Once Greg, Natalie and Geoff had left, Mum and I retreated into the bedroom. She shut the door so that Dad would not protrude, allowing us to wrap his Fathers’ Day presents in peace. Usually it would have been Mitchell purchasing them. Yet, that wasn’t possible at that moment, so the task had been left for Mum. It should have been me; I knew that it should have been me; I did not need to be told that it should have been me. I smoothed my hand over the carpet, creating a little bit of static electricity. So often this would happen that my chest would tighten. I knew that I was distracted from wrapping the presents, so I probably should have excused myself. Maybe my time would have been put to better use studying. I had responsibilities in relation to the weddings which I was going to be a part of, later in the year. Finally, we finished wrapping presents.
“Goodnight, Mum, I love you.”
“I love you too, Nina.”
The younger sister of missing Sydney man Mitchell del Reyan, Nina del Reyan lives on Dharug land in western Sydney. She has recently commenced a teaching degree at Macquarie University. Nina loves 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 creative writing, law and theology student who lives on the lands of the Dharug people in Sydney, Australia. Abbey desires to explore themes of hope, love and longing through her storytelling. She is the author of 'Shadow' and 'From the Wild'.
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