Our Triplet Sister Passed Away When We Were Only Eleven—On Our 21st Birthday, Mom Handed Us a Box that She Had Left Behind

beside ours.

In the bedroom we had shared, where Leila slept facing the wall while I stared at Nora’s empty bed until morning.

After Nora, birthdays became strange.

There were still balloons.

Still cake.

Still candles.

But there was always one chair missing.

Every year, Leila and I sat side by side, pretending not to notice the empty space where Nora should continue reading …