How does the absence of Mother and Grandmother change Kezia's situation?

Correct answer: She feels loneliness and insecurity

The correct answer is C. Mother and Grandmother normally form an important emotional support system around Kezia. When they are absent, she is left more exposed to her fear and has fewer familiar people to comfort or interpret events for her. This increases her loneliness and insecurity, especially when she is already uneasy about her strict father and frightened at night. She does not celebrate, forget her father, or move into the Macdonald home. The situation also makes the father's later care more significant, because his comforting presence begins to fill the emotional gap Kezia feels during the crisis and helps her recognise his affection.