The Narrator

The narrator is thoughtful and frequently thinks about what she has heard about her older sister. Her older sister had died after being alive for about two hours. Additionally, she sometimes thinks about her brother, who was born a year later and also died shortly after birth.

Repeatedly, she considers that if her sister had not died, then she herself would have never been born. Sometimes, she also considers what life would have been like if she had an older sister.

The narrator likes to write. She eventually has a son and cares for him. She is highly aware of the fragility and impermanence of life. When she tucks her son into bed, she remains by his bedside a while, listening to his steady breathing.

The Narrator's Older Sister

The narrator's older sister died after about two hours of life. Her mother had given birth to her...