My mom wanted to marry me off to Lachlan Walker, the town’s simpleton, for money. I resisted with all my might and jumped into the deepest lake in the village. Lachlan lost his life trying to save me. I survived, only to be despised by everyone in the village. My brother died in a fight because he couldn’t afford school, my mom went crazy, and my dad threatened to beat me to death. In the end, I jumped into that lake again. When I woke up, I had been reborn to the day Lachlan came to my house to propose. Lachlan Walker was simple-minded but the best-looking man in town. His family had moved here five years ago, supposedly because a fortune teller said that if they lived in this town for six years, Lachlan would escape disaster and might even regain his senses. I learned all this in my past life when the whole village cursed me after Lachlan’s death. The Walker family had made significant contributions to the village and were highly respected in town. Now, Lachlan wasn’t dead yet, and I hadn’t become the village pariah. Lachlan walked through our broken doorway, a chicken in his left hand and a fish in his right. “Brynn, wife, for you!” he said. My mom took the items from Lachlan’s hands, grinning from ear to ear, and urged me to go for a walk with him. I had just woken up from my rebirth, my head spinning and memories jumbled. Before I could say anything, Lachlan grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. “Lachlan, be gentle!” I said. Hearing the anger in my voice, Lachlan apologized, “Sorry, wife!” Even though I had been reborn, even though Lachlan had saved me in my past life, I still rolled my eyes at him in disgust. “Who’s your wife?” Lachlan let go of me and started gesticulating wildly. “Brynn! Brynn! Wife!” My mom pushed me again, threatening me in a low voice, “The money for your brother’s wedding and your younger brother’s school fees all depend on you. Behave yourself, or I’ll beat you!” I shuddered. Worse than death was the beating and cursing from my whole family. Whenever I disobeyed, my dad would whip me with his belt, my mom would hit me with her slippers, my older brother would tie me up, and my younger brother would prick me with needles. In my past life, fearing to jump from one fire into another, I had jumped into the lake on the day Lachlan came.
Lachlan jumped up and down, shouting, “Brynn! Let’s go! Buy!” He pulled out some money from his pocket and waved it in front of me. I had barely gone to school, not even finishing elementary. I had never left the village and had only seen ten or twenty-dollar bills. I had never seen what a hundred-dollar bill looked like. Now Lachlan was holding hundred-dollar bills, saying he wanted to buy me things. It felt like a dream. My mom pushed Lachlan towards me, smiling, “Go on! Look how much Lachlan likes you!” Lachlan took my hand, and this time, I didn’t refuse. As we walked through the village, eyes were everywhere – curious, probing, and mostly mocking. “Only Rosemary would be willing to marry her daughter off to a simpleton like Lachlan Walker, and an outsider at that!” “Rosemary got two thousand dollars! She can pay for her eldest son’s wedding, send her youngest to school, and even fix up the house. What a great deal!” “Her dad’s always saying Brynn’s a money-losing proposition. Well, look at her now, earning big bucks for him! It’s just a shame for the poor girl, abused at home and now marrying a simpleton!” Rosemary was my mother’s name. What a beautiful name! Even with my limited education, I knew it was a pretty name, but my mother never bothered to give me one. The name Brynn, I had chosen for myself when I started elementary school. They only ever called me “Unlucky” or “Little bitch.”
Lachlan held my hand tightly and whispered in my ear, “Brynn, don’t be scared! I won’t bully you! I’ll take care of you!” Around us, people snickered, mocking the simpleton for wanting to take care of a wife. I looked at Lachlan, the words “I’ll take care of you” echoing in my ears. Even my parents, who had given birth to me, never bothered to take care of me. A few days after I was born, my mom got sick. The whole family clamored that I was a star of misfortune, bringing disaster to my mother as soon as I was born. They dumped me on my grandmother. My grandmother raised me for three years. I never spoke a word, and she called me unlucky, saying I couldn’t even talk. She sent me back. From then on, my life changed from occasionally going hungry to being hungry and beaten every day. “Brynn! Hot! Eat!” Lachlan pulled out a paper-wrapped package from his jacket. When he opened it, there was a steaming hot bread roll. I swallowed hard. At home, my youngest brother always ate first, then my older brother, then my parents, and finally me. By the time I finished washing clothes and doing chores, there was only a bit left at the bottom of the pot. I had never eaten anything hot, let alone a bread roll. “Really for me?” I asked, surprised and delighted, my stomach starting to growl. Lachlan nodded, pushing the bread towards my hands. “For Brynn, eat!” I took the bread and started eating, my mouth full, but still managing to give Lachlan a big smile. In my past life, on the day Lachlan came to my house, all I did was cry and run away. I never paid any attention to Lachlan. If I had eaten Lachlan’s bread in my past life, I might not have thought about jumping into the lake. Because the bread was so good! I had never eaten such delicious, warm bread before! I wanted to eat more in the future…
“Brynn Summers! What are you doing wandering around in the middle of the day?” Hearing this voice, I couldn’t help but tremble all over. I saw my older brother, Derek Summers, walking over. He immediately grabbed my arm, forcibly pulling me away from Lachlan. The remaining uneaten bread fell to the ground. Derek’s angry roar rang in my ears: “Oh! Not going home to do chores, but out here eating bread!” Derek stepped on the bread, crushing it to pieces, as if he wanted to crush my dreams along with it. “Brother…” I called out fearfully, “Mom told me to come out.” “Brynn Summers!” Derek continued to shout in my ear, his expression twisted, “Don’t think that just because you’re marrying a simpleton, you’ll be living the high life! Don’t forget, you’re my sister. You should always think of your family, got it?” Derek worked at the only distillery in town. Whenever his boss berated him at work, he would come back to beat and curse me, saying I was unlucky and that I had passed my bad luck to him since birth, causing him to have no money or status. But what did that have to do with me? I was just a child born with a mother but raised without one. “Don’t bully Brynn!” Lachlan pushed away Derek, who was grabbing me, and shielded me behind him, pointing at Derek’s nose and scolding, “You’re bad!” Derek raised his hand to hit Lachlan without a word. “Derek Summers! What are you doing?” “Derek, stop right now!” The town mayor and my mom came from different directions. Seeing this, Derek waved his hand, put on a smile, and said, “Good afternoon, Mayor! Mom, why are you out too? Haven’t you made lunch?” Usually, Derek would come home for lunch after work, and my mom would have food ready for him. If he went hungry, I would inevitably receive another beating.
“Derek Summers! If you want to beat your own sister, do it at home! Who do you think you are to hit Lachlan?” the mayor glared at Derek angrily. Lachlan was a frequent guest at the mayor’s house. From what my mom had said, he often gave money to the mayor. The roads in town were paved with that money, the school was built with it, and even the only distillery was constructed with those funds. Derek could beat me behind closed doors at home, but he couldn’t touch anyone from the Walker family in public. My mom looked at Derek, giving him a meaningful glance, completely ignoring me, showing no concern whatsoever. But I was used to it. “Mayor, he’s too much!” Lachlan pointed at Derek, then at me. “He hit Brynn! He’s bad!” The mayor nodded, “Yes, yes, Derek is bad.” He looked up at Derek, “Derek, why don’t you take your sister home? If you want to beat her, scold her, or teach her a lesson, do it at home!” I fearfully leaned closer to Lachlan. Derek must have been upset at work, and now, not having eaten lunch, he would definitely beat me when we got home. Lachlan protected me, “Don’t be afraid! Brynn! Come to my house!” Derek shouted, “You’re not even married yet! How can that be? Brynn’s coming home with me!” My mom reached out to grab me, “That’s right, Lachlan. You’re not married yet! This won’t do. Once your family sends the money, I’ll give Brynn to you right away!” My heart sank. So my mom hadn’t received the two thousand dollars yet! I couldn’t go with Lachlan! Knowing my mom’s nature, she wouldn’t let me go without getting the money. “Lachlan…” I looked at Lachlan longingly, really wanting another bite of that warm bread. The mayor spoke up, “Lachlan, go home and tell your parents that getting married costs money. There needs to be a wedding feast! Only then can Brynn become your wife and go home with you, understand?”
“I understand! I’ll marry Brynn! I’ll go get money!” I watched as Lachlan was convinced by their few words. I quickly grabbed him, “I have a couple of words I want to say to Lachlan in private!” The mayor looked at my mom, my mom looked at me, and I anxiously waited. “Brynn, speak! I’m listening.” Lachlan leaned his ear closer. I glanced at my mom and my older brother, finally getting my mom’s permission. I knew that even if I married Lachlan, they wouldn’t let me go. So, I whispered something in Lachlan’s ear. Lachlan nodded vigorously, looked at me once, and ran off. Then I was dragged home by Derek, my toes barely touching the ground as he gripped the back of my collar. Derek still beat me. This time he only hit places that others couldn’t see, then threw me into the cellar. This was a place I often stayed. Now, apart from a few dry sweet potatoes, there was nothing else, just darkness and dampness. “Mom, how could you marry her off for just two thousand dollars? It costs me eight thousand eight hundred to get a wife!” Derek’s voice came from above the cellar. “Eight thousand eight hundred could get you two wives! Red from the front village, her mom told me it would only cost four thousand eight hundred. Once the money’s there, she’ll be yours right away!” Ruby? Ruby was two years younger than me, only sixteen this year! Derek was already twenty-five after the New Year! Besides, Ruby said she wanted to go work in the city, to see a broader world, not to get married and stay here for life! When Ruby said this, there was a light in her eyes. I envied her fiercely, thinking how great it would be if I could go work in the city too, and escape my family! “Ruby? Ruby’s great! Ruby’s figure is so slim! Mom, let’s get Ruby! Hurry and bring Ruby over!” Derek exclaimed excitedly. “What’s the rush? Wait until Lachlan brings the betrothal gift, then I’ll bring Ruby back for you. These couple of days, don’t beat that dead girl too much, don’t cause any more trouble…” Their voices grew fainter, and I couldn’t hear anymore. In my past life, I didn’t marry Lachlan, my mom didn’t get the money, and Derek didn’t get a wife. But now I could barely save myself, how could I save Ruby? Did I have to die again?
I was starved for two days and two nights. I thought I was about to die when Lachlan came with two thousand dollars, bringing his dad and the mayor to marry me. Mr. Walker held two pieces of paper in his hand. Seeing how weak I looked, he angrily put the papers on the table, insisting that everyone in my family sign and put their fingerprints on them. My mom couldn’t read, so she handed the papers on the table to my older brother and asked the mayor, “What does this mean?” The mayor said, “Mr. Walker means that you’re marrying your daughter to his son. They’ll give you two thousand dollars, and from now on, your daughter will be part of their family, with no more connection to you.” My mom wasn’t happy about this: “Why? I gave birth to her and raised her! This is like selling my daughter!” My older brother looked at the black and white text, then pulled my mom aside to discuss. My dad was a true farmer, working in the fields all day. My younger brother had just started elementary school and needed money for many things, so our family had almost no savings left. That’s why my brother hadn’t been able to get married for so many years. My brother was determined to get Lachlan’s money. “I’ve discussed it with my mom. We’ll give this dead girl to you, no problem! But two thousand dollars is definitely not enough!” My brother held up one hand to Mr. Walker, “It has to be this much! Otherwise, no one’s taking her away!” Five thousand dollars? My brother had gone crazy for money! Five thousand dollars was enough for our family to live on for several years!
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