Mum has one silver tooth right at the back of her mouth. It's shiny but you can only see it when she laughs or if she decides to show you. She's not as tall or as fat as the mums of the kids at school. She's thin. And she's short, I guess. But she's also really strong. She can carry me like I'm nothing. And she will get into fights with men who are twice her size and win, because she fights crazy, like a cat, fast and mad and hissing.

She has black hair which goes down past her shoulders and black eyes. Her nose always gets red in the cold, and the skin on her hands is always dry. I notice when she holds my hand. Dry, hard skin.

She doesn't wear rings or earrings or jewellery or anything like that. She doesn't do any of the things that the mums of other kids do. Looking at her you'd never know she was one.