'The Egg Cycle' by Michelle Christophorou

Soft-boiled with soldiers;

Easter chocolate hunted in the garden; cream-filled meringues (8th birthday party);

Basque-style baked (first Spanish holiday);

whiskey sours; raw with chilli, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce (never works); caviar, declared disgusting (but better than oysters);

three-tier wedding cake;

poached (quail’s) with black truffle, steak tartare, crème brûlée;

fried most Sundays (full English breakfast);

pastel-coloured macarons (attempts to cheer after hopes end in hospital);

in a petri-dish;

soft-boiled with soldiers;

hard-boiled (2 x school packed lunches); empty nest;

almost-gone, with a side of night sweats;

gala pie, barely touched (funeral tea); quiche Lorraine, serves one;

scrambled;

soft-boiled with soldiers.