- 3.
I slept and the next day, I moved into a small
apartment that my dad bought for me back in
the day.
The house was full of couples, it hurt my eyes.
<
My mom told me to get a job so that I could
get back into society.
But she didn’t want me to work at my dad’s
company.
I figured it was because Lisa and Chad were
both working there.
“You like to cook, don’t you? Why don’t you
go to my friend’s new dessert shop, you can
start from the bottom.”
I agreed.
I thought “starting from the bottom” meant
learning how to knead dough.
But I was wrong. It meant being a server.
<
My mom told her friend, “Sarah’s such a
difficult child, I’m making her start as a server to smooth out her rough edges.”
It sounded familiar.
When I was in Myanmar, Yu Jie, the woman
who held me captive, said the same thing,
that I needed to smooth out my rough edges.
When I got to Myanmar, I figured they were
going to cut out my kidneys.
But what I got was way worse.
The village I was taken to was where they
made occult charms.
And they made them from living people.
<
Skulls, teeth, skin, leg bones…
They used every part.
They wouldn’t even leave any bone dust.
The first day, to save my life, I told them that
I used to do that business back in China.
I wanted to make a deal with their boss.
So, they put a rope around my neck and led
me to Yu Jie like a dog.
Yu Jie was around forty, and it only took her
a few sentences to know I was lying.
She was so mad, she was about to kill me,
but a young man stopped her.
く
His name was Ji Fan. His father was Chinese
and his mother was from Myanmar.
He was Yu Jie’s favorite young boyfriend and
the most vicious killer in Myanmar.
He was personally chosen out of two hundred
people by Yu Jie.
Ji Fan said I looked a lot like his dead sister,
and that he wanted to keep me as a
keepsake.
Yu Jie liked Ji Fan, so she agreed to his
request.
But she said, “This girl’s got a rough edge, I
need to smooth it out.”
<
The dessert shop where I worked was huge. It
did take out and in–house.
I finished up at eight. As I was leaving, Chad
came in with Lisa.
He ordered a ton of sweets. Lisa said I should
eat with them and called a couple of their
friends.
I turned to leave, but Lisa grabbed my hand.
Her lips went down. “Sis, are you still mad at
me?”
I was tired. “I’m just exhausted. I want to go
home.”
“Relax for a bit and then go. They’re all
people we know.”
<
She forced me into a seat.
A few minutes later, three or four people
showed up, both guys and girls. They were all
mutual friends of Chad’s and mine.
They started calling Lisa “sis–in–law” as soon
as they got there.
I instinctively responded with a hum.
Then they all looked really awkward.
I realized they were calling Lisa that.
One of the girls, Jenny, was my best friend
back in the day.
She touched my stiff shoulders and tried to
change the subject. “Sarah, I remember you
<
She looked at Chad. “Did you order it?”
Lisa bit her lip. “I don’t like matcha, so Chad
didn’t order it… It’s okay, I’ll order it now.”
She waved down a server. I stood up. “I’ll
go.”
Lisa yelled at me to stop. “Sis! You’re off
work, let the people who are getting paid do
it!”
Jenny’s eyes widened. “Sarah, you’re working
here as a server?”
“Yeah.” I sat back down.
Jenny was waiting for me to explain.
The old me would have come up with some
く
story about why I was doing a job like this.
But not anymore.
Bethany and Myanmar taught me to keep my
mouth shut.
A while later, the matcha cake came.
Jenny reached for it and tripped.
She caught herself by grabbing my left arm.
I winced, pulling my arm back.
“What’s wrong?” Jenny asked.
“It’s nothing. I was hurt. It hasn’t healed.”
My left arm broke a few months back.
<
Someone told Yu Jie that Ji Fan and I were
having an affair./
Yu Jie wanted to test us, she ordered Ji Fan
to break my arm, or else she would kill me.
I still remember his face that day. He was so
angry and crazy.
His rough palm touched my skin, shaking a
little.
I saw the pain in his eyes, and I whispered,
“Don’t hesitate.”
But he still hesitated.
I bit my lip and put my own hand on top of
his, forcing my arm against the metal bar.
L
After the snap, he looked surprised for two
seconds and then turned and walked away
without looking back.
I curled up in the corner, big drops of sweat
running down my forehead, but I didn’t cry
out.
I knew he’d be hurting too…
