When my sister got a pea stuck in her nose

I could never imagine that a single little vegetable could cause so much panic. Let me rewind back to when I was a 7 year old tomboy. *squeaky tape rewind sound*.

My sister and I with only a few years apart, were like two peas in a pod, inseparable and always up to mischief. It was the start of the summer holidays, which meant me and my younger sister, Simran were busy making a birds nest out of leaves and rocks. We both were called to come inside  to eat our usual Friday night special – fish and chips, scattered with peas.

“I have big green slimy bogeys. Look Sonia. Look at my boooogeys.” Little did I know that these were the very words to cause such chaos and panic. Craving my attention, my younger sister held the perfectly rounded peas close to her nostrils and she was amused by the fact they resembled something ever so repulsive. Unimpressed with her immature behaviour, I carried on soaking my chips into the gravy.

That was when I heard the piercing scream. Terrified, I instantly looked up to discover that my sibling had breathed the tiny pea up right into her nostril. She sat on the chair, completely shocked by what had just happened and tears rolled down her face as she realised where the pea had settled.

It’s one of those situations you find horrifying yet hilarious looking back. Seeing the blood creeping out of her nose, immediately intensified my panic levels. A surge of guilt flooded my stomach. After all the times I called my sister a pea-brain, she had literally become one.

“Oh my god, what have you done Sim?” I whispered in disbelief.

My sisters face turned abnormally pale as she sobbed “Sonia, is my nose going to fall off? I don’t want to die!” Before waiting for my reply, Simran frantically ran outside to explain the situation to mum.

As ever supermum came to the rescue and reassured Simran that she would not need plastic surgery for her nose. Long story short, the pea was finally removed (How you may be asking? Well I shall leave it to your imagination) and bursting with relief, Simran came out the kitchen holding the pea proudly in her palm, with a massive grin on her face.

Since that day, when I see a pea I don’t see it as a tiny, innocent, healthy vegetable. No in my eyes, they are a potential hazard, which in my opinion should come with a warning label! Who knew that even the tiniest, pea-sized things could cause such a commotion and panic.