I learned about my mother’s disappearance from the evening news. I looked up from my textbook when I overheard my surname and recognised the exact cypress tree that grew outside my bedroom window. From that point on, my life turned into a stream of simple equations. How long my mother had been missing (one day). How long since I’d had an actual conversation with her (just over a year). The cost of a bus ticket back to Coeur du Lac, my adopted hometown ($15). The amount left in my bank account after spending fifteen dollars ($110.67). How doomed I would be if I abandoned Chicago for longer than three nights (very: I had four exams looming within the next few weeks).
For a while I lost myself in these calculations…
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The Australian Women's Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2021