The Last Offering
I was Mom's tool to coax Hailey to eat.
Whenever Hailey refused to eat, Mom would give me a meatball she cooked.
When Hailey finally wanted to eat, that meatball would then be snatched from me and fed to Hailey.
Mom always said, "Hailey isn't of good health. You're her elder sister, so you must be sensible."
When I was eight years old, there was a last meatball on the table.
Mom put the meatball by my lips with a smile. As if suddenly possessed, I gobbled the meatball up in one mouthful.
Mom slapped me hard and dragged me off the chair.
"You glutton! That was for your sister!"
The back of my head hit the corner of the table, and the world turned dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I