17
Grandma never sued me. I graduated from college without ever receiving a court
Summons.
My advisor encouraged me to apply for a
<
government job.
I studied hard and landed a position in a
neighboring district.
My supervisors were supportive, and there
were many other young graduates in the
office.
I settled into my new life and adopted a kitten
I named Lucky.
Mom moved her food stall to the city. She
was always busy during the night market.
When Lucky grew bigger, our landlord, who
didn’t allow pets, asked us to move.
I transferred my household registration to the
city and started looking for a new place with
Mom.
A few years passed. I’d lost touch with the
Millers.
Then Sarah, Mrs. Gable’s granddaughter, who
was also a gossip, filled me in. We were QQ
friends and used to study together.
She’d returned to our village to work as a
village official, determined to make a
difference.
She couldn’t wait to tell me the latest news
about the Millers.
Ethan rarely left the house. He played video
games all day, refusing to study or work,
relying on Aunt Sarah to support him.
Aunt Sarah worked all day, then came home
to cook and clean for her adult son.
If she complained. Ethan would threaten to
jump out the window.
Uncle Mark hadn’t contacted them in a long
time. Aunt Sarah knew he’d abandoned them.
<
time. Aunt Sarah knew he’d abandoned them.
She cried at night, and Ethan would yell,
“Stop crying! You’re so annoying!”
Grandma farmed and cared for Dad, her
curses echoing through the village.
She cursed her fate, cursed Dad for being a
burden, cursed Aunt Sarah for ruining her
precious grandson, and cursed Mom and me
for being heartless.
She blamed Uncle Mark and Ethan’s
misfortunes on bad luck and went to temples
to pray for better fortune.
I laughed. Even her curses were biased, just
like always.
Jenny, they were even on a TV show about
scam awareness! It was hilarious. Grandma
said they were so desperate for attention that
they got scammed for over a year without
they got scammed for over a year without
realizing it.”
I told Sarah not to tell them anything about me. I wanted nothing to do with them.
Sarah agreed, but like her grandmother, she couldn’t keep a secret.
Grandma found out I had a government job. She wailed in front of our old house, accusing me of stealing her grandson’s destiny.
The fortune teller had said Ethan would be an
official, but I was the one who ended up in public service.
Grandma, in her delusion, paid someone to
perform an exorcism, trying to steal my
“luck” and give it to Ethan.
Sarah said, “Superstition is so scary. She
wasted all that money. She should have saved
it for satin.
The fortune teller had said Ethan would be an official, but I was the one who ended up in
public service.
Grandma, in her delusion, paid someone to
perform an exorcism, trying to steal my
“luck” and give it to Ethan.
Sarah said, “Superstition is so scary. She
wasted all that money. She should have saved
it for retirement.”
This time, I learned my lesson. I didn’t tell
anyone, not even Sarah, that Mom and I had
taken out a loan to buy a small, two–bedroom
apartment.
It wasn’t much, but it was our home.
On moving day, I bought a mousse cake.
As the candles flickered, I took Mom’s hand. “Mom, let’s blow out the candles together.”
