Five years had gone by since my death. The cops called my mom and told her they got news about me. My mother and brother marched to my grandmother's home and kicked her door down.

"Where's Charlie? That shameless woman has been hiding from us far too long. Her brother needs her cornea, and she's giving it to him!"

"Charlie's dead," said my grandmother, sobbing.

My mother sneered. "As if. The cops called us. They said they had her news. Hand her over or get out of the house, you hag."

My grandmother looked at her daughter, tears streaming down her cheeks. With trembling hands, she took my photo out. "I wonder if you've ever regretted saving your brother, Charlie."

Evil Mother

My mother was standing in the doorway, resplendently dressed like always. She cursed, "Where is she? She needs to sign these papers, pronto. It's just one cornea. Not like I need both of them. How petty can that girl be?"

My grandmother looked at her daughter expressionlessly. "Charlie died five years ago."

My mother snickered. "You're my mother. You're supposed to help my son, not some lowly outsider. Jeremy would never have gone blind if not for that girl. She should be grateful I'm not getting both of her eyes!"

My grandmother slapped her daughter as hard as she could. "You're no mother of Charlie's." Her daughter tumbled to the ground.

'Grandma…' I cried, but none could see it.

My grandmother's hand was trembling. I tried to hug her, but my hand passed through her like she was air. My mother was diagnosed with adenomyosis in her younger days. The doctor said she would never have children of her own.

The news hit my mother like a truck, and she lost her spirit since then. My grandmother found me lying by the road one day, however. Her daughter refused to raise me, but then she heard stories about how adopted children could act as a guide for lost souls to be born into a family. They said my existence could guide a boy into my mother's family.

Thanks to that, she took me from my grandmother and called me Charlie. Barely two years later, she got pregnant with a boy. I lost my worth to her, and she neglected me ever since. She made me Jeremy's caretaker.

"Get some ice cream for Jeremy, Charlie. He's craving some," said my mother.

It was raining heavily outside. I got Jeremy his ice cream, nonetheless.

"Jeremy's underpants need to be washed with cold water. He said they feel cleaner and better that way."

I went out into the snow and crouched down, doing the laundry with nothing but ice-cold water. That night, she kicked me out of the house, and I was wearing nothing but a thin layer of pajamas.

"Jeremy told me you pushed him. How dare you? His life is worth more than yours and ours! I ought to kill you for this! Get out of my sight!"

I had nowhere but the stairwell to sleep in, and I curled up as hard as I could. The cold almost killed me.

I had near-perfect marks for the SATs and could've gone to the best universities the nation had to offer, but instead, I was enrolled in a trade school.

My mother happily took the offer letter and the thirty grand that came with it. "Don't you worry. You can use her image as you like."

She changed my first choice of university so she could get the money for my brother's house.

After I graduated from trade school, it was time to pay the down payment for my brother's house. They didn't have enough money, so my mother schemed against me again.

"A guy in the neighborhood next door likes you. They're paying us 45 grand as a betrothal gift, and I've taken it. You're getting married next month."

That man was an old guy. He was already in his fifties and had a history of DV. My grandmother begged, persuaded, and threatened to kill herself before her daughter canceled the marriage plans.

Back to the present. My mother was looking at my grandmother with boiling hatred in her eyes, clutching her swollen cheek. "I'm not going to stop until I find her!" She shoved her own mother away.

My grandmother staggered and almost fell down. She steadied herself and threatened, "You keep this up, and I'm calling the cops."

Her daughter scoffed. "I don't think the cops would bother with our family's private affairs." She couldn't get any answer from her mother, so she scoured everywhere for me.

Alas, no matter how hard she searched her mother's house, she couldn't find any trace of me.

A Failed Promise

My grandmother sat quietly, waiting for my mother to finish searching every corner before saying, "She's truly gone. Her body has already been donated. She said she wanted to make sure that you would never see her again in this life, whether alive or dead."

My mother's face twisted with rage as she glared at my grandmother. "Mom, you're my mother. Do you even remember how Dad died? If it weren't for that wretched girl, Dad would still be fine. And Jeremy's eyes would still be perfect! I only want that murderer's cornea now! I'm not asking for her life! I truly regret adopting her!"

My grandmother looked at her with disappointment written all over her face. "And she regrets being adopted by you."

My mother kicked over a nearby chair. "If she doesn't show up, you'll be out on the street! The deed to this house is in my name. If I don't let you stay, you have no right to live here."

She slammed the door on her way out. My grandmother collapsed onto the ground, her trembling hands pulling out the only photograph of me from her pocket.

Tears streamed down her face. "Charlie, if you hadn't crossed paths with our family, would you still be living a good life? Do you regret saving Jeremy?"

I don't know either.

Five years ago, Jeremy insisted on going on a graduation trip.

Afraid something would happen to him, I had no choice but to accompany him.

In the end, he came back alone, clutching his blinded right eye.

He told my mother that we had run into trouble, and I had abandoned him. He claimed someone had stabbed his eye and that he barely escaped.

When my grandfather heard about my disappearance, he suffered a heart attack and died on the spot.

My mother took Jeremy to the hospital for treatment, all while cursing my name. She wished for nothing more than my death.

However, she didn't know that, at that time, I was enduring a fate worse than death.

Jeremy's so-called graduation trip? That was all a lie. He had been lured by the promise of "easy girls to play with."

Truth be told, they were after his kidneys, but with me involved, things took a different turn.

We were dragged deep into the mountains.

On the way, I found a chance to escape. I clung to those men with all the strength I had, buying Jeremy enough time to run.

"Run quickly! Get the cops here! I recognize their accents and know where they're from! You must bring the police to rescue me," I said.

He swore he would come back, but he didn't.

Instead, those men dragged me like a beaten animal into the heart of the mountains.

They locked me in a shack, a ramshackle hut barely holding itself together. The walls were riddled with gaps, and the roof was made of piled-up straw that didn't even keep out the rain. When it rained, water seeped in from every corner.

I lay in the mud, helpless, as they violated me over and over.

There was always someone watching me, and they ran this place like a business, charging per person.

Last time, it was ten dollars per visit or sometimes just a piece of bacon.

I lost count of how many men visited. There were old men, able-bodied men, disabled men, and even those who weren't in their right mind. As long as they paid, anyone could do it.

I spent three years marking the passing of time by the fading light outside, day after day.

I lost count of how many times I got pregnant. Each time, after one or two months, the pregnancy was forcibly ended through violence because pregnancy meant I couldn't make them any money.

I pieced together from the snippets of their conversations that after Jeremy escaped, he made it to the county where he could have called the police, but he didn't.

Afraid they might catch up to him, he kept running.

It would have only taken five minutes for the police to track me down, but he didn't even give me that opportunity.

I had no choice but to change, day by day, becoming more submissive and pretending to be docile so they would slowly lower their guard.

Finally—

That year, heavy rain came, and a landslide tore through the shack.

I escaped. Unfortunately, it took me two years to walk from the mountains back to my grandmother's house.

When she saw me, she thought she was dreaming. She kept asking if it was really me.

I broke down and collapsed into her arms, sobbing.

My grandmother, overwhelmed with grief, called my mother and begged her to come.

Alas, she was too busy taking care of Jeremy.

She kept accusing my grandmother of lying, insisting, "That ungrateful wretch would never come back. And if she does, I'll break her legs!"

My grandmother spent every last penny of her savings trying to get me medical treatment, but my body was already beyond repair.

So, after signing the body donation form, I died on the hospital bed.

After my death, my grandmother reached out to my mother again, but she brushed it off, saying my grandmother must have lost her mind due to her old age. She believed Jeremy, who told her I had been lured away by some gangsters, and that made her hate me even more.

She never believed me, only him. Not back then, and not now.

A Death Certificate

Half a month later, my mother showed up again along with Jeremy.

She had truly lost all sense of decency and driven my grandmother out.

"Don't blame me. Isn't she the one who's always been the most filial to you? If something happens to you, she's bound to show up."

Jeremy clung to my mother's arm, feigning concern. "Mom, Grandma is getting old. Stop putting her through this. Charlie must still be upset that I stole your love. That's why she's deliberately staying away."

He covered one of his eyes dramatically. "My other eye still works. I'm fine."

My mother immediately pulled him into her arms. "Jeremy, don't worry. I'll find that little wretch."

Her voice was sharp with anger. "She made you suffer like this. She won't get away with it."

Her gaze turned icy as she fixed it on my grandmother. "If you don't want to starve out there, you'd better find her. I've already contacted the hospital. As soon as she shows up, we'll proceed with the surgery."

My grandmother was a woman who loved reading and staying informed. She sneered at her. "Selling organs is illegal, and so is neglecting your elderly mother. If you're not afraid of me calling the police, then go ahead and make a scene."

"I'm not leaving. If I go, Charlie's spirit won't be able to find me, and she'll be distressed," she added firmly.

A sharp pain pierced my chest.

'Can Grandma sense my presence?' I mused.

My mother threatened, "You know my temper. Feel free to test me."

My grandmother trembled with fury. "She's already gone. Why can't you accept that? She wasn't your biological daughter, but she loved you like you were her real mother. How can you treat her like this?"

My mother's face twisted with hatred. "Because she killed my father and blinded my son in one eye."

"It was an accident," my grandmother said weakly. "No one wanted that to happen."

My grandmother tried to explain, "If Jeremy hadn't insisted on going out to play, how could this have happened—"

Jeremy quickly interrupted her. "Please don't argue because of me. I've never blamed Charlie for leaving me behind. She just didn't want to share your love with me," he added, lowering his right hand.

As he did, he revealed his bloodshot right eye, an eye that got stabbed in an accident all those years ago.

That injury was a constant reminder of my mistake to my mother.

And my mother? She always fell for it.

Her tone softened even further as she comforted him. "In the end, nothing compares to one's own flesh and blood. Those taken in are just ingrates. Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find her."

I floated above, watching her twisted expression. It felt like a heavy weight was pressed against my chest. I couldn't breathe.

She was never going to find me. After my body was donated, all the procedures became confidential. Even I didn't know which university or hospital was using me as a teaching cadaver.

My grandmother brought out my body donation agreement, but my mother tore it apart without even glancing at it.

"Don't try to fool me with fake documents. What were you thinking?" she sneered. "Someone as selfish as her—she wouldn't even share a piece of candy with Jeremy when she was little. How could she possibly donate her body?"

My grandmother bent down and picked the torn pieces of paper up from the ground. Her lips quivered as she called out my childhood nickname. "Lilie, don't be afraid. Grandma will come find you soon," she said softly.

I didn't want my grandmother to come find me. Not at all.

My mother clearly had other ideas. She kicked aside the scraps of paper on the floor.

"Mom, where is Charlie? Where is she?" she demanded.

My grandmother snapped. Her anger, raw and sudden, spilled over as she threw a piece of paper at my mother.

"Look at it yourself! Look at the seal! Are you blind or just plain dumb? Who could forge something like this?" she yelled.

My mother was stunned by her yelling.

She stared blankly at the death certificate in her hand. The official words stared back at her:

"This certifies that Charlie Sawyer, female, 25 years old, died on July 7, 2010. She suffered three years of brutal abuse before her death. Her reproductive organs were severely damaged, and her body bore countless injuries..."