Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 9

She dragged me back to the dinner table.She grabbed my hair and forced my head up so everyone could see my tear-streaked face.“I punished her for keeping the money to herself. But she’s already spent everything she got. So, there’s no way to pay any of you back.”Clearly, no one was happy about that much money going down the drain.Mom could see it too.She suddenly grabbed a wooden serving spoon from the table and started hitting me with it repeatedly.The air whistled with each strike.When the spoon broke, Mom pretended that it pained her to hurt me.“Anna, I don’t have a choice. You see how upset everyone is. What else am I supposed to do if they won’t forgive you?”Her voice was shrill and dripped with hidden meaning.Sure enough, our relatives quickly tried to calm her down because they felt put on the spot.“Hey, it’s Christmas. Don’t hit the kid like that!”“Let’s just forget about it. She’s learned her lesson now. It was just a gift, anyway. It’s not like we’d ac

“A child’s behavior reflects badly on the parents. Anna made a mistake. She’s taken a lot of money from all of you over the years. I’ll pay it all back.”Outside, the porch was littered with cigarette stubs and ashes.We were not a wealthy family. My mother did not work. The mortgage, the car payments, and all the bills fell on my father’s shoulders.Even though each gift was only five hundred bucks, it had added to a significant amount over the years, especially when many people had contributed to it.He must have hesitated before making this decision.The relatives made a show of refusing him at first. “How could we take back the money we gave to a child?” But in the end, they still accepted it.“I apologize on Anna’s behalf. I hope this ends here. She’s still young. She can change. I just don’t want her growing up with a reputation that she can’t shake.”Even as a spirit, my heart ached.Angry as he was, my father had figured out a solution.He was trying his best to keep

Listening to her wail and sobs, I felt a pang in my heart.I had thought that since the truth was out, Mom would try to talk her way out of it.She had always been one to shift the blame to me.Though this time, she admitted it outright.Was it guilt?Dad had never been violent.But that day, he grabbed Mom by the collar, dragged her from the hospital corridor all the way to the main entrance, and beat her until her face was bruised and swollen.Mom did not fight back.It was as if the physical pain could wear down the anguish inside her.Eventually, Dad got tired and stopped.A bitter, broken laugh escaped him.“I’m just as responsible for Anna’s death. What right do I have to punish anyone else?”After a long, heavy silence, I was taken to the morgue to await cremation the next day.They returned home like walking corpses.The only thing keeping them going was the need to clear my name.I was not a liar.I was a good kid.When the relatives saw them, they immediately

But Mom had forgotten that the only reason they bullied me in the first place was because of her.At school, the kids stood around in slouched, messy postures. Even with their parents behind them, they did not think they did anything wrong.“My daughter just passed away. She hasn’t even been laid to rest yet! These kids showed up at our house to cause trouble! They called her a liar and said she should burn in hell!”The parents immediately apologized. Some of them turned and rebuked their kids.The office was filled with shouting and crying all at once.However, one of them was not willing to back down. He craned his neck and shouted back, “I don’t care! I hate Anna! Every time we had class parties and the teacher told everyone to bring snacks, she’d just eat mine and never bring anything herself!”He was my desk mate.He hated me the most. He was the one who led the bullying. They would put bugs in my backpack, scribble all over my desk, and even jab me with sewing needles whe