By October, things started to ease. Curfews lifted. We could go for a walk. But something had shifted permanently. Riya wasn’t just “my cousin sister” anymore.
Late December, 2020
We started a shared journal in June. A cheap spiral notebook we passed back and forth. She’d write a page about how online classes were making her feel dumb. I’d write underneath about how I was scared my parents might get sick. We never talked about those pages out loud. We didn’t have to. my cousin sister 2020
The Year We Stopped Being Just ‘Cousins’ – A 2020 Time Capsule By October, things started to ease
On December 31st, we are going to video call at 6 PM. We are going to watch one last sunset of the year together, even if it’s through a screen. We’ll probably cry a little. We’ll definitely laugh a lot. But something had shifted permanently
I remember the exact week the government announced the lockdown. I was at my aunt’s house, and the news ticker flashed red. My cousin sister—let’s call her Riya—looked at me from across the dining table. We were both in university then, both suddenly told to come home and stay home.
The world lost a lot in 2020. It was a year of grief, fear, and isolation. But in the middle of all that loss, I gained something I didn’t know I was missing: my cousin sister as my best friend.