Pet Sister

While browsing internet recently, I found a photo of someone who resembles a friend from boarding school. Initially, I wasn’t sure but after careful observation, there's a possibility it might be her. The eyes, lips and smile looks very similar, the only difference is hair color. I'm very convinced that it was her. I was searching for her contact info but there's none. The photo could have been some random upload by her friends.

She’s a year younger than me, knew her when she started Form 4 in boarding school. Her name is similar to mine but people called her "Ira". Her sweet and innocent looks attracted many guys in school. She was assigned under my care in Girl Guides, so it was my responsibility to ensure no one takes advantage of her.

After a few bonding sessions, she asked me to be her Pet Sister as she felt being close to a senior would discourage unwanted visits from the guys. Even if she didn’t mention anything about it, I would still offer her to be mine. We normally spent an hour hanging around the school in the evenings before prep session at night. That went on for only a few months until a hysteria incident in 1989. 

That night was windy with a slight drizzle and occasionally accompanied by thunder. All of us were confined inside the hostel. No one was allowed to go back home, except those badly affected by hysteria. Everyone was afraid to leave their room. All I could think at that moment was her. She always needed comfort, especially in times like this. I tried to make an escape to her room but was caught by the warden and told to return immediately. I could only imagine how terrified she would be at that moment. Just when I almost reached my room, there was a continuous scream. I could hardly tell where it came from. Out of curiosity, everyone rushed outside. Moments later, someone came to me and said it was Ira. I rushed to her room instantly and helped others to calm her down. She kept on screaming uncontrollably. I got kicked on the stomach when I tried to hold her down. For someone small, even 5 people aren't enough to hold her. We immediately took her home in a school van. Although my stomach was in pain, I still held her tightly until we reached her house which took about half hour drive. The moment we entered her room upstairs, there was a sudden blackout. The weird thing is the blackout only happened in her room. The rest of the house was still bright. After about 10 seconds, the light came back and she stopped screaming. She instantly looked calmed that moment. No one knows what happened during that 10 seconds blackout and it was the spookiest night in my entire life!

She was a different person when she returned to the hostel two weeks later. She avoided talking to people, including her close friends. Even after a month, I still can’t get close to her. I decided to let her be herself and gave her more time to recover. Only after a few months, she was okay to see me. We had brief chat occasionally and that was it. I don’t want to go beyond that as she might push me away for the second time. Although I was no longer her Pet Sister, I was able to foster a similar relationship. Before I left school after completed Form 5, I gave her a silver custom-made pendant with the name “NazSha”. It signifies our special bond … something we had that she might recall someday. Unfortunately, she never did. What changed her after the hysteria remains a mystery until today.