Crushed by Debt, Forbidden to Die
After my family is burdened with a debt of 5,000,000 dollars, I become the only person in the family who can no longer afford to "die".
Dad is trampled in the mud by our creditors, protecting what's left of my school tuition fees even if it means breaking his fingers. He roars, "You can hit me, but don't you lay a finger on my daughter!"
At that moment, Dad's small, hunched figure becomes a debt that I can never repay in my lifetime.
Meanwhile, Mom kneels before the creditors, grovelling in the mud as she begs for a few more days of grace.
Burdened by Mom and Dad's love for me, I drop out of school and go to work at a factory to make as much money as I can as quickly as possible to pay back the debt.
Ultimately, my landlord kicks me out of my lodging on Christmas Eve. I'm also sporting a high fever in the snow, but my wages from the factory are still unpaid.
I call Mom and beg her to transfer just 50 dollars to help me out. However, she doesn't sound concerned or anxious on the other end of the line and utters in disgust, "Haven't you gotten your wages already, Carolyn Swanson?
"How dare you lie to us? Who taught you that? If you can't afford to buy the meds for your so-called fever, then you might as well just die!"
Then, she hangs up on me cruelly.
I grip my phone in my hands, watching the snow falling from the sky. My hands feel even colder than the icy ground at this point.