Baring My Soul
Kora’s loud gasp rang out as the sunroom fell silent, my little brother dropping a bomb no one expected, myself least of all. My awareness blurred and I wrapped my arms around my body, unable to put words together to salvage the lighthearted gathering as it shattered to pieces around me.
“Poor, sweet boy! What happened?” Through hazy vision, I watched Kora step toward Murat, her hands extended in a gesture of sympathy.
“Bad men murdered her. My Anne cried for a month.” My brother sounded detached, as if he dealt with the tragedy through dissociation. Like me. Kora knelt before him and took the tray from his hands, cooing nonsense I could not hear. I needed to get it together, ask Murat to run back to our mother.
“Murat . . . .” I forced his name through my teeth, my enti
