I watch Kinsley as she reacquaints herself with the home that provided her a safe haven for eight months — eight months she can’t recall. I’m hoping this visit will bring her some closure. With all the emotions and past memories being brought to the surface, I hope something will click inside her. Being back in a space she felt comforted and safe in — maybe it will help in some way.

She runs her fingertips along the wallpaper in the entryway, tracing the patterns, before stopping short at the door of the bedroom she stayed in as a child. Over the years we have been back here many times, but she has never approached this room. Kinsley looks over her shoulder and I give her a subtle nod, resting my hand on her lower back. The door opens and I feel her silent gasp, the room is exactly as she left it. A single bed sits in the corner with a princess canopy flowing down from the roof.

“I— I didn’t think I had anywhere that was still home.”

Her eyes are glossy, full of unshed tears. I can only imagine how she would be feeling right now. It’s in moments like these that I stand here like a stunned mullet, not knowing whether to comfort her or make light of the situation with dark humour. The silence gets the better of me, Kinsley has always brought out the softer side of me. “You’ll always have a home here, Meadow. But home is a feeling, not a place, remember that.”

She looks at me with wide eyes, she’s surprised. I shrug. “I’m more than just my good looks.”

“Good looks that come from your mother,” Mum calls out. “Get out here you two, come and eat.”

Kinsley flicks her hair over her shoulder and looks me up and down. “I guess you’re right,” she says, leaving me alone in her old bedroom.

“Wait — right about my good looks or our inspirational heart to heart?” I jump up, following her out.

The kitchen is small and poky, it feels even smaller now as an adult than it did as a child. The counter tops form a U-shape, with one side doubling as a breakfast bar and along the opposite side there’s a large window overlooking paddocks and rolling hills. To the left of the kitchen is a dining area, an old heavy wooden table fills the space with six chairs. I never understood why we even had a table that could seat so many when it was only ever Mum and myself, at the most Kyle and Kinsley would come over after school and she would make us afternoon tea.