EDEN
Hayden spears a piece of scrambled egg with his fork, but he doesn't bring it to his mouth. He just watches Mum, waiting.
"I have a younger sister," she says.
I let out a shaky breath, bracing myself.
"Her name is Rachel."
I squeeze Hayden's hand gently. Mum keeps her eyes on the steam rising from her mug.
"Dad disowned her when she was sixteen. She got pregnant. He said she'd brought shame to the family, that she was no longer his daughter. He told her to leave and never come back. So she did."
She swallows hard.
"We never heard from her again. Not a phone call. Not a letter. Nothing. For years I thought... maybe she'd died. Maybe she'd changed her name. Maybe she'd just disappeared. I looked for her sometimes, quietly, when Dad wasn't around. But she was gone."
Mum finally
