The two are so un-alike it’s hard to believe they are
sisters. They share the same father but their mothers are different.
Pi Fangi,[i]
the elder one, is magical, whimsical and totally wild. She is thin and wrinkled
with white flowing hair. She is full of fun and frolic. She laughs merrily,
sings merry tunes and dances in the meadows. She gets quite crazy and scary at
times, though. She runs a race with the wind, howling and hooting. Or drives
down the river, swooshing and swashing and gurgling and galloping. Sometimes
she screams like a banshee for no reason at all. Or she may sulk in silence
like a sahuai ni do,[ii]
no amount of poking and prodding will make her talk or respond to you in any
way.
Pi Fingi[iii]
is the younger one. She’s sober, sane and sensible. She’s tall and straight,
with black hair neatly tied, never a strand out of place. She’s a lady in every
sense of the term. Quiet, dignified, never speaks out of turn. Sobriety,
Sagacity and Serenity are her catchword. Her feet are firmly planted on the
ground and she never goes on a wild goose chase. She has a solution for every
problem. She’s always right. She commands and demands immediate and full
obedience. She doesn’t allow you to make noise or to sing loudly.
I’ve been keeping company with Pi Fingi. Pi Fangi scares me,
so I’ve mostly avoided her. I’m quite fascinated with her, though. I’m a little
afraid of Pi Fingi too, but with her, one always knows where one stands.
Sometimes, Pi Fangi looks at me, winks, and beckons with a
glint in her eyes. But then Pi Fingi glares at me from the top of her specs,
waxes a finger and says “Shalt Not. Not Safe.” I have to agree. If I follow the
elder sister I may end up on a mountain peak or the bottom of a pit. Who knows?
But then, I’m now wondering. Maybe, just maybe….
