"I call the top bunk!" She always said this the instant the car stopped at the lake house. That was the rule. The car had to be stopped. I was always too distracted to remember, and she always remembered, so she always got the top bunk.
One could say that I remembered full well. One could say that I prefered the bottom bunk, so I could get up and go for walks in the night without anyone knowing. One could say I let my younger sister have the spiders in the corners of the ceiling because I loved her and wanted the best for her. My mother did say that in fact. But the truth was, I thought my sister was a bit dumb, and I took advantage of her gullibility whenever I could.
Hence the fact that I was on the bottom bunk, and she on the top bunk, when it happened.
The bats began coming in. We were both looking out the window. Our mother was sitting in a chair outside, facing north while the bats flew very close to her face as they swarmed back into the shutters they slept in. So close! But there she sat, letting the bats tussle her hair, keeping her eyes closed. so still we wondered if she were alive.
At that moment, we both knew.
This is my entry to 
