“Rough are we suited, Wander through vanities great, climb life’s mountain, feel sorrow’s weight. I curse what life has given me, a hunger I cannot sate, and then upon my last, I join the stars, forgetting sorrows past.” That was a poem my mother recited for me whenever I was having a tough time. It meant that everything, no matter how difficult it may seem now, will end up being okay if we tried our hardest. Sister still has her ring. That is the only thing we have left of mother’s. Sister lost mother’s scent a few weeks ago. Still, I remember it well. It had a certain sweetness. Not of fruit, but more like sugar cookies. “Brother” “Yes?” “Do you think momma joined the stars?” My eyes start to burn. My chest feels heavy. Though I had tried in the past, I cannot keep sister from seeing my tears fall. Sister lays staring at me with a puzzled look. I turn away to hide my face. It only made her feel guilty. Mother wanted me to take sister to the trucks once the invasion began. I had argued, but mom always got her way. She stayed behind to gather some food and supplies. I never met her at the shelter. Once the shelter had been decommissioned, sister and I took our rations and began heading back to our home. I found mother there in our apartment. She was not breathing. Her limbs were intact, but she had been burned from forehead to stomach. I never told sister. It has been a week since sister and I last ate. And before that we were already suffering from malnutrition. Sister has red bumps on her back, arms, and legs, and she won’t stop itching no matter how many times I tell her to. Tonight we are sleeping outside the old station. I don’t know what we are going to do tomorrow. I don’t know where to find sister some food. I can’t even find her a blanket to sleep under. I have never felt lonelier than I do now. I wish this hadn’t happened. I wish someone could help. I wish tonight our sorrows would end, and sister and I could join mother, among the stars.