“The death of a mother is the first sorrow we weep without her arms around us.” — Author Unknown I woke up one morning to a painful truth: I’m an orphan. I’ve kept that reality at arm’s length, too afraid to let it sink in. My mother passed away on June 5, 2026, and it has left a hollow space in my life. Her absence feels profound—the sense of being anchored in the world is gone. She was my shield from mortality, my witness to childhood, my keeper of memories, my first st