The phone rang at 2.34am, waking me with a jolt, and before I answered it, I already knew it would be my sister and, instinctively, I knew why she was calling. ‘Mum's gone,' she said, quietly.
Listening to her speak, I murmured all the appropriate noises as she explained that Mum had collapsed and died instantly from a sudden brain bleed. She was 87. I stayed on the line for a few minutes and then hung up. I then pulled the duvet up to my chin and went back to sleep.
