Semua Bab When the Example Died: Bab 1 - Bab 9

The voice came from the very last car leaving the town.I squinted hard. It was hard to see in the chaos of wind and rain outside.A hunched figure stood behind an open car door as she waved her hands at me.It was Grandma Zaborski who lived next door. She had no children, and her husband died a long time ago. She had been living in this town for practically her entire lifetime.She had treated me like her very own grandson for as long as I could remember.When Mom punished me by denying me food, Grandma Zaborski would secretly pass me a bowl of piping hot porridge through the back door when Mom wasn’t noticing.She would give my brother and I some gift money over the new year, but stuff an extra ten in mine without fail each time.She made some space in her own seat and shouted to me, “My child, come in, quick! There’s some space here!”I ran into her car without a second thought.Grandma Zaborski’s arm was stretched out as she reached for me.Right before my fingertips touc

A volunteer pulled me onto a rescue boat and did three rounds of CPR on me before I spat out water and my heart started beating weakly again.When I was sent to the hospital where a doctor from the emergency room attended to me, the look on his face changed at the sight of my condition.“Drowning and prolonged suffocation. His lungs are filled with water! Prepare for intubation and inform the operating room!”He then yelled at the door, “Where is his family? Get his next-of-kin here to sign their name!”Footsteps sounded down the corridor.Mom walked over unhurriedly. “Who asked you to rescue him?”Everyone looked at her, aghast.“He’s not dead yet. I bet he’s just pretending. He’s been great at that ever since he was young.”One of the nurses was first to respond. She barked, “What are you talking about? A minute later and he’d be dead! Hurry up and sign your consent for the operation right now! Any further delay, and he’ll be dead!”Mom ignored her. She turned around and loo

Mom was held down by two policemen in the station.She struggled against their hold while yelling at the top of her lungs.“I wasn’t trying to harm him! I was just following the age-old rule of our town! Do you know what it means to make an example of someone? I was trying to discipline my younger son! I wasn’t trying to kill my eldest!”One of the policemen was so furious he smacked the table hard.“Discipline? I’ve never seen a mother like you! It was a super hurricane! You left him behind in a danger zone and refused to sign your consent for his operation in the hospital! You’re not disciplining anyone, you’re murdering him with your own hands!”Everyone around Mom was pointing fingers at her and criticizing her actions.Mom’s face flushed bright red. She raised her voice and tried to speak up for herself. “I’m his mother! Why would I harm him?”Just then, a young policeman rushed in with an evidence bag containing a phone.“Chief! We managed to restore the data in the vic

Dad moved out of town and started working for an old brick factory. In his first month, his leg was crushed by a falling brick. He managed to survive after emergency treatment at the hospital, but became crippled from the incident.He was subsequently driven out of this ward when he ran out of money to foot his hospital bill. Left with nowhere to go, he hobbled back to the dilapidated hut at the entrance of the village.Every night, his heart-wrenching cries could be heard from the hut. Neighbours who walked past could always hear him yelling to himself. “Charles… I was wrong! I should have pulled you into the emergency vehicle that day…”But no one responded to him.Charlie had his just desserts, too.As I was always the one facing the consequences of his mistakes since we were young, he never knew what it meant to follow rules or to bear responsibility.After going overseas, he got into a fight with someone in a cyber cafe, during which he grabbed a chair and smashed someon