I couldn’t bring myself to pour out my sister’s coffee; it was the most recent, most tangible evidence of her presence in my apartment. This is the first time in a week I’ve burned candles in the evening without her being here.

Caryl’s essence is grace and humour. We drove around the neighborhoods of Guilford and Roland Park with Sarah today; we admired the regal homes on Lambeth and Charles streets. It was a perfect end to an afternoon of games, coffee, cd burning, and a gelati run.
And it seemed right to be with my two girls… chilling in the sunshine after the storm.

It is far more common for me to be myself in these rooms of mine, to make tea for one, to board and disembark from buses alone…but she was here with me for five nights and five days, and it was easy to make room for her in my understanding of the immediate world I occupy. She makes sense in my landscape.

Our relationship transcends sorority and is steeped in shared Faith and a deep, spiritual bond. On this past Sunday after church, we read the Bible together and enjoyed a magnificent time of fellowship as we marveled at the sovereignty of God.

She is a silly heart, a little girl, a grown woman—stronger than me in so many ways, though 12 years younger. Caryl is a constant gift to me. Watching her ride away, I thanked God that I have been allowed to know her… to be in her life…