Just before I went to bed last Monday night, my half-half-sister, Hannah, called me. Well, she actually Facetimed me, and her call scared the shit outta me. After all, why was she calling me? My brain immediately thought the worst, and I quickly picked up. 

“Hello?” I began, frantic, “Hello?”

I was met with silence and a black screen. 

“Helloooo?” I asked again, “Hannah? Is everything ok? Han-”

Suddenly, the call disconnected. Immediately, I sent her a text, “Hey Hannah! Did you mean to call me?”

Several long minutes later, my phone buzzed. Hannah had texted back saying, “Hi Maya! I meant to Facetime ‘Mum’ but accidentally hit ‘Maya’. Sorry! I miss you and think about you lots. Hope all is well. Let’s talk soon!”

I breathed a sigh of relief. My worries about something having happened to Clarke (my half-brother, Jack’s, dad) or Ryder (my half-half-brother) instantly went away. But I didn’t want to leave Hannah on “read”, so I responded, “I’m just about to go to bed, but we should talk sooner than later. I will say I’m doing very well, and so is Jack. I just started my first semester at the University of Colorado Denver and am studying BioTech. I’m very busy and working on getting an internship this summer. Love and miss you, too!”

That night, as I was falling asleep, I thought about the last time I’d seen Hannah. I felt a chill run down my spine when I realized I hadn’t seen her since the summer of 2018, way back when Clarke rented a basement on a five-acre horse-property in Elizabeth, Colorado. 

2018 was seven years ago. Seven. Years. Ago. 

Seven. Fucking. Years. Ago. 

Needless to say, a lot has changed in seven years. 

Clarke moved from Elizabeth to Bennett, Colorado with his roommates in 2020. But, a couple years ago, due to illness brought on by alcohol and opiates, Clarke moved to Canada to live with Ryder and Hannah, and I haven’t seen nor heard from him since. I’ve also lost touch with Clarke’s former roommates, Ryan and Gabby, who owned horses, goats, and farm dogs that made the mini ranch… well… a mini ranch. 

In the late summer of 2020, I sold my dirtbike because my mom wanted to move us to Gig Harbor, Washington for the worst of the pandemic, and we had no place to keep it. However, on the bright side, my dad fully restored the old Jeep YJ that once sat in Clarke’s front yard in Elizabeth for years. Nowadays, my dad loves that Jeep more than I do.