My Elite Parents Called Me an Idiot and Chose a Genius Daughter Instead

The water in the canal was not deep, but the sludge clung tightly to my ankles.

I opened my mouth wide, but only a choked, gurgling sound came from my throat.

"Ah! Ah!"

It was so cold.

It felt like being locked inside a refrigerator.

Was I in trouble again? Mom said that only bad children were sent to time-out.

The water rose to my chest, and the caramel candy wrapper in my pocket made a faint crinkling sound.

I hid the caramel for three days, and the wrapper had softened from the sweat in my palm.

I wanted to save it for Mom and Dad.

That morning, I showed them the family portrait I drew. Mom and Dad were smiling in the picture, and so was I.

But Jacey snatched it away and tore it to pieces right in front of them.

"Why is it so ugly? Just like you. Looking at it makes me sick."

Mom and Dad did not scold her.

Mom even brought over a broom and swept the scraps into the trash.

She frowned at me and said, "Jacey is in a bad mood. Can't you be more considerate? Stop bringing this garbage out and making a mess."

So, my love was garbage.

Anna was garbage too.

Garbage belonged in the trash can or… in dirty water.

That was why I had only this piece of candy left.

I wondered if Dad would stop thinking I was garbage if I gave him the candy.

Grandma's heart-wrenching cries came from the bank. She held up her basic cell phone, her hand trembling like a withered leaf in the wind.

"Simson! Simson, come back quickly! Anna fell into the canal!"

The call was on speaker, and Dad's voice came through clearly, filled with impatient irritation.

"Mom, I'm driving around looking for Jacey. I don't have time to listen to you make up stories."

"Anna really fell in! There's no one here! Come and save her!"

Grandma knelt on the ground and stared at me in the water with cloudy eyes. She clawed at the air as if she were trying to grasp a lifeline.

"Anna! Anna, call for your dad! Let him hear you!"

I gathered every ounce of strength I had and lifted my head toward the black phone. Then I uttered the clearest sound I had ever made.

"Dad…"

[Dad, the water was so dirty and cold. I had been naughty. I got my clothes dirty.

[Don't be angry. I'll hide right away so I won't embarrass you. But today is my birthday.

[Could you please hug me? Just once.]

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Then Dad's voice turned even colder.

"Mom, stop putting on an act. Playing along with her will only hurt her.

"Anna's brain may be damaged, but she knows how to rummage through trash when she's hungry and crawl into a haystack when she's cold. She's as tough as a stray dog. She won't die.

"Goodbye. We're going to the police station to check the surveillance footage and find Jacey."

Beep… Beep…

The call ended.

I watched Grandma smash her phone against the ice in despair. The screen shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.

"Anna! Grab Grandma! Hold on!"

She was so old that she was barely stronger than a cat.

She leaned half her body over the edge and tried to reach out to me with her thin, bony hand.

But I was too far away.

Overcome with panic, she lost her balance and fell heavily into the muck beside the canal. Then she stopped moving.

"Grandma…"

I tried to call out, but water rushed into my ears.

Gurgle…

The world grew quiet.

I let go.

The caramel, covered in black sludge, slowly sank.

The wrapper unfolded, and the candy flickered in and out of sight beneath the dirty water.

Dad, I wasn't hungry. I didn't want to rummage through trash.

I only wanted to give you the candy.

[Happy birthday, Anna.]

No one wished me happiness, so I wished myself a happy birthday.

My body grew lighter. I floated up and hung in midair.

I saw the small body in the pink padded coat, face down among the shards of ice.

How ugly.

No wonder Mom and Dad did not want to see me.

An inexplicable force tugged at me, carrying me dozens of miles in an instant.