Nora was sixteen when she could no longer endure my mom’s torment and decided to take me with her to run away from home. When my mom found out, she grabbed me by the neck and sneered, “Want to leave? Pay up! I’ll just pretend I never gave birth to you two worthless brats. Otherwise, I’ll strangle her!” So, Nora scraped together three thousand yuan to “buy” me out. Later, when Nora and I opened a branch overseas, Mom appeared at my door with a bag of fried fish: “Sweet daughters, let Mommy in. I’ve come to see you!” Nora looked shocked, “Auntie, you’ve got the wrong people. We’ve been orphans since we were kids. How could we have a mom?” When we were kids, our family was very poor. How poor were we? Before I was seven, I had only seen what a watermelon looked like. I never knew how it tasted. When someone in the village threw watermelon rinds into the pig slop bucket, Nora and I would wait until they left to fish them out. Even if there were unknown things stuck to them, I still thought the crunchy stuff was delicious. When I got burned by hot water, we couldn’t find any ointment, so I used shoe polish instead. The next day, the skin and flesh on my foot were rotting. My mom slapped me six times, blaming me for wasting the shoe polish, and I still had to limp and weed the field. Nora started maturing at twelve and saved money for half a month to buy a vest. My mom went crazy, beat her until her eardrum ruptured, and called her a slut, kicking me a couple of times too. In such harsh conditions, my brother lived quite comfortably at home. My name is Nora, and my sister’s name is Phoebe. My mom often said if her first child were a son, we wouldn’t have been born, so we should thank our brother. Meat and vegetables were luxuries, but my brother got to eat drumsticks every day. When he ate, my mom would poke my shoulder with chopsticks. “What are you looking at? Isn’t there rice in your bowl? You hungry ghost, if you keep looking, I’ll gouge out your eyes!” The pickled vegetables in front of me had been there for years. I could even see little bugs wriggling inside, and I couldn’t swallow it. I wasn’t convinced. I knew my brother had a lot of snacks, like Taffy and instant noodles, and I wanted to eat those too. So, I sneaked a seasoning packet from the instant noodles when no one was looking. My mom caught me and grabbed a bamboo stick to beat me. The bamboo stick was of excellent quality, and it whizzed through the air. That day, I fainted and woke up multiple times. My back and arms were covered in blood. I cried and kowtowed to my mom, saying I wouldn’t dare to steal from my brother again. Only then did she show mercy, letting me kneel until dawn before going back to sleep. After that, I had a psychological scar, obediently eating my pickles with stale buns. But Nora didn’t accept it. Like me, she had rebellious genes in her bones. She slammed the table and shouted, “I want meat!” My mom quickly moved the plate away: “Boys eat meat to grow strong and help at home. What does a jinx like you need meat for? Get lost!” “I’m the one hoeing the fields, pulling the weeds. I do all the housework. My brother does nothing, but I want meat!” “You ungrateful girl still dare to talk back! Your brother is still young, so what if he eats more meat? Would it kill you to let him have it?” Nora exploded, picking up the plate and pouring it into her mouth. My mom rushed over and kicked her in the stomach, following with a feather duster. “Try to grab it! You dare to challenge me with your wings not fully grown. Do you not remember who gave you this worthless life?” Nora didn’t cry but jumped up and fought my mom fiercely. “I want meat!!!” In the chaos, the table was overturned. I crawled on the ground, quickly stuffing rice into my mouth. Nora scolded me, “You coward! Spineless!” I looked at her impatiently, “Are you eating or not? If you want some, I’ll save you a bit, otherwise, there won’t be any rice left.” My brother sat there calmly, watching us fight over a piece of meat, then casually tossed a few drumsticks to the family dog. You see, when people are degraded to a certain point, even a dog lives better. In the end, Nora lost. I dragged her back to the room, and suddenly, she silently rushed out. I shouted after her: “Hey, are you not eating the rice? If not, it’s all mine!” I vaguely heard a roar from outside. Moments later, Nora returned, showing me the drumsticks in her arms. I swallowed hard, “Impressive, where’d you get them?” “Snatched from the dog’s bowl.” “You killed the dog?” “No, I knocked it out with a stick.” Alright, I admit I was a bit wicked. My first thought was actually about eating dog meat. Moonlight shone on our faces, illuminating the wounds on Nora’s face. She stared at the moon outside, lost in thought. “Sooner or later, I’m getting out of here.”
This vow was realized quickly. When Nora was sixteen, she finally couldn’t take it anymore. One time, while on duty at school, she accidentally fell off a table and twisted her ankle, so the teacher sent the class president to escort her home. What should have been a normal scene took on a whole different flavor in my mom’s eyes. As soon as the person left, my mom grabbed Nora by the collar and started slapping her. “You little tramp, grown up and learning to seduce men, huh?” “Was that guy just now a customer? How much do you charge per night? Tell me, if you earn a lot, just drop out. It’s not like you’re learning anything useful anyway.” “Speak up! Weren’t you full of words before? I knew you’d be no good when you bought that bra years ago. Now, look at your fox tail sticking out!” Blood trickled from the corner of Nora’s mouth as she grinned, revealing red-stained teeth. “Mom, are you lacking men so much that you’re jealous of me?” My mom froze for a moment, then flew into a rage, grabbing Nora’s hair with one hand and smashing a glass on her with the other. “Damn it! Mom feeds you and clothes you, gives you life, and you have no gratitude, you heartless ingrate. I’ll beat you to death, just die already!” Screams echoed, and I couldn’t find a chance to help. Nora struggled desperately while my mom struggled to control her. My brother silently kicked from behind, and Nora fell heavily to the ground. My mom laughed. “Still, it’s the son who’s useful. No wonder he’s Mommy’s treasure!” Nora shrank into the corner, her body trembling with pain, letting my mom pin inexplicable crimes on her. My mom called her a slut, said she was a whore, born to be sold. When she ran out of insults, she focused on Nora’s hair. “I was wondering why you’ve been slacking off at work lately, spending all your energy on your hair. Braiding it, who are you trying to seduce? Shameless thing!” My mom grabbed a pair of scissors. I rushed over, hugging her leg, begging her to spare Nora. She kicked me away, forcing Nora to lift her head, cutting large chunks of her hair. Nora howled as my mom and my brother laughed. Her once proud long hair was now like it had been chewed by a dog. “Hahahahaha! Look at her now, like a rough old man. I’d like to see her try to seduce anyone now!” Nora collapsed to the ground, covering her face in silent tears. Dressed in rags, malnourished, thin as paper, in an age where beauty mattered, her thick, dark hair was her only pride. My mom’s malicious gaze turned to me, and I shivered. “This little tramp will definitely be a vixen too!” My mom called someone to sell our hair. There was no tenderness or care. I felt like a broken doll, my scalp in severe pain, being torn apart. Through the glass, I saw my ridiculous new hairstyle. “A flat fee, three hundred fifty. Take it!” My mom took the money, her face beaming. My brother laughed too. “Son, tonight Mom will take you to KFC, make these two burdens drool!” My hair, my treasured hair, turned out to be just a meal for my mom and brother. The hair buyer muttered, “What are these adults thinking, making two girls go out looking like this!” Everyone was happy except Nora and me. In the dark, illuminated by the moonlight, I shaved Nora’s hair to the scalp. I wanted to turn on the light, but Nora refused. She said she didn’t want to see how ugly she’d become. There was no choice, the hair was ruined, so we had to shave it all off. After I finished shaving hers, she shaved mine. Near the window, we looked at each other, saw our appearances clearly, and spoke simultaneously: “You’re so ugly.” “Shut up, you are too.” We laughed silently. Nora touched her bald head, her gaze becoming determined: “Nora, I’m going to leave.”
Nora meant what she said. The next day, when I woke up, she was already gone. She’d planned this escape for three whole years. She wanted to take me with her. I refused, knowing I would only be a burden. When my mom found out, she was furious. She strangled me, slapped me, even tried to choke me with a rope. Yet, she spared my life because I could still be exchanged for a bridal price in the future. Lying on the ground, gasping for breath, I prayed for Nora to run far away and never come back. But she did. She didn’t have her ID, making it hard to get anywhere. I helped her find the ID, dragging a big package from under the bed, stuffing things into her hands. “These are what I saved secretly. This biscuit will keep you full, take more. Don’t let the apple rot, eat it early, and this…” “Could you just say something? I went through a lot to steal this from my brother, and I haven’t even eaten it myself!” Nora spoke up, “Nora, I want to take you with me.” I paused, too afraid to answer. I lay on the ground, gasping for breath, praying that Phoebe would run far away and never come back. But she did come back. She didn’t have her ID card, which made it hard to go anywhere. I helped her find her ID card and pulled out a big package from under the bed, pressing things into her hands. “I’ve been secretly saving these. This biscuit will keep you full, take more of it. Don’t let the apples spoil, eat them soon, and here’s this too…” “Could you at least say something? I barely managed to steal this from my brother, and I haven’t even eaten it myself!” Phoebe said, “Nora, I want to take you with me.” I paused, afraid to answer. “Staying here leads nowhere. That woman only cares about her son. When has she ever treated us like human beings? If we don’t run, we’re just waiting to die!” However, just as Phoebe and I were about to leave, the door opposite suddenly opened. My brother shouted at the top of his lungs: “Mom, the two burdens are trying to run away!” Mom rushed out and easily dragged me away from Phoebe, grabbing me by the neck. “Run? Where to? If I wasn’t afraid you wouldn’t fetch a good price, I’d break your legs!” I trembled, but Phoebe was surprisingly calm. She negotiated with Mom, speaking with reason. Mom’s eyes darted around, clearly scheming. “You want to run, huh? Pay up! I’ll pretend I never gave birth to you two brats. Go wherever you want!” Mom demanded three thousand dollars, which was a considerable sum back then. Her plan was clear: I was young and staying would only waste food. She might as well make a hefty profit off me and lie to others that her two daughters ran off, gaining sympathy in the process. Phoebe didn’t hesitate to pay her. I knew it was all her savings. Mom, with saliva on her fingers, carefully counted each bill, grinning wider with each one. She slapped the cash into her hand and pointed outside: “Alright, off you go! Didn’t steal anything from us, did you?” Phoebe spread out the luggage. Besides a few worn-out clothes and books, there was nothing else. Phoebe wrote a note saying Mom voluntarily “sold” me to her, marked the amount, then signed and stamped it. While signing, Mom pretended to wipe her tears: “Why are you being so distant with me? If you miss home, come back…” Phoebe took my hand and left without looking back, with a sense of finality. That year, Phoebe was sixteen, and I was twelve. With the few dozen dollars we had left, we bought two southbound train tickets, never to return.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “296603”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #狼人Werewolf #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply