Pāhonoa te oro

When I was about five years old, I came home from kindergarten and discovered that my mother had left. Just like that—she was gone, and the house was empty of her. My three-year-old brother was sitting in his little rocking chair, clutching his teddy bear, crying and repeating over and over, “Mommy doesn’t love me anymore… Mommy doesn’t love me anymore.” That moment stayed with me forever.A couple of days later, my father took us to stay with an aunt. He told us he would return soon to get us, i