The Apology at the Gate

Rahul and his younger sister Tara argued every morning. One day, in anger, Rahul shouted in front of her friends, "You always spoil everything." Tara said nothing, but her eyes filled with tears.

All day Rahul tried to ignore what happened. Yet every time he laughed with friends, a quiet voice inside him said, "Go and make it right." Still, his pride answered, "She is too sensitive. She will forget it."

When he returned home, he saw Tara sitting at the gate, drawing with chalk on the ground. He stood beside her awkwardly. "Are you still angry?" he asked.

She did not look up. "I was not angry," she said softly. "I was hurt."

That hurt him more than anger would have.

He sat down next to her and said the words he had been avoiding all day: "I am sorry. I wanted to win the argument, but I ended up wounding you."

Tara wiped her eyes and said, "It hurt less when you said sorry."