She’s always trusted me, my sister. Today she gets to prove that. She’s brave but not bold. Some people would say that doesn’t make any sense, but in her it does. I’ve seen her courage before, standing between my father and mother. Blue eyes never the first look away while his jaw and fist spasm in a pulsing rhythm. Knowing that while he’s gutless enough to punch a grounded, sobbing woman, he’s still not quite junkyard-dog mean enough to strike a ten year old girl. Not yet anyway. Give her another few years and his scruples will slither away to wherever the last shreds of his integrity went years ago. My sister knows this, I can see it where her own shoulders bunch just a little higher every time. But that doesn’t stop her standing up for mum while she still can. Both of us praying that this time mum will realise that she’s using her own little girl as a human shield in her long ago lost battle with what my father has become. What the whisky made him - or what he let it make him.

But sis isn’t bold. When it comes to defending herself, she shrinks. No straight-up gaze then. She’s all sliding eyes and hunched body, sitting alone in the playground hoping the mean girls won’t notice her. Sometimes it even works. Not always.

Last night got bad. Really bad. For the first time I wasn’t sure dad was going to keep his fist by his side when sis stepped in front of him. Mum got up and ran, leaving us there with him. We turned and ran too but mum made it to the car and out the driveway before we could get to her. She just left us. So now we have to run, too. We can’t stay here with him, not with mum gone.

Grabbing her hand, I dragged her down the drive and out onto the street. He’s yelling our names along with a few filthy ones that kids our age shouldn’t have heard before, but we have.

We slept in the park that night but this morning dad will be sober and he will be looking. I woke up early enough to check the car wasn’t back in the driveway, then went to sis and explained what we needed to do. We have to really hide. The cliffs aren’t far. There are caves down below, but no way down except in one place. There we can jump down to an outcrop, and from there it’s a scramble and a short climb down to my cave. I keep some stuff there. Water, food and blankets. I knew we’d have to do this sooner or later.

She’s scared. Brave but not bold. But oh, so brave.

I grab my sister’s hand and pull her toward the cliff edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction. Then we jump.