“A multiple personality disorder?” cried John incredulously.
“She is like the character in ‘The Incredible Hulk’, you know that film?”
“You mean Liv Tyler? What’s wrong with her role in that film?” asked John, sounding dubious.
“No. I mean Edward Norton who plays Hulk. He changes his appearances and characters whenever he gets angry.”
“Did my sister change into something or what?” John tried to calm himself down but he sounded hyperactive.
“Don't be stupid. Not that drastically. It’s only a movie anyway. To put it simply, your sister is a much milder version of Hulk, but still she changes unrecognisably. She is more diverse than Hulk too.”
“One moment, she becomes the nicest person on earth, shaming Mother Teresa in comparison. The next moment, she becomes a monster. Physically, she is the same Amy the way you know her. However, she goes wild with her violent temper: yelling at me and even throwing things at me.”
“Once I had forgotten my shift to cook the dinner, coming back from an urgent errand for my friend. I said sorry to Amy and hurried down to the kitchen for a quick meal. But she went furious and stormed out of the house in protest, yelling ‘I won’t eat that junk food’” Jane sighed deeply.
John knew very well that his sister wasn’t fussy over food in any occasions. And she wouldn’t mind if somebody had forgotten his or her rota. That’s his Amy.
He remembered a Christmas day when their mum was fretting over the burned turkey. "Gosh, I was such a fool to leave it in the oven too long!"
Amy consoled her, cheerfully saying "Don’t worry mum. We won’t be starving just because the turkey has been ruined. There are still plenty of other food. It wouldn’t hurt us much either if we eat burned turkey or even become a vegetarian this Christmas!"
“And other time,” Jane continued, “she acted like a complete lunatic: roaring like a wild animal, talking to someone invisible, dancing in the middle of night, and moving in and out of my room.”
That reminds John of one summer when his cousin Charlotte was staying with them at their home. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant stay for Charlotte as she was supposed to go on a ski trip to Australia with her parents.
At the last minute, her parents decided to cancel the trip and ask John’s parents to look after their daughter while they were tending Charlotte’s dying great grandma.
It wasn’t pleasant for John's family, either. Although they didn’t have a plan as grand as a ski trip to the other side of the globe, they still found it hard to cope with their life with a guest.
For instance, John and Amy were not allowed to play games on PlayStation while Charlotte was with them. Dad insisted they show their respect to the old lady who was in her deathbed by that time, somewhere in Kent. His brother-in-law’s grandmother, whom neither of the kids had met before and would very unlikely do so under the circumstances.
All the kids were forced to sit together at the kitchen table for reading books or playing board games. Naturally, none of them was happy about the arrangements and they hated each other for the source of their unhappiness.
The situation was especially hard for Amy who had to share her bedroom with the unwelcome guest. Worse, their parents always took side with Charlotte whenever either of the siblings was arguing with her.
Having been so frustrated with the situation, Amy took matters into her own hands and started behaving wildly. At first, John thought she had gone mad from the stress, but as her brother, he knew very well when Amy was faking it.
Yes, she was faking it: screaming in the middle of night, talking to her imaginary friend, and constantly moving about. Her rampant behaviour continued until Charlotte was unable to take it anymore and begged her parents to take her wherever they were at that time.
“I know it sounds weird,” Jane’s trembling voice woke John up from his reverie.
“Still, that’s what I had felt for the last month living with Amy. I’m very sorry for my decision to leave your sister. It’s very selfish of me not to help her when she is not well. Yet I can’t take it no longer, John. Please understand me.”
Without saying goodbye, Jane silently went back the way she had come from and disappeared into the door at the other side of the corridor.
John was able to give a smile and sigh a relieved sigh.
