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Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Love
  4. Before
  5. One
  6. ONE
  7. Two
  8. TWO
  9. Three
  10. THREE
  11. Four
  12. FOUR
  13. Five
  14. FIVE
  15. Six
  16. SIX
  17. Seven
  18. SEVEN
  19. Eight
  20. EIGHT
  21. Nine
  22. NINE
  23. Ten
  24. TEN
  25. Eleven
  26. ELEVEN
  27. After
  28. One
  29. ONE
  30. Two
  31. TWO
  32. Three
  33. THREE
  34. Four
  35. FOUR
  36. Five
  37. FIVE
  38. Six
  39. SIX
  40. Seven
  41. SEVEN
  42. Eight
  43. EIGHT
  44. Nine
  45. NINE
  46. Ten
  47. TEN
  48. Eleven
  49. ELEVEN
  50. Twelve
  51. TWELVE
  52. Thirteen
  53. THIRTEEN
  54. Fourteen
  55. FOURTEEN
  56. Fifteen
  57. FIFTEEN
  58. Sixteen
  59. SIXTEEN
  60. Seventeen
  61. SEVENTEEN
  62. Eighteen
  63. EIGHTEEN
  64. Nineteen
  65. NINETEEN
  66. Twenty
  67. TWENTY
  68. Twenty-One
  69. TWENTY-ONE
  70. Twenty-Two
  71. TWENTY-TWO
  72. Twenty-Three
  73. TWENTY-THREE
  74. Twenty-Four
  75. TWENTY-FOUR
  76. Twenty-Five
  77. TWENTY-FIVE
  78. Twenty-Six
  79. TWENTY-SIX
  80. Twenty-Seven
  81. TWENTY-SEVEN
  82. Twenty-Eight
  83. TWENTY-EIGHT
  84. Eleven Months Later
  85. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  86. Copyright

Super-glad we didn’t have this conversation before I got on the boat this morning. But then that’s one of the joys of having a mother who is also an A&E nurse – she always thinks of the worst case scenario.

‘No boats, Ashana,’ she says again. ‘You can’t even swim. What were you thinking?’

I shrug. ‘That I don’t want to fail chemistry.’

She shakes her head with a heavy sigh then heads out of the kitchen, calling out to Rosh again as she goes. I wash my plate and by the time I’m done, Rosh still hasn’t emerged from our room so I’m tempted to eat her roti. She obviously doesn’t want it and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

‘That’s for your sister,’ my mother says as I reach for the plate, suddenly in the kitchen doorway again, this time in her nurse’s uniform, her thick curls contained into a neatish bun.

‘It’s going cold, though.’ I pout.

‘Go get Rosh and tell her that it’s there, then.’

‘I’d rather just eat it.’

‘Go get your sister, please.’

‘Mum, you’re right there.’ I raise my arm and point. ‘You’re closer to our bedroom door than I am.’

‘Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you call me Mama when you want something, like roti.’ She stops to arch an eyebrow at me again. ‘But when I’m asking you to do something you don’t want to do, it’s Mum.’

‘Fine,’ I concede, making a point of sighing and shaking my head. ‘ROSH.’

‘I said get her, Ashana, not shout her name. I could have done that.’

It does the trick, though, because my little sister finally emerges from our bedroom wearing my old SpongeBob pyjama shorts and a Totoro T-shirt, a book between her fingers. ‘You bellowed, Ash?’

‘Roshaan, I’ve been calling you.’ My mother tuts, walking to the coat hooks by the front door. She bends down for my backpack, holding it up with another tut, and I take it as she reaches for her jacket.

‘Sorry, Mama.’ Rosh tucks one of the dark curls that has escaped from the hastily tied pile on top of her head then points at her ear. ‘I had my headphones on. I couldn’t hear you.’

My mother nods towards the kitchen. ‘There’s a roti in there for you.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Daddy will be home soon. Take care of your sister.’

‘I will,’ we say in unison and I turn to look at Rosh with a scowl.

‘Ash,’ my mother says, pulling on her jacket. ‘Make sure your sister takes her nose out of a book long enough to eat something. Rosh, make sure your sister doesn’t set anything on fire.’