12
My name is Patty.
I was the unwanted, abused daughter in a
patriarchal family.
At sixteen, my parents made me drop out to
work and pay for my brother’s education.
Then, the poisoning incident killed my parents
and brother.
I was alone.
Villagers comforted me, but I wasn’t sad.
I was ecstatic.
No more chores, no one stopping me from
く
studying.
I studied hard, got into high school, college,
and got a good job.
Teachers, classmates, and colleagues
sympathized with my being an orphan.
But I was happy about it.
I lived a life I never imagined.
Later, I joined a tech company.
My boss was Lily.
From my village.
At a celebration, I finally met the successful
businesswoman.
Memories flooded back.
I knew Lily.
Her mother and grandmother had “poisoned”
my family.
I was intensely interested in her.
I followed her career.
I heard her mother remarried a rich man.
Then, her mother died, and the rich man was
<
a fraud.
Later, I became Lily’s secretary.
She smiled, calling my name, “Patty,
remember me? We used to catch frogs in the
rice paddies!”
Of course.
We caught so many frogs.
But none of them were for us; my brother ate
them all.
We sat with empty stomachs, watching the
stars.
Lily asked, “We’re all our parents‘ children, why did they favor our brother so much?”
I said, “No one loved us, so we learned to love
ourselves. We’re all equal.”
She was young.
But her eyes held the same hatred as most
girls in the village.
Now, working for her, her confidence and
boldness were different from the girl I knew.
She loved herself, just like me.
All these years, I loved myself too. [The End]
