Zebe dashed into the house. He missed his Ummy and Addy. After a long day with his beloved Mama & Kong Kong, he was longing for the snuggly arms of his Ummy. Ummy always had a way to comfort him and make him feel warm and comfy all over again. And perhaps his Addy would take him for a walk walk. Zebe loved to go for nice walks with his Addy along the nearby Pandanus River.
But today everything seemed different.
As he entered the main hall, Zebe noticed a strange creature lying in the bamboo basket that he once used when he was still a tiny baby. Horror upon horrors, the stranger had a head and a body just like him. And it also had two tiny arms and legs. But the weirdest thing yet - the creature moved!
"Waaaaaaahhhh!"
Zebe inched back in fright. He had never, in the whole of his two-year-old life, heard such a terrible noise! As the little boy pondered what he should do, he felt a surge of bravery and the need to defend Ummy and Addy and all he knew to be safe. He lunged forward and hit the creature squarely on its arm.
"Waaaaaaahhhh!"
Zebe jumped back. Somehow the creature didn't seem so scary anymore. In fact, it seemed more in pain than anything else. Zebe felt so remorseful for hurting the poor little thing. His scrunched his face in a gesture of apparent sorrow.
And the all-familar voices rang through the air.
"Zebe! No hitting! That's your Didi, your younger brother Esha!" said Ummy.
"Say sorry, Zebe! Now!" insisted Addy.
The little boy felt sad. He looked away from the moanful faces of Ummy and Addy. Then he took his right hand and made a little circle on his chest "Sorry," it meant in sign language.
Zebe inched his way again to the little creature he now knew was his younger brother.
"Didi. Nice!" he said.
