It was the final meeting of the support group before Mothers’ Day, and I still couldn’t quite look at Lorelai, sitting hunched over in her cold plastic seat, clutching the news bear like her life actually depended on it. In many ways, it did. Having this community of people who shared her trauma represented a lifeline within the firestorm of her grief. We didn’t ask questions. The presence of the bear was a query enough, and I hoped it was offering comfort.
“We’re going to the Armoury for a picnic,” Lorelai divulged, her voice thin. “We’re all getting together.”
She whimpered, then wiped her nose with her knuckle. Debbie pulled her handbag from the floor and onto her lap, retrieving from it a white handkerchief. She handed it over to Lorelai, who accepted it gratefully.
“Thank you, Debbie,” she mumbled, using the handkerchief to blow her nose.
Lorelai folded it over and rested it on her thigh.
The younger sister of missing Sydney man Mitchell del Reyan, Nina del Reyan lives on Dharug land in western Sydney. She is in her second year of her teaching degree at Macquarie University. Nina loves her boyfriend Geoff, her family and friends and is deeply committed to finding answers and justice for the families of missing people.
Abbey Sim is the founder of Huldah Media. She is a theology student who lives on the lands of the Dharug people in Sydney, Australia. A candidate for Honours in Communications at the University of Technology Sydney, Abbey explores themes of hope, love and longing through her storytelling. She is the author of 'Shadow' and 'From the Wild'.