My angel in disguise...

Now, what do you guys think of when you read a single word "Signs"?
Roadsigns?
Labels?
Zodiac signs?
Birth signs?
Other signs?
I've been asking around, and most of my friends say they think of roadsigns and for the girls, "SALES" =O= oh well, girls will be girls ^^lll

When I saw this new theme Ah Sir set us, my immediate thought was heaven. Don't ask me why @_@ then from there I thought of.......

Oh well I'll just let my story do the talking ^^

***

When I first heard our mother say that she was pregnant, I laughed straight out, and my brother did the same. I was twelve, and he was eleven. We couldn't imagine then, that after we have grown so much, our mother would give birth again.

Until one day, she brought home a toy car which both of us are just too old to play with.

And how can you joke about pregnancy anyway? After three months her tummy was noticeably big, and the fact dawned on us that there would be a new baby in the family.

Our sister was born in that same year two weeks before Christmas.

I never really liked babies, to be frank. To me they are noisy, dirty, and expensive. Giving birth itself requires thousands, then there're all the diapers, food, and toys and everything.

My sister, being a normal baby herself, was no exception.

She was noisy and dirty, just like all other babies. But somehow she wasn't as expensive, because we used items that relatives and neighbours gave us, which we were grateful for.

As she grew older, so did we. We became more and more engrossed with schoolwork, friends, and social activities. She cried less, but became more talkative. To be honest, we grew impatient with her sometimes and scold her, and then we'd get scolded ourselves.

She would badger us to play with her when we are watching television, talk non-stop when we were doing homework, and sometimes, barge into the room leaving the door wide open when we were in the middle of undressing for a bath.

I got so irritated, I would yell at her to get out, and she would leave with wet eyes. Moments later, our mother would be in my room lecturing me about being unkind.

I continued to scorn her existence at times she annoyed me, until one day, I spotted an old library card with her picture on it, except that I can't remember when she sported that hairstyle.

Two hours later, she ran towards me holding that exact same picture, brandishing it in my face.

"Yes, Joey, you look nice in there." I said, without giving it a second glance.

My sister continued waving it in my face.

"Yes? What is it?"

She looked at me with those innocent eyes, and said. "It has your name on it."

I got stunned immediately.

Our face looked exactly the same.

That was when I noticed all the similarities between us.

Everytime she was lonely, she does all the wrong things to get attention, like what I did when I was younger.

Everytime she does something wrong, she tries to hide it and hopes that others will never find out, like what I did when I was younger.

Everytime she feels neglected by friends that she loved, her eyes would water, like what I did when I was younger.

Whenever she's angry, she yells at the other party, regardless of who it is (unless if it's our mother) just like me.

If she likes one particular person, she sticks to him or her, and ignores almost everybody else, just like me.

Now, she is seven. And I still see never-ending similarities between us.

But she was kind. And very gentle. She loves animals, she loves her friends, she loves her family. Even though we were unkind to her sometimes and made her cry.

Once, when I found her doodling in my notebook without my permission, I scolded her and went back to my work. Five minutes later, she handed me my notebook in a timid manner, and scurried off before I could open my mouth. I opened the page where she had drawn all her nonsense, and found, on the next page, words she had written in her very bad handwriting.

"I'm sorry, Jie Jie. I love you."

My heart shattered on the spot.

Only a child, so innocent and so pure, could put that into words without second thoughts.

I sometimes wonder, how many of these hints have God dropped for me to realise what a sad person I have been? How many of these signs have I missed? Have I missed so many that God has finally resorted to send someone to tell me? And that someone is a child who doesn't even know what important role she is playing?

Now I look at my sister, and watch her do things that I have done before. I saw signs that lectured me indirectly with every kind act she did. I look at myself as I had been twelve years ago, and slowly things dawned on me, and I realise that I have been a very narrow-minded person.

And it was a child who showed me that.

Or perhaps she wasn't a child, but an angel sent by God.

A happy angel sent to change my life forever.

Now, I finally understand, what people meant by an angel in disguise...

Because I have found mine.