I take out the book I’ve been reading to her every day for the last week. Rebecca. She never got the chance to finish it before she went missing, and even though she occasionally reads to herself, her eyes get tired. I take her hand, her good hand, and she squeezes mine, a sign for me to continue. The signet ring on her little finger glints in the late-morning sun. She’d been delighted when I returned it to her. Before the stroke, Flora told me Deirdre had stolen it when she’d snatched her.

It’s been a long road to recovery for Flora. She’s only now starting to regain a little speech; before she’d communicate with me by blinking, once for no and twice for yes. I take her out when it’s a nice day, wheeling her chair along the seafront, and she closes her eyes and takes deep breaths, cleansing her lungs. She’s no longer dependent on the heroin that ravaged her body over the last two decades. She has put on some weight and looks healthy, younger now that her face has filled out. She has defied all the odds, but I knew she would. She’s strong, my sister.

I visit her every day without fail. Making up for lost time, I suppose. I often bring Ethan with me, although today he’s at nursery. When he first met Aunty Flora he’d been scared, running to me and hiding behind my back. But eventually he’d warmed to her, no longer noticing that one side of her face droops and that she finds speech difficult. I think the fact we’re so alike helps. He knows this is Mummy’s sister. Sometimes Jess comes, too, and the three of us sit together and listen to 1990s music in companionable silence, born out of our shared history and a bond that growing up together can sometimes bring.

Flora has never been charged. She was too ill to be formally interviewed under caution, and then she had the stroke. The drugs have done so much damage to her nervous system. But I haven’t given up hope. I have no doubt she’ll make a full recovery. It might take a while, but she’s determined. Even though the stroke isn’t what any of us would have wished upon Flora, I still thank my lucky stars every day that she’s here. And I know Mum does too.