Sibling Love by Leonie Jarrett, a glass of crisp, cool Chardonnay

“Do you always have to be so annoying?” yelled Sarah as she glared at her younger brother, Tim. “Stop changing the TV channel you little pain.” Sarah snatched the TV remote from Tim and changed the channel back to the show she was watching.

 

“Muuuummmm. Tim is being a pest and fiddling with the TV again. Can you make him stop?”

 

The kids’ Mum, Chloe, called out from the study. “Tim, stop fiddling with the TV. Sarah, stop shouting. I am trying to work here.”

 

Eight year old Tim looked at twelve year old Sarah and smiled at her with the typical smile of a sibling who has aggravated his older sister. A gappy, self-satisfied smile as he was currently missing his two front teeth. “You’re always hogging the TV Sarah. It’s my TV too and your show is boring.”

 

With that, Tim snatched the TV remote and changed the channel again. Sarah shrieked and snatched the remote back and Tim retaliated the best way he knew how – he grabbed Sarah’s long, brown ponytail and he pulled it. Hard.

 

“Owwwww,” yelped Sarah as tears sprung to her eyes, “You little menace.”

 

Chloe appeared in the doorway thundering, “What is going on? I am trying to draft and schedule my social posts so that we can do some fun stuff together tomorrow but I can’t concentrate. All I can hear is you two fighting.”

 

Chloe was an influencer. A single mother, she had cottoned on to a sweet spot blogging about solo parenting. She was happy that she made enough money to manage without having to ask ‘Deadbeat Dad’ for anything.

 

“He pulled my hair Mum. He’s a bully.” Sarah was trying not to cry (she didn’t want to give that pleasure to Tim) but her eyes were moist.

 

“Tim,” admonished his mother. “You can’t pull people’s hair.”

 

“She never lets me watch the TV Mum. I live here too. She acts like I don’t exist.”

 

“Wish you didn’t,” spat Sarah.

 

“Sarah! Don’t say that. Go to your room,” ordered her mother.

 

“But,” spluttered Sarah, “I didn’t do anything wrong. That little weasel did.”

 

“You should know better Sarah,” replied her mother. “You’re older. And don’t call Tim a weasel.

 “Now, I need to go back to work. I better not be interrupted again. It’s hard enough trying to work from home with you two under my feet during the school holidays.”

 

Sarah stomped off towards her room. As she passed her brother, she hissed in his ear, “You’ll get yours later.”

 

Chloe walked back to the study and posted her afternoon Insta update to her followers - a sweet photo of Sarah and Tim snuggled on the couch, reading side by side. The photo was a year or so old but that didn’t matter. Chloe captioned the photo, “The joy of reading together to while away the school holiday hours #siblinglove #friendsforever #bonding.”

 

“Instagram versus reality,” Chloe mused wryly to herself for the umpteenth time that week. 

About the author 

 Leonie Jarrett lives in Melbourne, Australia with her Husband of more than three decades, her four adult children and her two Golden Retrievers. Leonie has variously been a lawyer and a business owner. Now that she is semi-retired, Leonie is loving writing rivers of words. 

 

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Sibling Love

 

by Phillip Temples

Dirty Shirley Temple

 

Janice and Wilbur Nottingham were twins conjoined at the pelvis. They shared a home in Newcastle upon Tyne. They were also best friends and literally inseparable.

Many might think that the idea of going through life stuck with one’s sibling would be insufferable and a living hell, but Janice and Wilbur took it in stride. They were mostly simpatico and shared a positive outlook on life. Occasionally, if some petty argument arose or cross words were said, the two would talk it out and forgive one another, or just agree to disagree. They rarely stayed mad at each other for any period of time. They had no other choice—that is, until the day the doctors in London contacted them and proposed that they undergo a complicated surgical procedure and be separated.

When he was first told about the procedure, Wilbur found the prospect of living apart intriguing. There wasn’t a chance to enjoy a normal sex life whilst stuck at the hip with his sister. Privacy was not an option. The two had long resigned themselves to living a celibate life, given that they both found the idea of polyamorous relationships to be blasphemous.

After heartfelt discussion, Janice and Wilbur decided to explore the separation procedure. The surgery would not be without its risks, explained the doctors. They would be admitted to hospital and their anatomy would be thoroughly studied to ensure that the connective tissue that bound them as one could be safely separated.

The first day in hospital involved numerous tests. The head surgeon came to their room that evening to have a frank discussion with the siblings.

“The good news is, the procedure is possible. There are the risks. But we find that no major organs or blood vessels will be compromised by the separation. There is something else I need to discuss with you, however.”

There was a hint of excitement in the doctor’s voice that he could not quite suppress.

“Your condition is even more rare than we thought. In addition to your conjoining, you also have an asymmetrical, or unequal conjoined ‘triplet.’ It’s quite extraordinary, actually! It’s… um, rather, ‘she’—is a small mass that comprises the bulk of the connective tissue. Surely both of you must have felt the unusual mass at one time or another? Your unborn sibling is not visible to the naked eye but we can see it readily using MRI.

“Oftentimes these unequal conjoined siblings are reabsorbed by the host—or hosts. In fact, there’s indications that this absorption has been taking place for many years. If left undisturbed, the process will likely continue.”

Wilbur and Janice were speechless.

“Look, I know this is a lot to take in.  I’m going to give you time to discuss this with each other.”

The surgeon left the room.

“Well, this changes nothing. We should go ahead with the surgery,” opined Wilbur.

Upon hearing Wilbur, Janice could barely contain her anger. 

“What kind of monster are you?! This changes everything. We’re not going forward with the operation. You heard the doctor. Our ‘sister’ is the glue that holds us together. I will not have her sacrificed for your convenience.”

“But she was never alive, Janice! You can’t possibly think—”

“And another thing, brother—you stop absorbing her this very instant!” 

#

Janice was now adamantly opposed to the operation, while Wilbur strenuously denied that he was absorbing their little sister. They were at an impasse. Also, they were no longer on speaking terms.

The two (and-a-half) siblings checked out of the hospital later that day and returned to Newcastle upon Tyne. Two weeks later, Wilbur stabbed Janice in the heart with a steak knife.  

About the author

 Phillip Temples lives in Watertown, Massachusetts. He's had five mystery-thriller novels, a novella, and two short story anthologies in addition to over 170 short stories online. He can be found at https://temples.com