“Brittany, why are you so selfish? We’re a
family. Your brother always doted on you.
“A family?”
Brittany pointed at herself, laughing. “You
وو
can’t fool me, I always knew I wasn’t your real
child. Mandy is your real family!”
“You sucked her dry, and now you want to
suck me dry too. No way!”
She was shouting and looked scary.
My dad couldn’t believe his eyes. It was like
he was seeing her for the very first time.
“You… You ungrateful brat!”
、AL
L
“We never mistreated you. We treated you
even better than our own child.”
Brittany scoffed. “That’s why Mandy had
such a miserable life! She had parents like
you!”
Mom and Dad both looked like ghosts.
My brother slapped her. “You heartless jerk,
how dare you talk about Mandy?”
“You think you deserve to? Don’t forget how
you bullied her, cut her hair, tore up her
homework, tricked her out of her money. They
say when she was kidnapped and they asked
for money, you didn’t give a penny!”
“Now that she is dead, what’s with you acting
all sad?”
My brother slowly lowered his hand.
He was staggering back, his face pale.
Those old memories flashed in front of his
eyes.
“I didn’t mean to. When she was born, I really
loved my little sister, I even held her in my
arms.”
“It’s all your fault! You kept telling me bad
things about her, I believed you! How could I
be so stupid?”
“She…she was my real sister!”
He covered his face, large tears falling down.
Regret was written all over him.
く
Brittany laughed sarcastically, and then
pushed the door open and left.
My dad watched her leave, heartbroken. He
clutched his chest and fell.
Cries filled the air.
Mom was sitting on the ground, crying and
laughing.
“Revenge, it’s all revenge…
وو
The Downward Spiral
Dad became a vegetable.
Brittany severed her relationship with them
and never came back.
My brother had to pay back his loans, many
of them were from predatory lenders, and
their interest rates were insane. He had to
work like a maniac, but it was still not
enough.
Debt collectors were coming to the house
every day. He was beaten up, and many times.
he begged them to leave him alone.
He was too ashamed to go home. He was on
the run and was so thin. The last time I saw
him, he was at my gravestone.
Someone was holding him down and beating
him. He was sweating and bleeding onto my
grave.
He panicked and tried to clean it up with his
<
sleeve, apologizing: “Mandy, don’t be scared,
big brother is going to clean you up…
وو
It was the first time he called himself my
brother!
He finally realized what he had done, and he
cried with his head down, his tears mixing
with blood. It was a horrible sight.
I sighed and stopped watching.
My mom, who was older, also worked low-
paying jobs, and she had become a shadow
of her former self.
She was quiet, and looked as old as the hills.
But she would light up when she looked at my
picture.
<
She would ask me if it was cold or if I was
hungry, and she used the last of her food to
cook delicious meals for me, begging me to
come and eat.
Day after day, year after year.
I silently watched her suffer, her stooped
back, and her white hair.
The hatred and anger in my heart slowly
faded.
Mom, please stop punishing yourself.
I whispered by her ear, but she only felt a
breeze.
She suddenly stood up, her eyes full of tears
Mandy, are you back?
Mandy, Mommy misses you so much.
So much.
I cried, my heart so heavy.
In the spring, my father couldn’t hold on
anymore.
He was in bed every day, barely breathing, his
cheeks sunken in like a skeleton.
At the last moment, he regained his
consciousness.
He grabbed Mom’s hand and said, “When I
die, please burn some guns and swords for
- me. I didn’t protect Mandy when I was alive.
<
Down there, I won’t let her get bullied.‘
Mom nodded through her tears.
Dad smiled, and then breathed his last breath.
I closed my eyes and floated away, still in
pain.
The Final Act
They didn’t have any money to pay for Dad’s
funeral. He was cremated and his ashes were
scattered into the sea.
That day, I heard Mom whisper.
“Mandy, Mommy will be with you soon!”
I had a bad feeling.
And on the next day, she asked to meet up
with Brittany.
Brittany’s last couple of years were not good
either. Chris cheated on her and dumped her.
He also spent all of her money.
After the divorce, she had nowhere to go.
Mom said she wanted to be friends again and
invited her back to live at the house.
Brittany happily accepted. She was so happy
when she saw the big meal that Mom had
cooked.
She called Mom sweetly, with all kinds of
sweet talk, as if nothing had happened.
and gave bor food listening to
Г
Mom smiled and gave her food, listening to
her complaints and comforting her like
before.
But she had put a fatal dose of pesticide into
the food.
I saw Mom doing it with my own eyes.
Brittany was eating, her mouth covered in oil.
Until she felt a stabbing pain in her stomach.
She screamed in pain, falling out of her chair,
her body twisting like a maggot. She reached
out for Mom.
“I’m sorry, Mom, I’m sorry…
وو
“I’ll apologize to Mandy, I shouldn’t have hurt
her, I’m sorry.”
“Save me, please save me…
وو
But Mom just looked at her coldly, as if she
were a dead object.
Only then did Brittany realize that her mom
really didn’t love her anymore.
She couldn’t take it. She was in so much pain
and so hopeless.
“Mom, you can’t do this to me.”
“You can’t!”
She cried, begging, her hair disheveled, like a
ghost.
yivsl.
The sister who had always been spoiled
finally got to experience what it was like to
not be loved, just like me.
Then, her mouth spat out dark blood, staining
the wooden floor.
Her lips and nails had turned purple, her body
twisted in an impossible way because of the
pain.
And then, she stopped breathing.
Mom was not far from being poisoned
herself. She covered her belly, and held my
photo trembling.
Her gaze was so tender.
“Mandy, Mom has taken revenge for you. Will
you forgive me when I’m down there?”
I shook my head, unable to hold back the
tears.
Mom, please stop this.
I’m begging you.
Go to the hospital. You could live for a long
time.
Mom, don’t die, please?
Don’t you know that even if you die, I won’t
forgive you!
I was crying and begging, but I could only
watch her grow weaker
Г
And my soul was becoming lighter and lighter.
I could go to my next life.
Letting Go
Mom finally saw me again.
She ran after me, crying and apologizing.
“Mandy, you’ve become so thin.”
“Mom is so sorry, you can yell at me, hate
me.”
Her voice was full of pain and regret.
I shook my head.
Mom, I don’t hate you anymore.
But I can never forget the pain that you gave
- me.
It was the harshness of not being loved, the
constant blaming, and the feeling that no
matter how hard I tried it was never enough.
I am so tired.
Mom, it was so hard to be your daughter.
So, let’s just say goodbye.
Forget me, and I’ll forget you.
Next life, we will be strangers.
L
Hopefully we won’t meet, and everything will
be good for us.
She opened her arms, wanting to hug me. But as she reached for me, my soul disappeared.
She fell to her knees, crying loudly: “No,
Mandy, I am begging you!”
She called out my name over and over.
With every breath!
But I didn’t look back. I saw my grandmother,
the one who had always loved me in my
previous life.
The old lady was so kind and gentle, she felt
so bad for everything I had gone through. She
اصحان
く
so bad for everything I had gone through. She
held my hand and smiled.
She said that she had already found a great
family for me.
They were a loving and honest couple.
I would be their only daughter, and they were
excitedly waiting for my arrival.
I will grow up in a loving environment, and I
will become a confident girl.
My life would be peaceful, happy, and full of
love.
