"Saturdays spent plucking pale lilac chicories from nearby grassy fields to bring home to their mother. Ava would come to him with hot cheeks and excessive tears streaming down her face because the local boys had pulled her pigtails and called her names. Now her gaze would seldom raise from her phone."

Ava grew up playing with and adoring her older brother Ari. She was the center of attention until her brother suddenly fell ill with a heart condition. Their parents became consumed by his condition, paying for his medical bills, and taking care of him. Ava found herself all alone with her parents seldom ever taking the time to pay attention to her. Her love for her brother turned into resentment and a rift grew between them. One day, Ava was woken at night to learn that her brother had experienced a head injury and was undergoing emergency surgery. When she saw him next, he was lying unconscious on a hospital bed. Consumed by guilt, regret, and shame, Ava dedicated large portions of her time to tending for her brother. She would sit by his bedside and read to him, wash his hands, hair and face, and talk to him. During one of her visits, Ari suddenly started flatlining. Sobbing, she was dragged out of the room as the doctors attempted to resuscitate him. After watching them give up and write down his time of death, she ran into the closest bathroom and broke down.