He came to my door.
I was already gone, with my son to visit
Portland, Oregon.
As I was preparing to board the plane, I
received a call from Linda.
I spoke before she could start yelling.
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7:32
“Linda, you and I have never been in
competition. Think about who is responsible for
your state.”
There was a long silence.
Then, the line went dead.
Their story may be long, but it was not mine.
I only hoped that they lived a long life.
18
The new semester started, and I went to Alex’s
parent–teacher conference.
The teacher announced the semester’s final
rankings.
His grades were average. He was around 300th
or 400th.
But this time, I was surprised.
He was in the top 200.
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His language arts score, in which we stopped
the tutoring, was third in the class.
“This child is bright. If he works hard, he
shouldn’t have any problem getting into the prep school.”
I shook the teacher’s hand, thanking her.
Alex looked at me.
“Mom, if I get into the top 100 next time, are
you going to be so happy that you pass out?”
I smiled.
“It’ll be worth it. I don’t have much to look
forward to. I only hope you have a bright future.
and live a happy life.”
L
He stood in front of me, looking at me.
- ))
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“Mom, you still have a long life ahead of you. I
want to be your pride, but I don’t want to be your only pride.”
I looked at him.
He was standing up straight.
My little boy was not so little anymore.
I felt relieved.
My son!
I was going to start living my own life too!
Bonus Chapter
[Alex]
1
In my past life, my parents divorced.
To reduce the burden on my mother, I chose to
live with my father.
He had a new wife and a new son.
I was an outsider, living in someone else’s
house.
I survived on a small amount of support.
I would go visit my mother.
She worked at a convenience store.
She had lost her spark.
One time, I saw her calling my name to a stray
cat.
AI
<
“Alex, I miss you.”
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Later, I fell out of a tree while trying to get my
brother’s kite.
I hit the back of my head and died.
At my funeral, everyone was comforting my father.
“Don’t worry, you have a younger son.”
My mother sat silently in the corner.
I wanted to hug her.
But I could only pass through her body.
She was so thin.
She was gone.
I woke up in my parent’s divorce year.
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7:32
My mother was in a good place.
- 2)
I couldn’t change my father’s heart, but I could
help her get his money.
I started collecting evidence of my father’s
affair.
I found it on his phone.
It was time to decide who would get custody.
My father thought that I would choose him.
But I took a look at him and said, “I’ll go with
my mom. Give her more money.”
In the study, my father tried to threaten me.
“Your mom said she’d rather leave than make
me pay.”
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I sighed.
I showed the videos I took from his chat.
“Dad, you’re going to have a kid. Leave my
mom alone. She only has me.”
I had some anger towards him.
I hated him.
But love was stronger.
4
My mother was a capable woman.
She was successful.
She had an offer to start a business.
I had to ask her one time for her to accept the
ninaan daal
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4
7:32
My mother was a capable woman.
She was successful.
She had an offer to start a business.
I had to ask her one time for her to accept the
business deal.
She was confident.
She was more independent.
I prefer this version of my mom.
She wasn’t a wife or a mother.
She was more.
