"You asked me once what I would remember – this and much more."

I don't like sentimentality in writing. It's always been drilled into me that writers should just present the facts to keep their readers loyal.
But today my sister is leaving home for at least a year.
And I will be as sentimental as I want. Sappy, even, because she is my sister and one of my best friends. I've always known that goodbyes would be inevitable in a family as diverse as mine, yet I never knew how unprepared I'd feel.
There are so many words to say, so many things to remember before sending my sister on her way that I feel helpless to relay our 16-year history in such a short span of time. So if I could say anything in the world right now, I'd say these three words: Please don't forget. Don't forget the tea parties we used to have with our mini plastic tea set with that bright pink, germ-infested tea pot we used to love so much. Don't forget the time we both stayed home with a cold, me from preschool, you from the second grade, and ate popcorn while watching Ice Age. Don't forget the years we laughed and played and fought with our cousins. Don't forget the sleepovers, sleepless nights, the fights, all those times I scared you, all those times you stuck up for me, and all we shared in this thing called Life. We're growing up, and I don't like it much, but may these years be the best ones of our lives.
I will miss you
but it's not forever.
After all, are we not two volumes of the same book?