‘Because we care about you,’ I pointed out, trying to keep my voice even. But inside? Inside I was shrieking with delight. Wasn’t life funny? If anyone had told me six months ago that Troy and I would’ve become this close, that we’d actually have a brother-sister relationship, I would have gagged. Now I didn’t want to imagine my life any other way. There existed a few seconds every morning when I woke up drowning in dread that all this was just a sweet dream and my mum was waiting for me outside my old bedroom door. Those few seconds were always excruciating. But that’s all they were – a few seconds. There’d come a time when they didn’t exist at all.

‘Troy, d’you believe one person can make a real difference?’

‘Of course. I know that’s a fact.’

‘D’you think you and I could do that?’

‘Yes, if we really wanted to. Why?’ Troy frowned.

‘I’ve been thinking about it a lot since we left the basement,’ I admitted.

‘Thinking about what?’

‘The reason behind everything we went through.’

‘And you reckon you’ve figured it out?’ Troy asked.

Dad, Callie and Nana Meggie had stopped chatting to listen. My cheeks began to burn, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. ‘Yeah, I do.’

‘Go on then. I’m listening.’

Nana Meggie smiled and gave my forearm an encouraging squeeze.

‘Maybe we’re here to make a positive difference, to leave this world a better place than when we entered it. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word or gesture or even a smile at the right time.’

Troy studied me. We were both remembering the basement. ‘Is that what you really believe?’

I nodded vigorously. ‘Otherwise, what’s the point? We live, we die, but nothing ever moves forward. Nothing ever changes.’

‘What was the purpose of my mum dying?’ Troy asked with a hint of bitterness.

Callie reached across the table, taking his hand in hers.

‘None,’ I replied. ‘But you’re asking the wrong question. There was a point and purpose to her life. All the things she went through, all the lives she touched – yours, Callie’s, my dad’s, Callum McGregor’s, Nana Meggie’s – all the people she met, whether or not they agreed with her life choices. She had an effect on them all, don’t you think?’

Troy considered this, then nodded. ‘Yeah. For definite.’ His smile was tinged with sadness, but it was still a smile.