I became a mom overnight to my two blind nieces after my sister died. A year later, I walked into my living room and found their long-absent father sitting on my couch, calmly announcing he was there to take them back.I’m 34F, in the U.S., and up until last year, my life was pretty basic.Paralegal job. Tiny apartment. Coffee with my best friend Jenna on Saturdays.Then my older sister Erin died in a car accident on her way home from work.One second, she was texting me a dumb meme, the next I was in a hospital hallway hearing a doctor say, “We did everything we could.”Erin had two daughters.

Maya, 8, and Lily, 6.oth legally blind since birth.We lived two hours apart, so I didn’t see them often, but I knew their voices. I knew Lily’s giggle and the way Maya asked questions like a tiny lawyer.At the funeral, they stood by the casket holding Erin’s scarf, fingers twisted in the fabric.When I said, “Hey, it’s Auntie,” they both turned toward my voice at the same time.Auntie?” Maya whispered. “Is Mom really gone?””Yeah, baby,” I said. “She is.”Their dad, Derek, didn’t show.That didn’t surprise me. He’d been out of the picture for years. Erin used to say, “He’s just DNA on a birth certificate,” and change the subject.Later, a social worker pulled me aside. Ms. Ramirez. Calm, tired eyes, folder in hand.