This morning, 14 days after Mama died, another guardian of our home took her leave. Her name was Nora.Born in April 2015 — a small dividend of Valentine’s Day, arriving weeks later in the form of a warm, wriggling life.A dormant German Shepherd mixed with something stronger, faster, wilder.A dog with the gait of royalty…
Category: Alice: The Matriarch
DAY 4 — Our Shield Is Gone
When my sister heard that Mama had died, the first thing she said was: “Our shield is gone.” It pierced me because we all knew exactly what she meant.Mama was never a shield made of iron or physical strength — she was a praying shield, a force, an intercessor, a woman whose voice stood before…
DAY 3 — When Two Depart, but Not Away
There are some mornings that arrive with a weight you don’t expect, even when your heart is already tender from mourning. Today was one of them. Three days after my grandmother — Alice, the woman who prayed Heaven down into our home — died, her first son, my uncle Francis, went to join her. In…
DAY 2 — When Mama Told Me to Walk
I was in my freshman year at the university — technically “Year 2,” because I came in through Direct Entry after completing my diploma. That evening, I was drained. I had just finished my Law of Contract test — the unforgettable rite of passage for every second-year student. I was still on the phone with…
Day 1 – Where My Story Truly Begins
There are people who walk this earth quietly.And then there are those whose very presence alters the air around them.My grandmother belonged to the second kind.Not ordinary. Never ordinary. She moved through life with the certainty of someone heaven-trained.Her faith was not soft or polite —it was fierce, like a sword carved in fire.And her…