Semua Bab My Father's Point-Based Game: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Over the next two weeks, I lived like a servant, eager to do anything that would earn me points.Waking up early to cook breakfast earned me 2 points. Mopping the floor earned me 2 points. Handwashing all the laundry earned me 5 points.Even when my period cramp was so painful that I could hardly stand, I still crouched down to scrub the floor.Cold sweat dripped down my forehead onto the tiles, and I quickly wiped it away. Points would be deducted if I made the floor dirty.Esther lounged on the couch, snacking on popcorn.A piece of popcorn dropped down to the floor I just cleaned. She laughed and said, "Oops, my hand slipped."She smiled at me. "I'm helping you, Myra. If you clean it again, won't you earn another point?"I remained silent and crawled over to pick up the popcorn. Patrick rushed over and stepped on my hand with his sneaker."I'll help too!"He stepped hard. Dad, who was reading the newspaper nearby, glanced at us. If I retaliated, I would be "bullying my youn

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself floating in mid-air.I looked down.On the concrete ground lay a girl in a school uniform.Her posture was twisted, and a large pool of dark red was spreading beneath her.People were crowding around her, some screaming, some taking pictures with their phones.The sound of police sirens grew louder.I died.This realization didn't fill me with fear. Instead, it brought a sense of relief.A force pulled me back to the 18th floor, to that so-called "home" of mine.The lights were on in the living room.Dad was humming a little tune, using his phone to order the limited-edition sneakers online.His fingers were flying across the screen, and his face was relaxed and content.The commotion downstairs was loud, but he couldn't hear it.It didn't even cross his mind that something bad might have happened to me.He thought I was just throwing a tantrum, hiding in a corner, waiting for him to come and coax.Esther was cutting fruit in t

Dad was led downstairs by two police officers.The numbers in the elevator counted down one by one.18, 17, 16...With every digit that dropped, Dad's legs shook even harder due to fear.He was afraid to face the outcome, afraid to face the public's scrutiny.Esther made an excuse that she had to stay with Patrick and locked the door tightly.A cordon had been set up downstairs.The murmur of the crowd reached my ears."I heard she jumped because of a pair of shoes.""That guy looks like a decent man. I can't believe he's so cruel to his own daughter.""What a tragedy. That girl had always been well-behaved. She always smiled at people."Dad's head was lowered even further, wishing he could shrink into the ground.The police led him to the white sheet."Prepare yourself."After saying that, an officer lifted the corner of the white sheet to reveal my face.Actually, the sight wasn't too gruesome, because I landed on my back.My face was pale, my eyes were closed, and th

Dad went insane.He started hallucinating.He always felt that I was hiding in some corner of the house, holding a pen, waiting to give him points.He started forcing himself to live according to the points system.But he reversed the rules.Before, it was rewards. Now, it was all punishment.If he woke up late in the morning, he would slap himself. "Lazy, -10 points."If he dropped food while eating, he would poke his thigh with a needle. "Wasting food, -20 points."If he remembered a harsh thing he used to say to me, he would cut a line on his arm. "Hurting people with words, -50 points."Before long, his body was covered in scars, new ones added before the old ones had healed.He lost so much weight his eye sockets became sunken.He saw me in his dreams.I was no longer a timid little girl.I was wearing the bloodstained school uniform, holding a huge red pen, standing in front of a whiteboard."Dad, your points are in the negative now."I pointed to the shocking red

I did not forgive him.I felt no hate, no resentment, not even the pleasure of revenge.Only emptiness.What use was the pair of shoes to me now? I couldn't wear them anymore.What use was an apology now? I couldn't come back to life.What I wanted was just a bit of fairness, even once, in that suffocating home.I wanted to hear him say, "You're the elder sister, but you're also a child."I wanted to hear him say, "The points will not be deducted this time, take a rest because you're sick."I wanted to hear him say, "Patrick was wrong and deserves punishment."But he never said any of that, not even once.His remorse now was merely a placebo for making himself feel a little better in the latter half of his life.He wanted to use those shoes to bury every nightmare that haunted him in the midnight hours.Dream on.Some things, once reset, would remain zero forever.Gary continued to cry."Myra… please, just look at me?"No, I don't.I never will.The sun broke through