My venture out into the world began in a different city, then a different country and eventually a new continent, continuously relocating anywhere but back home.
I was accompanied by the feeling of my roots decaying, anxieties and homesickness – a sentiment that took me by surprise.
My relocation back to my hometown happened simultaneously with my sister's preparation for her school leaving exams and eventually her own departure into independence and adulthood.
During my absence there had been births and birthdays, deaths, funerals and fundamental changes to our family structure. Combined, this formed a new family landscape – a confusing and unfamiliar one. Beti – my much younger sister, led me on my perplexing journey back, while I patiently observed her venturing away, as if we became one another's guide.