I frowned, not understanding the word. “R…aped?”
My sister soon realized her choice of words and immediately corrected it, “They violated her and did terrible things to her.”
I did my best to understand exactly what she was trying to tell me, imagining Umira’s fate in the hands of cruel people who worked at the orphanage where she was sent to.
“Listen, Mimi,” said my sister cautiously. “Umira died from a fall, during an attempt to escape the orphanage. This tells me that an orphanage is not a good place. Otherwise, why would she run away from it?”
Before social services could come for us, we had already gone. Since then, we had been living in the street, begging for people’s kindness.
***
“Hey,” the boy calls for me.
“Yes?”
“You know, if I could meet my sister again, I would promise to be good forever.”
I look at him blankly. This promise means nothing to me. I’ve always looked up to my sister and obeyed her every word. Since long before Mother passed away, I have always been a good sister. In turn, my sister is good to me, too. She always brought me something—a slice of watermelon, a stick of cotton candy, or some plastic toys to play with. I would never think of being anything other than a good sister to her.
Still, there was a time when I refused to listen to her. I refused to be left at home and insisted on going with her.
“Hey,” the boy calls out to me again. “Say something. Are you thinking of your sister right now?”
***
