I still remember when I first met my little sister.
At the time, I was only three years old. Mama had been staying in her room for the past three days; I hadn't seen her since. In fact, strange things had already been happening before this. Her belly got really big for a few months, and then one day, she decided to just...shut herself in her room. Papa prevented me from seeing her, saying that she was terribly sick. Of course, being the age I was, I readily believed him, and I spent the next few days avoiding Mama's room. In that time, I made tiny, crudely made ice sculptures and asked Papa to give them to her, thinking they would make her feel better. Things continued like this for two more days. Then one day, Papa burst out of Mama's room, looking frantic. He rushed out of sight before I could ask him anything. Then, not a minute later, a frenzied crowd of women flooded into Mama's room without warning.
"Don't!" I pleaded to them, completely oblivious to what was really happening, "She's sick!" What were they going to do to her? I sat anxiously outside Mama's bedroom door. Being only three years old at the time, I had no clue what was going on in there. Minutes later, I heard screaming - Mama's screaming - coming from inside the bedroom door. She sounded like she was in terrible pain. I gasped and covered my ears as tears sprang to my eyes; I had never heard Mama scream in pain before. Whatever was going on in there must've been really painful. I don't quite remember how long I waited out there. But eventually, after what seemed like hours, the screaming stopped. And then...crying. Loud crying. But it wasn't Mama's. It sounded like...a baby? I carefully knocked on the door.
"Mama?" I asked through a fit of sobs, "Are you alright?"
A young servant, Gerda, opened the door ever so slightly, just wide enough for her to see who was on the other side. She looked at me with a shocked expression, as if she didn't expect me to be there. I craned my neck to see what was going on inside, but Gerda's frame prevented me from seeing anything.
"Oh Elsa," she said gently as she slipped out of the room, putting a slender hand on my head, "it's not yet time. I'll take you to your room, and we'll call you when you-know-who is ready to meet you!" As she hurriedly walked me to my room, I stared absentmindedly at the carpeted floor, replaying her words over and over in my head.
It's not yet time? I thought, Time for what? And who's "you-know-who?" But after Gerda dropped me off, she left before I had a chance to ask her anything. I spent the rest of the day waiting obediently in my room, creating miniature snowmen on my bed to pass the time.
The next morning, Papa woke me up. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were tinted pink, but there was a broad, unmistakable smile on his face. "Elsa, wake up," he told me. I slowly opened my eyes and sat up, stretching. The sun had barely risen; I could see the faint, orange light of dawn shining through the window. Papa knelt at my bedside, grinning from ear to ear. "Come with me. There's someone I'd like for you to meet." Shaking the tiredness from my eyes, I dropped out of my bed and scampered down the hallway alongside Papa, and burst into the master's bedroom.
Mama laid on the bed, and in her arms was a little bundle of blankets.
Mama smiled at me, though I noticed some dark rings under her eyes. Did she sleep at all last night? "Elsa," she said quietly, revealing the presence of a tiny baby among the blankets, "I want you to meet your younger sister, Anna!" Younger sister? I was going to have a younger sister? I couldn't believe it! I was going to have someone to play with!
"Um, Elsa?" Papa asked, seeing that I was frozen with surprise. Then I jumped in the air with excitement. "Hooray!" I squealed, "I have a younger sister!" Mama and Papa promptly shushed me in unison.
"The baby's sleeping," Mama whispered, pointing to the bundle of blankets she held against her chest.
"Hooray," I said in a softer tone, still grinning ear to ear. I went over to the side of the bed to get a closer look at my newborn sister, Anna. The baby was comfortably nestled in my mother's chest, fast asleep. Mama held the baby out, so I could see her delicate, fresh face.
"Hi there, Anna," I whispered, "I'm Elsa. I'm your older sister. We're gonna have so much fun together." Just then the baby woke up, yawned, and opened her big, blue eyes at me. "You're a princess, just like me!" I continued, "I bet you're thinking it's pretty cool, huh? But soon you'll see that people expect a lot from you." I leaned my head closer to her and giggled, whispering, "But you and me, we know better, don't we? I'll show you how to be a real princess...like me!"
"Eh?" the baby responded.
"I'll be the best sister ever," I said to Mama and Papa as little Anna buried her face back in Mama's chest.