That night, my mother was so upset that she went into premature labor and had a son.

My nightmare began then.

4

When my brother was born, my parents cherished him like the apple of their eye, even forbidding me from touching him.

"Keep your dirty hands away, what if you hurt him with your rough hands?" I brought chicken soup to my mother resting in bed and couldn't resist pulling back a corner of the swaddle to peek at this little person who replaced my role as the beloved child. But my mother slapped my hand away.

My family had longed for a son for many years, and finally, filling that void lifted their spirits to the skies.

My father took a swig of liquor, looked approvingly at my mother sprawled on the bed, and chirped, "You finally gave me a son; now I have a descendant."

His gaze was intensely fixed on my mother and the newborn, a look of tenderness and anticipation I had never seen before as if he finally had a home. A warm home with a wife and son.

I bowed my head and silently stepped out, looking up at the dark blue night sky while secretly wiping away tears.

Thinking of Amber, whose whereabouts were unknown, I quickly dried my tears.

Without the love of my father or mother, I must keep living well until the day I find Amber, for only then will we indeed be family to each other.

There was a free school in the village, but I had no chance to attend; I needed to work at home.

As my two aunts sent their sons off, they came specially to mock us when they noticed our house was still. "Nora, why isn't Angela in school? It's such a great opportunity that doesn't cost a dime."

My mother just smiled, "I just had a baby, there's no one else to do the chores around here; Angela needs to stay and help me."

Samantha sneered half-heartedly, "Oh please, everyone knows you traded your daughter for your son. What was it you said? A son and a daughter are the same; they're both your kids."

Melinda Lewis, my second uncle's wife, chimed in from the side. "Yeah, Nora, if they're all your kids, then selling Amber shouldn't mean Angela has to suffer."

They were only trying to upset my mom, but for the sake of her pride, she actually let me go to school.

I was grateful and cherished it deeply, even though my mother's glare could nearly slice me open whenever the doors were closed.

She even let me continue my studies until middle school exams. I thought that was the end of my education, but then, to my surprise, they asked if I wanted to go to high school.

"Angela, do you want to go to high school?"

I nodded vigorously. Yes, how could I not want to?

"The village chief next door told me his son just got out of jail. If you marry him, we'll get a wedding gift of fifty thousand."

My heart sank immediately upon hearing this.

"If you get into high school, I can ask for one hundred thousand from him, but you'll have to come up with the tuition yourself."

It was all just a scheme to sell me off, but it at least gave me a glimmer of hope.

The money I earned from tirelessly working from dawn to dusk, climbing mountains, and crossing rivers was nowhere near enough for tuition, let alone living expenses.

I counted the few banknotes hidden under my pillow night after night, my heart racing with anxiety.

Because I was trying to save up for school, I did less work at home, and my mother grew colder towards me.

She thought it was better to marry me off early and keep the money firmly in her hands.

"A girl's education is just a waste of money. You're lucky we feed you well. Marrying you off and using the money to support Henry is your duty!"

With that money, her son, Henry, could have meat to eat, new clothes to wear, and a school to attend.

But Dad was different; he had a long-term vision. He thought it better to sell for a reasonable price once and earn enough to cover Henry's expenses for building a house and getting married.

"Angela, if you get into high school, I expect a hefty wedding gift, and then your brother won't have to worry," he said.

I felt like a commodity, subject to their evaluations and comments.

If I were a product, at least the owner would take good care of it, worried about depreciating its value.

But no. What weighed on me was endless chores and baseless scolding.

My mom was determined to keep me from going to school.

That day, after selling the fish I caught in the river at the village entrance, I returned home to find my mother sitting sternly in the living room.

She started with a forced smile. "Oh, you're back. How much did you make today?"

My heart tightened, gripping the money in my palm, too scared to respond.

It was my only hope.

My silence infuriated her.

She pulled out a stack of neatly folded bills from her pocket.

It was my money. I hid under my pillow!

"Oh, you've learned to steal, have you? After all we provide for you, and even sending you to school, and this is how you repay us!"

I couldn't understand why she was so furiously acting as if I really had stolen the money.

She grabbed a broom from the corner and started hitting my hands, cursing, "Wretched girl, a few days of education and you've become wild! You dare to steal my money!"

I tried my best to dodge, tears streaming down my face, still trying to reason with her to give me back my money, "Mom... that's my money, I earned it, I want to go to school."

"Your money? We feed and clothe you, what money do you have? It's all mine!"

My five-year-old brother watched the whole drama, laughing and clapping his hands in amusement.

6

Trapped with no escape, I approached my two aunts in desperation.

They listened to my plea with pained expressions, expressing sympathy but not lending a single cent.

They relayed their response to my mother.

"Oh, Angela has been such a help at home over the years. If Amber were here, she wouldn't bear to see her sister like this."

"If it weren't for my two sons, I definitely would have given some money!" one aunt lamented.

"If my own child got into high school, I'd sell everything to send him, because sons and daughters are just the same, right, Nora?"

A chill ran through me as they flaunted my misery in front of my mother.

Furious, my mother dragged me into the yard and beat me. "You've become so clever, huh? I told you not to go to school, but you stole money, and when caught, you turned to deception. How can you be so vile?"

Her heart-wrenching cries quickly drew the neighbors, who formed a half-circle at a distance, smirking behind their hands.

The stick fell repeatedly on my body, and my aunts, terrified, tried hesitantly to intervene.

My mother shrugged off their hands, cursing more fiercely and striking harder, venting years of resentment towards the family on me.

I dared not run; where could I escape to?

Beyond this family threshold, there was nowhere I belonged.

Their mocking gazes cut through me like the executioner's sharpest knife, slicing away my dignity piece by piece as my mother's evil curses became inaudible to me.

My vision blurred, and the pain in my body began to numb.

Flowers meticulously nurtured in pots thrive lushly.

Roadside weeds were plucked and discarded eventually.

Maybe that was just my fate...

"What are you doing!" A furious voice erupted from afar.