I was my family’s lucky star. I predicted the lottery numbers, and my gambling-addict father, buried in debt, won a hundred million dollars. I predicted the SAT answers, and my underachieving little brother was admitted to Stanford with a full scholarship. I predicted Trump’s election as president, and my mother, riding on my predictions, was hailed as a prophetess across the internet, basking in endless admiration. The whole family now treated me like I was made of gold. But I coldly watched as they reveled in their joy. They’d long forgotten that, two years ago, I was the “cursed child” subjected to endless insults. But it didn’t matter—I’d make sure they remember. As soon as I walked into the house, my mom eagerly linked her arm to mine. “Sweetheart, we’ve all been waiting for you to cut the cake!” Squatting by the dining table, my dad and my brother wore expressions of faint dissatisfaction, but it was overshadowed by their ingratiating smiles. I glanced at the clock in the living room. It was 00:47 AM. Raymond’s twenty-third birthday had already passed. In the past, if I were even a minute late to Raymond’s birthday, my mom would have dragged me by the ear and made me apologize. Because Raymond was the White family’s golden child. But things had all changed. Now, Raymond, the same big-sized guy who used to look down on me, bent over deferentially to guide me to the seat of honor. The rundown apartment building had been swapped for a luxurious villa, and all the furniture was upgraded to top-quality solid wood. Raymond rubbed his hands together and pushed the large birthday cake in front of me. His eyes were filled with anticipation. I gave him a faint smile. “What do you want for your birthday this year?” Raymond plopped down next to me, and his eyes gleamed with perversion. “Stone, I want my boss’ daughter to chase after me—preferably so publicly that everyone knows about it!” I froze for a second, sizing up my chubby and pig-faced brother, and agreed. Thanks to my “blessing”, Raymond landed a job at a prestigious company. His boss’ daughter had just returned from overseas and was currently Raymond’s direct supervisor. Raymond had been pursuing her for some time, but the girl didn’t even spare him a glance. Seeing how readily I agreed, my mom frowned in disdain. “That girl’s probably dumped by others, isn’t she? Is she even worthy of our Raymond?” My dad nodded fervently. Ever since I came back, my parents had become insatiably arrogant. Even the daughter of a major corporate CEO was beneath their standards. In their minds, even the president’s daughter wouldn’t be good enough for Raymond. As my parents continued to insult Raymond’s crush, he only let out a lewd laugh. “That’s just for fun. Anyway, once I’m bored, I can always dump her. “Besides, with Stone around, what kind of woman can’t I play with?” “With Stone around” had become a mantra for the entire family. I smiled without saying a word and excused myself, claiming I was tired. My bedroom was no longer a storage room. It faced south, spacious and bright. Intricate Versailles-style tiles covered the floor, and gold-trimmed, carved walls framed the space. The bed was adorned with blue crystal accents at the headboard and footboard, blending with the dark woodgrain to exude luxury. And all of this just because I was the family’s lucky star. I could grant one wish for someone each week. The better they treated me, the fewer restrictions there were on the wish. From promotions to immortality, anything was possible. Just because it was Raymond’s birthday, they cheerfully gave this week’s wish to him. They forgot that today was also my birthday. They said, “What’s the point of remembering the birthday of a worthless girl?” I’d heard those words for over a decade. Even the birth date on my ID card was made up. It was better they didn’t remember. I lay on the soft and comfortable bed, and their greedy laughter still rang in my ears. They were eagerly arguing over next week’s wish. Too bad they didn’t know that all wishes came with a price.
Early the next morning, before I was fully awake, my mom was already helping me wash up in the bathroom. When I was done, she crouched at my feet to help me put on socks, muttering under her breath, “Sweetheart, look how much I love you.” Every word was about love, but the calculating gleam in her eyes was practically spilling out. I smiled and glanced at my grandmother, who was mopping the living room floor. Now that we were rich, we should’ve hired a few housekeepers. But my parents refused—not because they didn’t want to spend the money, but because they were greedy. They were so greedy that they were afraid an outsider might somehow siphon away my “blessings”. So, they took it upon themselves to bring my grandmother from the countryside to work as a maid. At breakfast, the table was filled with eighteen dishes—chicken, duck, fish, seafood—each one exquisitely prepared. I picked up a fork and took one bite before frowning. “Why is this food so spicy? Who can eat this?” The next second, Raymond exploded. “Grandma, what the hell is wrong with you?” My mom immediately chimed in, scolding, “Making food like this? You might as well just drop dead!” With a few words, Grandma’s eyes were already red. With a sigh, she shakily got up and returned to the kitchen to make something else. As her footsteps faded away, no one at the table showed any reaction. After all, everyone knew I hated Grandma. That was an established fact in our family. The first day Grandma was brought back to the family, I told them that anyone could make a wish to me except for Grandma. My family saw no problem with my heartless behavior. In fact, to please me, they deliberately found ways to pick on Grandma in front of me. With that little interruption out of the way, the table returned to a lively and harmonious atmosphere. I took a bite of pasta and felt something hard inside. Digging through it, I found a small piece of sweet potato. I froze for a moment. It was my exclusive birthday gift. In the countryside, pasta was a luxury. Every year on the night before my birthday, Grandma would sneak into a neighbor’s field in the dead of night to steal sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes were very sweet. But they also carried bitterness. I wiped away the tears at the corner of my eyes. From my seat, I could see the kitchen and Grandma’s busy figure. By the time she brought out the new dishes, the table was already a mess. Not a single bite was left for her. I couldn’t bear to look anymore. Two years ago, I wasn’t the family’s lucky star. I was the cursed one, and Grandma was the old hag. Back then, the entire family lived in a basement apartment that cost 100 dollars a month to rent. Dad gambled, Mom played cards, and I became their unpaid maid. At five, I learned to do laundry. At seven, I stood on a stool to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyone. There was a small dent on my forehead, left from my mom poking me hard with her finger. She loved to jab my head while cursing, “You are a jinx! Worthless brat! You stole my son’s place in my womb just to live a good life? I won’t let you!” My mom said the fortune-teller had predicted she’d give birth to a boy. She believed it was my witchcraft that made me a girl instead. I didn’t understand any of it back then. I only knew that their yelling and anger left me trembling. I had no bed but only a spot on the floor. In my dreams, I wished over and over that I’d been born a boy. Then, when I turned ten, they finally had a son. And finally, they remembered to give me a real name. I was named Stone. My brother was named Raymond. A symbol of a common stone versus a symbol of light and glory. When Raymond started school, I was formally relieved of my “nanny” duties. Even when I held onto a perfect report card, begging and kowtowing to my parents all night, even when my teacher pleaded with them, they threw me back to the countryside without hesitation. I walked alone through the winding mountain paths from sunrise to sunset before finally reaching Grandma’s house. Grandma was skinny yet always gentle. She greeted me with a warm smile from the front of her thatched cottage. My parents only visited once a year during the New Year, and even then, it was to covet Grandma’s land. “Mom, you’re in your seventies. What do you need a plot of land for? “I owe 500 thousand dollars. Jack said I could trade the land for it. I’m your son. You can’t just ignore this!” Grandma’s only response was silence. That night, Grandma lit a rare fire, filling the little house with warmth. But no matter how I coaxed or begged, she didn’t smile. A million dollars of gambling debt—the land could cover most of it. They wouldn’t let Grandma go. Sure enough, the next day, my dad burst into the house with a machete in hand, like a demon straight from hell. That night, I dragged him up the mountain. I gave him a string of numbers and told him to buy a lottery ticket. By some twist of fate, he did. That string of numbers won him two million dollars. Overnight, my family struck it rich. I watched his manic celebration with indifference. That day, the once-silent village came alive with the sound of firecrackers. Everyone said Raymond had made a fortune and was taking me back to live a good life. Before I left, I told Grandma, “I’ll bring you back. And don’t ever make a wish to me, or it’ll cost you your life!” Grandma quietly cleaned up the leftovers on the table. Meanwhile, my dad was still pestering me about which numbers would win the lottery. My mom, slipping a new gold necklace around my neck, whispered about her desire for painless beauty.
A few days later, Raymond was beaming at the dinner table. The reason? The cold daughter of his boss had not only added his contact information but also confessed to him publicly. She had even kissed him on the cheek in front of her father. But suddenly, Raymond’s tone shifted, and he erupted in anger. “You don’t even know! That old bastard was so furious that his daughter fell for me, and he fired me yesterday. “I’m going to make him grovel at my feet and lick my boots! “Stone, let’s use this week’s wish to help me out again!” For once, Raymond’s doting parents spoke in unison, “No!” Raymond’s eyes widened. “Why not?” Dad looked sheepish. “I’ve got something more urgent this time. We’ll let you take your turn next week, okay?” No sooner had he finished than Mom slammed the table. “Leon, what’s that supposed to mean? You’ve been hogging the wishes for weeks! This time, it’s my turn!” Sitting at the head of the table, I watched as my parents argued heatedly while I calmly sipped my soup. Dad had just lost another 200 million dollars in gambling. The debt collectors had come knocking the day before, threatening to chop off his hands and feet if he didn’t pay up soon. But he wasn’t worried. With me around, owing a few billion dollars was nothing to him. Yesterday, however, Mom came to me as well. She had built a reputation online as a mysterious fortune-teller. Everything she predicted was spot-on, earning her countless followers and admiration. But her fame had attracted the attention of a powerful woman—a former mafia matriarch—who demanded that Mom locate her kidnapped husband, one of the richest men in our country. This woman had given Mom a deadline. Find him by the end of the week, or the entire family would be executed. But a week’s wish only allowed for one person. Mom was so angry that she was shaking. “Do you even understand how much 200 million dollars is? Gambling on that scale is a death wish!” Dad choked out, “And are you so much better? You make outrageous claims without a second thought. If that mafia lady finds out about Stone’s ability, what do you think will happen to us?” Their eyes locked, and sparks flew. The atmosphere around the table grew increasingly tense and dangerous. Mom moved first. In a flash, she slapped Dad hard across the face. “Leon, I’ve served your family for so many years. This wish is mine!” With a cry, Dad stumbled and fell to the ground. But he quickly retaliated, swinging his fists at Mom. In an instant, their faces were bruised and bloody, and their skin was marked with deep scratches. Having watched the spectacle long enough, I furrowed my brow and pretended to hesitate. I said, “You’re both my family…” Mom immediately clung to my arm. “Your father wanted to drown you when he saw you were a girl. If it weren’t for me, you’d be long dead! You have to help me!” Dad panicked, too. “Your mom stole a few thousand dollars your teacher gave you for school and cursed you to die every single day. I still have the message records to prove it!” Raymond, uninterested in their squabbling, was enthusiastically texting on his phone. I sighed deeply, “Mom, Dad, if it was so urgent, you should have said something earlier. Last week’s wish for Raymond wasn’t even that critical.” Without looking up, Raymond scoffed, “You two totally deserve this. Parents are supposed to make sacrifices for their kids.” He added, rubbing his greasy mouth against my sleeve, “Stone, I’m the only son. Just give me this week’s wish!” I quickly nodded. “You’re absolutely right. The White family’s future depends on Raymond continuing the bloodline.” Raymond shot up from his seat, and his bulky frame towered over our scrawny parents. Mom shrieked, “You ungrateful brat! Do you want me to die?!” Raymond reacted swiftly, shoving Mom aside and swinging his arm for a punch. “You’re still alive, aren’t you? What are you whining about?” The punch landed squarely, leaving Mom seeing stars as she fell to the ground. She never imagined she’d mean so little to Raymond “How dare you! I’m your mother!” Raymond glared at Mom with hostility, and his voice dripped with resentment. “If you’re really my mom, you’d give me the wish!” “You!” Clutching her chest, Mom gasped for breath. Dad, on the other hand, was grinning, egging Raymond on. “Your mom only ever thinks about herself. She’s going too far.” In no time, my father and Raymond had formed an alliance. My mom cursed, “You two bastards!” Raymond glared even harder. He barked, “You don’t deserve to be my mom!” He kicked my mom viciously. This time, he used too much force. Mom was sent flying several feet, and her head slammed into the wall. Blood gushed out instantly!
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