We were four, a perfect, messy, loving quartet

a family bound by love, by joy, by togetherness

a family that filled rooms, not with noise, but life

a tight knit unit that felt whole, that felt safe

and a complete circle, a world within itself

then, one day, we reduced to three, when

my beloved dad passed away all those years ago

Three were broken, but through the pain

we were still a family, we still had each other

we still had Mum, who became our strength

who filled the spaces left behind by Dad

who held us together, we mourned, and

we learned to carry our grief and sorrow

we learned to live, to enjoy, and to laugh again

But then, without warning, the universe

suddenly tore another page from our story

and just like that, Mum was taken from us

we were never supposed to become only two

my big brother and I, my dear husband and I

two, a cruel math problem, an incomplete

equation, a table set for guests who never arrive

My brother and I, are two now, but we carry

four souls in our blood, my husband and I

stared at each other, wondering how we got here

and though we find ways to survive, the truth

remains, our family will never be whole again

we were four, we became three, then just two

and yet, love does not subtract, it multiplies