I Was 29 and Single When I Fought to Keep Five Siblings Together. The Judge Asked Why, and My Answer Changed Everything.

‘Maybe your brother wants to find you too.’

‘Maybe,’ I said.

That evening I called Anna.

We hadn’t spoken in three months.

She answered with the sound of a television in the background and said, ‘Mason?

Is everything okay?’

I told her about the children.

She was silent, then asked whether I was sleeping enough.