Chapter 43
When I was five years old, Mom bought some fish back home and kept a few lively ones in the tank. A scrawny young boy and I lay near the tank and happily watched the fish swim about. We wanted to raise them and then release them into the ocean.
When I was seven years old, I got really into movies depicting powerful skilled female warriors riding on horses, roaming the world, and exacting justice with a sword in hand. So, I started practicing martial arts, wanting to become a famous, righteous Robin Hood–like vigilante.
But I ended up falling from a fence and hurting my kneecap. I wailed painfully on the ground.
Felix’s brother, Colin, consoled me with a lollipop. He said, Warriors never cry.”
I looked up at him and asked, “Do warriors eat lollipops, then?”
Colin thought about it for a moment before nodding. “They do. Warriors love lollipops.”
When I was ten years old, I skipped a grade. All my classmates called me a freak, someone who was more capable than them, even though I was younger. They gossiped about me behind my back, yet no
one wanted to play with me.
I sat on the field with my bag on my shoulders, crying. A young teen I had never seen before came up by my side and handed me an exquisitely boxed cake. “You’ll only have more energy to cry once you finish
eating. Good luck to you.”
I finished eating the cake but forgot to continue crying.
I turned 13 years old in the blink of an eye. Three hooligans surrounded demanding I give them my
allowance.
I was young but knew to defend my wealth already. I shook my head, one hand clutching my pocket tight
and refusing to give them my money.
Just before they started swinging punches at me, a teen appeared out of nowhere and came to my
defense, standing in front of me. He said to hurry up and run if I didn’t want to get beaten up.
When the three hooligans ran off, the teen carried me home on his back. I suddenly felt like I might
actually be a princess.
That year, I wore a light blue ruffled dress and brought all 999 paper stars I folded by hand to Aunt Mel’s house. It was Felix’s birthday, and I wanted to give him all the luck in the world.
I ran behind Felix as he marched forward on the way to the school, yet I was never able to catch up. I asked him to wait for me, but he only said coldly. “You can still make it in time. Slow down.”
The dreams of the past played on. Even in dreams, Felix was still able to wound me so much that I
wanted to cry.
Oh, right. I saw Colin. It had been nearly two years since he had been home. It had been so long that I nearly forgot about his existence.
years of absence. Colin rarely updated his social media status. I had no other way to understand what was going on with him. I didn’t know how much Colin had changed. Was he still the boy who would give me sweets and cakes when I was sad?
We would only greet one another on holidays on these two
Colin was the only source of warmth in my dreams.
I followed the brightly lit road ahead. A sudden cloud of mist appeared ahead. I soon got lost in it, unable to remember where I wanted to go.
“Lulu, come back, Lulu!” I heard Mom’s voice calling for me to come home.
Mom’s voice was nasally and panicked. It sounded like she was crying!
All of a sudden, I was a child again.
Mom was
walking through an empty street while carrying me in her arms. The sounds of her shoes. scraping the street were especially loud.
A large net suddenly fell on us from somewhere. Mom pushed me away with all her might, yet she
herself was caught under the net. Spikes suddenly shot out of it, glowing a faint blue light. Mom’s skin was cut by the spikes, and the injuries started to bleed.