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Chapter 21
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The Turned-Over Umbrella Chapter 22
When winter arrived, I received a letter. It was from the county theater, and the logo was stamped on the envelope. When Caleb received that letter, his hands were shaking. He was even more excited than I was. Someone uploaded my performance onto the internet. The dance teacher at the theater saw my video and heard that I was working at the cultural center. They told me they were opening an adult dance class and that there were a limited number of slots. They invited me to give it a go. I went and performed my dance. One of the judges looked at me and asked me about my age. “I’m twenty-four this year.”“It’s not too late for you to dance again.” She ticked something on my application form and nodded at me. Then, she told me that I was born to dance. Someone told me the same thing six years ago. The offer letter was sent to my grandmother’s house on my birthday. My grandmother went to town and came back with a cake box. My name was written on top of the cake in chocol
The Turned-Over Umbrella Chapter 21
Two weeks after the performance, my mother came by herself. Hugo did not drive her, and Isla was not following behind her. She took the train that only ran twice a week. It was already dark when she arrived carrying an old bag. She asked around town before finding my grandmother’s house. When my grandmother opened the door and saw my mother, her face fell. She wanted to shut the door, but I stopped her. “Let her in.” My mother sat down in the living room. She fidgeted anxiously and glanced at the wooden frame hanging on the wall. Then, she quickly looked away. She had aged a lot, and her hair had gone gray. My mother no longer looked as arrogant and aloof as she did before. She opened the bag and took out a sweater. It was a sweater I had worn very often. When I left, I did not take it with me. My mother had washed it and folded it. I took the sweater without a word. “Esme, I’m here to take you home.”It was the first time she did not mention Isla to me. “I was foo
The Turned-Over Umbrella Chapter 20
The theater performance was scheduled at 7 p.m. on the 18th. Liam managed to get a ticket. It was a corner seat at the very last row, and it was very far from the stage. When he entered the theater, the lights had already dimmed. He did not pay attention to any of the first few performances. His hand clenched around that letter in the pocket of his coat. Liam wrote that letter on the day he proposed, and it was three pages long. His handwriting was a little messy because he was so anxious. At the very end of the letter, he drew a tiny heart shape. After I received that letter, I had not opened it. I told him I wanted to save it for our wedding day and read it then.He thought that I would always keep that letter. When the emcee announced that Greenville Town cultural center’s performance was next, everyone started clapping. The curtain went up, revealing over twenty children standing in two rows. Mia was standing in the front row, and her face was flushed red from nervousn
The Turned-Over Umbrella Chapter 19
Hugo came to see me alone. It was drizzling that day, but he was not holding an umbrella. He stood beneath the persimmon tree. His hair was wet, and his shoulders were drenched. He knocked on the door softly, as if he were afraid of startling anyone. My grandmother was the one who opened the door. She glanced at him yet did not chase him away. However, she did not let him in either. When I stepped out, he passed me a bank statement. It was a little crumpled up from his grip. “I’ve transferred the money to you. Have a look.” I glanced at my phone and saw a bank notification. It was exactly 41,080 dollars, just like I had calculated. “You sold the car?”Hugo was a little stunned as he nodded. “How did you know?”“With your savings, you wouldn’t have been able to repay me this quickly otherwise.” He hung his head and chuckled. His smile looked more like a frown. “Esme, I’m sorry.” I did not say a word. “Back then, I only tore your offer letter into pieces because I
The Turned-Over Umbrella Chapter 18
On the day they went back to the city, Liam did not return to his own house. Instead, he went into my bedroom. The soft toys were still piled up in a box by the door. He carried all of the boxes downstairs and put them in his car trunk. Then, he glanced at the matching mugs and tossed them into the trash can downstairs. The diffuser, fairy lights, and the sign Isla hung on the door were all thrown away too. Isla stood in the hallway and watched him. She did not cry or try to stop him. When Hugo walked past Isla, he took out the broken musical box and put it in a trash bag. Then, he tossed it on top of the soft toys. My mother sat in the living room and watched as they moved the boxes out. It seemed like she wanted to say something a few times, yet she kept quiet in the end. The bedroom was empty except for the light gray bedsheet I had put on the bed. It looked very tidy. Liam stood by the door and stared at the bedroom for a really long time before shutting the door. A
The Turned-Over Umbrella Chapter 17
The next morning, Hugo knocked on our door. He did not sleep at all the night before, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was holding a stack of papers in his hand. My mother, Isla, and Liam were standing behind him. My mother’s face was still a little pale, and Hugo was supporting her with his other arm. Isla was the last to approach, and she hung her head as she walked. She was no longer wrapped in that thick blanket. Hugo passed me the stack of papers. “Have a look. You should know this too.”It was Isla’s medical report from three years ago and the ECG report from the day before. The last line of the report read [Cardiac function is normal.] I stared at those few words for a really long time. “What does this mean?”Hugo gulped. It was a while before he managed to speak. “She recovered a long time ago. Her surgery from three years ago was a success. She made up the lie about her prognosis.” My grandmother dropped her basket, and her produce fell onto the ground. I lo
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