Throughout their childhood, Estha and Rahel were two peas in a pod, basically the same person. When Rahel came back to Ayemenem, there was an awkwardness, a strange barrier. It makes sense, because the had not seen each other in such a long time. It still surprised me a little though, because I was imaging their reunion to immediately pull Estha out of his quietness, and for Estha and Rahel to just go back to normal, as they were before Estha left for school and Rahel went to America. I guess my perception had always been that nothing could really break their bond.