Same same but different Part 2

My cousins have this gigantically obese golden lab named Kiara. She's
an absolute lazy lout, but I love her to bits. Whenever I'm here in
Colombo I get my pseudo-Oliver fix from her. It's sad to watch dogs
grow old. In the mornings she usually goes and hangs out in the back
verandah while the house is being cleaned. The last couple of trips
over she'd run and jump up to say hello when I'd come by her hood.
This morning all I got was the rhythmic thump of a ferociously wagging
tale beating against the floor tiles and huge languid upturned eyes.
She is still sweet as sweet can be but definitely slowing down.

The thing about my family here in Colombo is that they belong to
Thathi. He's the oldest out of 4 and all of them are exactly alike.
Spectral met the youngest of the lot and readily agreed he's a total
mini-me of Thathi (he's a good foot shorter though I think). It's
funny watching them interact with their kids and hear their tones of
voices when they talk about certain things because they're exactly
like Thathi. Ammi's side of the family is not like this. The only
shared trait they have is their insanity.

I may more closely resemble Ammi's people in features, but I am
definitely my father's daughter when it comes to certain quirks. My
grandfather, Thathi, 3 uncles, aiya, myself and 4 cousins all sleep
the same way. Flat on our stomachs, with the left right knee bent
slightly (looks like ' > ') and a notorious habit of shaking the left
leg until sleep comes. Another variation is to clutch a pillow
instead of sleeping on it. Then it's my cousins' strong heaterade for
all things stringhoppers (unless they're deep fried and are doused
with kithul treacle). We also have the same toilet infused, immature
sense of humour. I could go on, but it's these types of little things
that makes me feel part of a larger whole, which really isn't the case
with Ammi's side of the family. But it's always a bit hollow being
here without Thathi...