I made my little sister’s graduation dress—after the ceremony, our parents’ attorney gave me an envelope that revealed a secret they left behind for me.

here.
Let me fix that bird’s nest.”

She climbed onto the chair, trusting me, while I brushed her.

I worked the brush through her tangles the way our mother used to work through mine, slow and patient.

“Will I look like a real princess?” she asked.

I poured the last cereal into her bowl and watched her eat, doing math in my head: rent, electricity, her bus continue reading …