That night, mom returned home at half past 8pm in her car, with my sisters and a truckload of household essentials. She finished work at 6pm everyday and her workplace was only thirty five minutes away, so she was definitely late.

"Sorry, darling. I couldn't reach you. We went shopping, okay?" She said to me, and I nodded, helping her with the bags. My sister's came to hug me too. We were so close now. "Here", she said, handing me a small blue bag which contained a brand new pair of ...