to.

Ronald, the father, was a man of forty five, well built and an attractive sort of fellow, the only flaw people used to attack him with, integrating it into him as a kind of non-worthy possession was 'workaholism'. They said, 'What it feels like to buy a house but never stay to be its master' or 'You seek pleasure in mere accounts and transportation, don't you wish to see the home business' or ' pull the reins when your horse crosses your own house!'. Such were the remarks that Ronald was taunted with by his visitors, fortunately there were very less of them that came to his house and he had to face none of them as he was always out on business. The only ones to understand him were his daughters, who were partly habituated to the process and enjoyed the powers that days of liberty gave them to exercise .

His daughters 'understood' him would be an overstatement in the given light that they didn't care enough, were fond of their own way and his absence gave them liberty, were merely materialistic creatures who threw away demands that their father caught to fulfil under the overpowering love for his beautiful daughters,who were adopted by him during their infancy from a town orphanage due to the inability of his wife to conceive a child, she passed out early due to an incurable state of health and left her adopted children on their own without being able to grasp the opportunity of loving and caring for them for too long. Hence, now the house belonged to the father, who was frequently out on business and to his three daughters who were the regular inhabitants of the place.
The reader let not be surprised on reading the mention of a third child, for she was adopted along with the other two by Ronald and his late wife. We have yet not seen much of her for she is probably locked up in a high room, or doing the household chores which are neglected by her other two sisters intentionally, or maybe sweeping the gallery with a pair of broken rubber slippers.

Such was the condition of Amelia, being kindhearted she filled the empty places of the duties that were naturally the job of her sisters and dared not raise a voice against them, for if she did they would throw poor Amelia outside the house and deprive her of a shelter and food.