Tall Younger: Sister Story

Lena grinned. “You want to borrow my platform boots for the party next week?”

Then the summer after Mira’s freshman year of college happened.

“You know,” Mira whispered, “I used to put my chin on top of your head when we hugged.” tall younger sister story

Lena’s shoulder was higher than hers now. It was bony and warm.

“What happened to you?” Mira asked, her voice cracking. Lena grinned

Mira looked at her sister’s face, then at her own reflection in the mirror over Lena’s shoulder. She was still Mira. Still the eldest. Still fierce. Just a little closer to the ground.

For eighteen years, Mira Sato defined herself by two things: being the eldest, and being the tallest. At 5’9” in her sophomore year of high school, she had lorded over the hallways, her long legs eating up the linoleum while her younger sister, Lena, trotted three inches behind. Mira was the protector, the first driver’s license, the one who reached the top shelf at the grocery store without a tiptoe. It was an unspoken order of the universe. It was bony and warm

She came home in May, arms full of dirty laundry and a smug sense of adult accomplishment. Lena picked her up at the bus station. When Mira stepped off the Greyhound, she froze. Lena was leaning against the car, arms crossed, wearing the same smirk Mira used to wear. Only now, Lena was looking down at her.