hey were lying side by side, she turning right and he to the left. She was sucking her left thumb and he, his right middle and ring fingers thrust deep into his mouth. Suddenly she turned to him, blew bubbles and uttered ‘Bu-bbu’. He immediately responded with a smile and uttered ‘Mu-mmu’. It was a defining moment in their lives, for the names stuck! He was Bubbu and she was Mummu for everyone around them.
They were born on the same day under the same birth star in the same maternity ward forty five minutes apart to the same mother. Mummu, for having emerged earlier, was the elder sister, or. She was very fair, chubby with thick black hair. He was reasonably fair, lean, with brownish thin hair on his pate. Her eyes were shining black and his were glowing grey. She loved people and had a smile for everyone. He loved machines such as mixies, washing machines and watches. Anything that rotated caught his fancy and mesmerised him. They were twins but most ‘untwin’- like in their manner and temperament.
The that she was, Mummu loved her younger twin. She hugged and kissed him often. Any goodie that she was given would be fed to him before she even tasted it. Like a typical younger brother he accepted these attentions as his right, not bothering once to reciprocate.
The parents, both being professionals, were too busy to attend to the mundane childcare tasks, and had a nanny to tend to the twins under the watchful eyes of the grandparents. A Sunday evening saw the mother taking them out to the park in a twin-stroller, the nanny being off-duty.
Both the babies immediately put their favourite fingers into their mouths. Mum decided it was time they were weaned of this habit and proceeded to begin with Bubbu. She pulled his fingers saying it was a ‘no-no’. He put it back and looked away. Mum persisted and held on to his hand to prevent him from sucking. He howled and burst into tears. Just then one of mum’s colleagues came that way. Mum left his hand and turned to the friend.
Bubbu immediately pushed his fingers back in. But the big sister was watching! She took over from mum. She pulled his hand and held on to it. Bubbu howled again and it melted her heart. She removed her thumb from her mouth and carefully choosing, thrust her middle and ring fingers into his mouth! Once mum was done with the friend she turned back, to be greeted by this spectacle!
“Hi Mummu, Why’s mum crying? I see tears flowing down. What happened?”
“God knows. It’s hard to understand grown-ups.”
