The waking call of the village hen in the morning is very familiar and refreshing. As I opened my eyes there was a cute figure staring at me from a little distance on the bed, it was Yuki.
"Umm... may I now know... Who you are?" Yuki asked curiously poking her finger on her cheeks. She was very cute in her curious posture.
"Well..." as I was about to talk, mother intervened, "Kate, Yuki the breakfast is ready!"
As my Yuki heard the word breakfast, she completely forgot about the question she asked and rushed down to get her meal as if someone might snatch it away if she was a second late.
"Well you could have at least heard me out." I spoke but there was no response, she might have already reached the dining table.
"Leave it!" I spoke casually scratching my head.
I too went down as I was very expectant of the food that mother had cooked. I brushed my teeth and went to the dining hall. The breakfast was composed of chicken wings, bread rolls and cream cakes. But the most interesting sight was that Yuki had finished almost half of the entire breakfast herself.
"Hey glutton, leave something for me as well." I said to her teasing. She stopped eating for a moment and glared at me in rage but then she again started to eat and ate faster than previously.
"Hey Yuki, at least leave something for Kate as well." Mother told Yuki.
"But mother why should I save food for a stranger and also he had teased me by saying me glutton. No one except my brother can tease me like that!!" Yuki spoke angrily yet in a childish manner.
Mother giggled. "Well that person whom you are referring to is not a stranger, he is another big brother of yours just like brother Kelvin." Mother spoke gently.
"But I had never seen him or known of him before." Yuki complained.
"Well... your brother Kate had some issues back in the past, so he had to leave us for a while." mother spoke to Yuki.
"Well fine, if he want he can eat the remaining meal. Hehehehe." Yuki had already completed all the food on the table.
Then she went out of her chairs and as she was passing by me by, she rolled out her tongue, "Brruuu." she wanted to make fun of me.
"Hah! Kids nowadays." Spoke mother touching her hands with her forehead.
I felt a little unhappy about what she had said but I too had to accept it because I had not been with her since her birth, even though she was my very own little sister.
"Just wait a little while, I will make another meal for you Kate." mother said.
"I am not feeling hungry right now mom." I said with a sad expression and left immediately.
"Kate wait..." mother wanted to speak something but I went regardless hearing her.
I went back to my room and I saw Yuki there, she was playing with my chess board which was given to me on my tenth birthday.
"Hey Yuki! How about you play chess with me." I spoke.
Yuki stared for a while, but later ignored me again. "Hey Yuki what's up with you? Are you mad at me cauz I had said you glutton back then? If so then I am... sorry."
"Hmph! It's not just because of that, I don't even know you yet mother is saying that you are my very own brother. It just feels too odd and I can't accept it like that." Yuki said with a swollen face.
"Then how will I make you believe that I am your brother?" I asked boldly.
"Hmm... I don't know. Well, I guess get along with Yuki is the answer I guess." She told with deep thinking.
"But before that you have to answer why were you not with Yuki since childhood. Is it because... you do not like Yuki?" she asked with a sad expression.
"It's not that I hate Yuki but it is just that you are too small to understand my situation." I said scratching my cheek with a finger.
"Arrrggg!! Yuki is not a small kid. I am already 2 years old!!" Yuki said in rage and I was unable to suppress my laughter as she said and she became more angry and swollened her face.
"Fine, sorry about that. How about we have a match of chess. If you win then I will accept that you are not a small kid and answer all your questions, but if I win you will have to get along with me and have to accept me as your brother." I said with an impressive and challenging voice.
"Hah! Be sure to remember your deal. Let me show you how this champion will defeat you in chess. Even mom and dad are no match on me." she said proudly.
"Fine then come on!"
We started our game. I thought of her as a little kid and so I started by playing with her by giving her chances. But to my surprise, Yuki was very skilled in chess and she made use of every chances that she got.
"Heh! You have to do better than this, if it continues like this then in three moves I will defeat you." Yuki flaunted me.
I got angry and serious. In the upcoming moves I made use of each and every of my chess piece to make a heavy blunder against her side.
In the end the game ended after thirty moves and it was a draw. "I do not accept this outcome, let's play again!" Yuki was furious this time.
"Okay." I agreed to her.
Then we played together a total of ten matches out of which three were tie and seven were in my favour. Yuki was not able to win a single match.
It was already noon.
"Ahh!!! It cannot be!!!" Yuki shouted and rolled around moving her hands and legs here and there in annoyance and anger.
"Well, you should sometimes know when to accept defeat too Yuki." I said to her as I was packing up the chess pieces.
"But brother how can you win for so many times and why does Yuki always lose to you while wining against everyone? What tricks do you use?" Yuki said with a swollen face and childish tone.
It was the first time I heard her call me brother and I liked her calling me like that. It made me very happy from inside.
"It's not like Yuki is bad in chess. It is just that this brother of yours is too good in chess. No one has ever been able to make a tie with me until now and I would always win in chess. You are the only one until now who had a tie with me in chess. So cheer up and be proud!" I said cheerfully with a smile.
"Does it means that Yuki can never defeat brother Kate in chess?" she said with a saddened face.
"Its not like Yuki can never defeat me. If you truly practise and learn more of strategy tricks in chess, then in the distant future, you will for sure suppress your brother." I said to comfort her.
"Really!!!" She was back to her excited and cheerful self.
Then I thought of teasing her, "Yes for real, but you might only have a chance of defeating me after a thousand years. Hahahaha."
"Ahhhh! Please don't say so like that brother Kate." Yuki said in annoyingly yet in a cheerful and childish tone.
Then I was not able to supress myself and started to tickle her around her tummy. "Kyyaaa!!! Please stop it brother! It tickles. Hahahaha."
Then came a voice of mother interrupting our fun. "Alright both of you come down, the dinner is ready!"
Yuki rushed out of the bed. "Come for the dinner brother Kate!"
"Yep." I said. I was truly satisfied to have the feeling of being a big brother.
Then I moved down stairs and joined my sister and mother in the dining hall. "Be quick brother Kate or else Yuki will eat all your share!"
"Oh! Now that I see, you have acknowledged Kate as your brother, but in the morning you were still so persistent!" mother scolded Yuki.
"Hehehehe. They were the past time and now is the present. Brother Kate is the best brother in the world!" Yuki screamed with joy and flung out her hands.
Those words made my lonely heart feel warmth and I was overwhelmed with happiness and so I smiled.
"Well after all he is way more smarter than mommy and daddy in chess and I really enjoy playing chess with him. In the future I will make sure to defeat him!" Yuki said.
To this I felt a little awkward to hear yet this feeling was nice too.
"You little devil. You will never learn. Will you?" mother told casually to Yuki with a smile.
"Hehehe. After all Yuki is just a little cute girl." she spoke in her childish tone. We all had a laugh after hearing her say that and Yuki too joined in the laughter.
This warmth and happiness of family was able to penetrate through the endless darkness of my heart and was able to give me an inner peace of mind. I was truly happy and was excited to go to city to meet up with my brother Kelvin and little sister Yumi and of course my good for nothing dad.
I wanted to enjoy this time to my fullest, because for some reason my mind was at unease and it felt that this time of happiness of mine is limited.