Mc: four years old.
Caleb: seven years old.
the art of saying yes. ć¾(ļ¼¾-ļ¼¾)ć YES!
The love Caleb had for his sister showed itself in many ways, In the kisses he gave her every night, in the way he protected her from any real or imaginary danger, in the infinite patience with which he explained the world to her, but perhaps the purest form of that love was seen in something simpler: in how he let Mc do whatever she wanted with him.
There were no limits. No conditions. Mc wanted something, Caleb said yes.
It began with the nails. Mc was four years old when she discovered colored nail polishes, Josephine had some saved in a drawer, leftovers from times when she had time to paint them, Mc found them one afternoon and her eyes lit up as if she had found a treasure.
āJojo, whatās this? āshe asked, showing a bottle of pink.
āNail polish, my love, for painting nails.
āCan I?
āSure, but carefully.
Josephine sat her at the table, painted her toenails first ābecause Mc couldnāt stay still with her handsā and then her fingernails, Mc watched the process with absolute fascination, watching how the brush left a shiny trail on her tiny nails.
When they finished, Mc held her hands out in front of her, amazed.
āCaleb āshe calledā Look!
Caleb came over to see, her nails, small and perfect, shone a bright pink.
āTheyāre pretty, princess.
āDo you like it?
āYes.
Mc smiled, then she looked at Calebās hands, his nails, short and clean, were completely bare.
āCaleb āshe said, a new idea shining in her eyesā Can I paint yours?
Caleb hesitated for a second, boys his age didnāt paint their nails, the boys at school made fun of things like that, but then he saw the hope in Mcās eyes, the pure excitement, and he knew there was nothing to argue about.
āOkay, princess.
Mc jumped for joy, Josephine handed her the nail polish and Mc began her work.
It was not a clean job, the brush trembled in her small hand, the polish went outside the nails, stained her fingers, left drops on the table, but Mc was completely focused, her tongue sticking out from the corner of her lips, putting all her effort into making it look nice.
Caleb did not complain. He did not say "be careful" or "youāre getting it on me." He just left his hands on the table, still, waiting.
When Mc finished, Calebās nails were a mess, the polish was uneven, there were stains on his fingers, some nails had more color than others, but Mc looked at them with pride.
āThey look pretty āshe declared.
āVery pretty āCaleb confirmed.
And so, with his nails painted pink, Caleb went to his room to read, the next day, when the kids at school made fun of him, he just said "my sister painted them" and added nothing else, he did not take them off until Mc wanted to paint them another color.
That was the first time. Then came the hair.
Mc had seen Josephine brush her hair many times, but she had never tried to do anyone elseās hair, one Saturday morning, while Caleb was reading on the sofa, she came over with a brush in her hand.
āCaleb āshe said.
Caleb looked up, he saw the brush, he saw the determination on her face.
āYou want to do my hair? āhe asked.
āYes.
Caleb closed the book, he sat on the floor in front of her and waited.
Mc positioned herself behind him because that was how Josephine did it, the brush was big for her hands, but she held it with determination and began to brush.
It was not gentle, the brush tugged, tangled, sometimes got stuck. Mc pulled harder, not understanding why Calebās hair would not be tamed like hers.
āItās not going āshe said, frustrated.
āYou have to start from the bottom āCaleb explained patientlyā First the ends, then go up.
āThe ends?
āYes, that way it doesnāt hurt.
Mc tried it, this time it was better, the brush went through more easily, the tangles came undone little by little, Caleb did not complain, even though some tugs still pulled, he just waited, with his back straight, letting his sister learn.
When she finished brushing, Mc went around Caleb and stood in front of him.
āNow Iām going to put your hair in a bun āshe announced.
āOkay.
Mc grabbed locks of hair that were not long enough for anything because Caleb had short hair, she twisted them, tied them with elastics that did nothing, pinned them with bobby pins that held nothing, the result was an impossible structure on Calebās head, a mix of standing-up hair, twisted elastics, and bobby pins about to fall out.
āReady? āMc asked, proud.
āReady.
āDo you like it?
āI love it.
Mc smiled and gave him a kiss.
Caleb went to his room with that ridiculous bun on his head, Josephine saw him pass by and laughed.
āYou let her do that?
āYes.
āAnd youāre going to go out like that?
āIf Mc wants me to go out like that, yes.
Josephine shook her head, smiling, and let it go.
They did not go out that day, but if they had, Caleb would have worn that bun with pride.
Next came the makeup.
Josephine had a small box of makeup that she barely used: colored eyeshadows, lipsticks, blush. Mc found it one day rummaging through drawers ābecause Mc rummaged through drawers, it was her specialtyā and came out of Josephineās room with the box in her hands and an ear-to-ear smile.
āCaleb āshe called.
Caleb was in the living room finishing his homework, he looked up and saw the box.
āWhatās that, princess?
āMakeup Jojoās, to make us pretty.
Caleb knew that look, It was the look of "Iām going to do something and youāre going to say yes."
āYou want to put makeup on me?
āYes.
Caleb put his homework aside, he sat on the floor in front of her and waited.
Mc opened the box and studied its contents with the seriousness of a scientist, there were blue, green, pink shadows, red lipstick, pink lipstick, clear gloss, powder blush, eyeliners.
āClose your eyes āshe ordered.
Caleb obeyed.
He felt the first touch on his eyelids, something soft, round, that left a damp feeling, It was the eyeshadow, though he did not know what color, then another color on top,then another, Mc mixed without any sense of aesthetics, just putting on colors that she thought were pretty.
āOpen.
Caleb opened his eyes, Mc looked at him with satisfaction.
āNow Iām going to put lipstick on you.
She painted his lips bright red, then she put blush on his cheeks, lots of blush, until his cheekbones looked like two red apples, then, because she found a black eyeliner, she drew whiskers on him.
āDone āshe announced.
Caleb looked in the mirror she handed him, his face was a collage of colors, his eyelids mixed blue, green, and pink in a combination no professional artist would have approved, his red lips contrasted with his equally red cheeks, the black whiskers completed the look.
āDo I look pretty? āhe asked.
āYou are the prettiest āMc said, convinced.
āAnd you? Arenāt you going to put makeup on yourself?
āYes, but you first.
Caleb waited while Mc put makeup on herself, she did it with less care than she had put into him, getting it all over her face without worrying, when they finished, the two were unrecognizable.
āCaleb āMc said, looking at himā We look the same.
āWe look the same.
āCan we show Jojo?
āWe can.
They went downstairs together to the kitchen, Josephine was preparing snack time, when she saw them, she stood with the spatula in the air.
āWhat...?
āWe made ourselves pretty āMc explained.
Josephine opened her mouth, she closed it, then, with the same seriousness with which one receives an ambassador, she said:
āYou look beautiful.
Mc smiled, radiant, Caleb smiled too, behind his black whiskers.
āCan I take a picture of you? āJosephine asked.
āYes āthe two said at the same time.
Josephine took out her phone and photographed them, Mc with her face full of colors, Caleb with his whiskers and his rainbow eyelids, both smiling as if nothing in the world was more important than that moment.
Afterwards, Josephine helped them clean up, Mc complained a little āshe wanted to keep her whiskersā but in the end she accepted.
āTomorrow Iāll put other ones on you āshe promised.
āOkay āsaid Calebā Tomorrow youāll put them on me.
And so the days went by, every time Mc had a new idea, Caleb said yes.
Once, Mc wanted to dress him in her dresses, Caleb put on a pink one with ruffles and walked around the living room as if nothing.
Another time, Mc wanted to braid his short hair, Caleb sat patiently while she tugged at his locks, tied elastics that held nothing, and in the end declared that it was perfect.
Another time, Mc wanted to put stickers on his face, Caleb ended up with stars on his cheeks, hearts on his forehead, and a smile on his lips.
He never complained, he never said no, he never looked uncomfortable, even if the braids pulled, even if the dresses were too small, even if the stickers itched.
āCaleb āJosephine asked him onceā Does it never bother you that Mc does whatever she wants with you?
Caleb looked at her with his violet eyes.
āNo āhe saidā Itās her.
āAnd what does that mean?
āIt means that if sheās happy, Iām happy.
Josephine felt her heart swell.
āEven when she paints whiskers on you?
āEspecially when she paints whiskers on me.
Josephine laughed and hugged him tight.
āYou are a good brother, Caleb.
āIām her boyfriend āhe corrected with a small smileā Thatās more important.
One night, before sleeping, Mc was in her bed with Copito (her stuffed bunny), Caleb went to tuck her in like always.
āCaleb āshe said.
āTell me, princess.
āWhy do you let me do everything with you?
āWhat thing?
āPaint your nails, do your hair, put makeup on you, put dresses on you.
Caleb sat on the edge of the bed.
āBecause I like it.
āYou like me painting your nails?
āI like that itās you who paints them.
āAnd doing your hair?
āI like that you do my hair.
āEven when I make mistakes?
āEven when you make mistakes.
Mc looked at him intently.
āCaleb āshe saidā Do you do these things because you like them or because you love me?
Caleb smiled.
āBoth, I like you doing things to me because I love you, and I love you because I like you doing things to me.
Mc processed the information.
āItās like kisses āshe said.
āLike kisses.
āI like kisses because theyāre yours, and you are mine.
āAlways yours.
Mc smiled and gave him a kiss.
āGood night, Caleb of the whiskers.
āGood night, makeup princess.
Mc fell asleep with a smile, and Caleb stayed for a moment looking at her, his sister, his princess, the only person in the world for whom he would put on a pink dress, paint his nails red, draw whiskers on his face, and walk around the living room with braids in his short hair.
All for her, always for her.
And while she slept, he went downstairs and found Josephine watching television, sat beside her and rested his head on her shoulder.
āEverything okay, my love? āshe asked.
āEverything okay āsaid Calebā Mc is happy.
āAnd you too.
āYes, me too.
Josephine hugged him and they stayed like that, in silence, as the night fell around them.
Somewhere in the house, the nail polishes waited for another day, the brush was ready for another hairstyle, the makeup rested in its box.
And Caleb, the serious boy with violet eyes, was already ready to say yes once more.
ąØą§ āāāāāāāāāāāā ąØą§
Thank you so much for your support of my writings... It means a lot to me. (Tā½T)ć













