M um was kind and gentle in a way that felt so natural. She raised all five of us pretty much on her own after Dad passed away. Those were not easy years, and there were many moments when life could have pushed us in the wrong direction, but she never let that happen. She taught us to stay kind and honest, even when things were hard. Her father named her Ţalā, which means gold in Farsi. But she was even more precious than that. Being the youngest, I was born at a time when our family was already going through a hard time. My older siblings had to sacrifice a lot, including their education, to support the family. But Mum made sure I didn’t fall behind in my studies. At the same time, she quietly placed a sense of responsibility in me from a very early age. I didn’t realise it then, but I see now how carefully she balanced those two things. When Dad passed away, I was too young to fully understand what had happened. But I still remember that day, and how she kept me close to her the entire time.…