Once upon a time there was a writer named Trish. She had a husband she loved very much and a brother she loved very much. She also had a webcomic that she mostly kept separate from her real life for a variety of reasons.

When her brother needed a place to live and people to take care of him, Trish and her husband volunteered to do that. The three of them became a family.

Taking care of a disabled person while working a full-time job felt good but exhausting, even with help. Trish was too drained to do fun things like go out with friends or write her webcomic.

Then her brother died unexpectedly and it was completely devastating. Trish had to be prodded into eating and sleeping and her words abandoned her.

Time passed, and while it still sucked that her beloved brother was gone, Trish felt like she might be ready to come back to life. Her words began to return to her.

Trish decided to pull back the curtain on her real life this one time, because she didn’t think it was fair to be gone this long without saying why. And because losing her brother was too big and too important to pretend like it never happened.

And they lived . . . although one could not say that they lived happily ever after. Some lived on in the hearts of their loved ones and some lived on in the more usual way, but they lived.