MSA

My name is Daphne, and I am two years older than my little sister, Lily. We were very different. I was quiet, responsible, and always got good grades. Lily was small for her age, stubborn, reckless, and always ready to fight anyone who made fun of her. But despite everything, she was my little sister, and I loved her more than anyone. When our mother died, I was ten and Lily was eight. I tried to stay strong, but Lily struggled with the loss. She became angry and difficult, and things became even worse after Dad married Patricia. Patricia pretended to be sweet whenever Dad was around, but she treated Lily terribly. She constantly mocked her height and called her names. Lily always fought back. One afternoon, Patricia called Lily an angry little dwarf. Lily smiled and opened a box. Inside were six tiny dwarf figurines. “Every time someone calls me a dwarf, I collect one,” she said. Patricia demanded that she return them. Lily admitted that she had stolen some of them. “Give them back,” I told her. Lily looked at Patricia and said, “Says the woman who stole Dad from us.” Patricia became furious. Lily flipped the box over, sending the figurines crashing onto the floor. “You're grounded!” Lily simply walked away. I followed her, but she disappeared. Later that night, I found her at a fancy restaurant. She was sitting with a wealthy family and wearing an enormous hat. I pulled her away before things became worse. She had somehow caused another disaster by tying a little girl up in a bathroom and stealing food from the table. That was my life with Lily. I was always cleaning up after her. As we grew older, Lily's behavior became more serious. She spent more time in detention than in class. Whenever someone insulted her, she fought back. Then she stole a diamond bracelet worth $150,000. She gave it to me. “I got it for you, Daphne. It looks like the bracelet Mom used to wear.” I immediately told her to return it. Before we could do anything, the police arrived. Lily received a warning, but she continued stealing. Eventually, she stole a diamond-covered gold watch from an elderly man. The man refused to forgive her. “She needs to learn a lesson,” he said. Lily was sentenced to twenty-seven months in juvenile detention. I visited her several times. She was tired, angry, and unhappy, but she always smiled when she saw me. “Are you safe?” I asked. “Anywhere is better than home,” she said. I tried to defend Patricia, but Lily told me the truth. “She bullies me. She calls me names.” I didn't know what to say. One day, while returning home from visiting Lily, I stopped near a grocery store. The glass door was broken. Inside, I found the cashier unconscious on the floor. A knife lay nearby, along with money. I picked up the knife and the money because I thought I could help. Then the police arrived. “Put your hands where we can see them!” I tried to explain, but everything looked terrible. My fingerprints were on the knife. I had the money. The store's camera showed me opening drawers. The cashier was in a coma and couldn't explain what had happened. I was arrested. Everyone believed I was guilty. The judge sentenced me to juvenile detention until my twenty-first birthday. For the first time in my life, I was in the same place as Lily. At reception, Officer Sarah refused to use my name. “You're inmate 235 now.” I quickly discovered that detention was controlled by a girl named Harper. Harper was rich, powerful, and cruel. She bullied other girls and bribed staff. Even Officer Sarah seemed afraid of her. When I arrived, Harper was threatening another girl named Jenny. I stood up to her. Harper caught my wrist before I could hit her, and Officer Sarah immediately threw me into solitary confinement. When I finally met Lily, she wasn't happy to see me. “You spent your whole life being the perfect daughter,” she said. “Now everyone knows you're not so perfect.” Her words hurt more than I expected. I wanted to protect her, but Lily didn't want my protection. Instead, she told me she had a plan. She would become close to Harper, gain her trust, and bring her down from the inside. I warned her not to get involved. She ignored me. Days passed. Lily became closer to Harper. She ate with her, dressed better, and seemed to enjoy being part of Harper's group. I couldn't understand why she was doing it. Then Harper ordered Lily to slap me. Lily walked toward me. “Do it,” I whispered. “I trust you.” She slapped me. Then she slapped me again. Everyone laughed. I believed she had betrayed me. From that moment, Lily seemed to become worse. She acted like she had forgotten me. Patricia eventually visited us. She brought me puzzle books because I was “the smart daughter.” For Lily, she brought a cheap swimsuit and goggles. Lily looked at the receipt. “You bought this at a gas station?” She walked away. Patricia didn't care. She even told me that Lily was a thief and would never change. I began to believe that maybe Lily really had changed. Then everything suddenly fell apart for Harper. During math class, Officer Sarah entered and announced that Harper's father had been arrested for running a massive Ponzi scheme. Harper's family had lost everything. Suddenly, Harper was no longer powerful. Officer Sarah turned against her immediately. Lily comforted Harper. I couldn't understand it. When Officer Sarah insulted Lily, I lost control. I attacked her. She fought back, and I was sent to solitary confinement again. When I returned, the other girls treated me differently. They saw me as someone who had finally stood up to Harper and Officer Sarah. But Lily was missing. I found her alone in her cell. “You enjoyed humiliating me,” I said. She finally admitted the truth. “I did.” She explained that after Mom died, she felt forgotten. “You moved on. You got perfect grades. You became Patricia's favorite. Everyone loved you.” I was shocked. I had spent years protecting Lily, but I had never realized that she felt abandoned. She admitted that her behavior had been wrong. “I should have included you in my plan.” I told her I loved her. But Lily needed space. She walked away. I followed her. When I reached for her arm, she lost her balance and fell down the stairs. “Lily!” She didn't move. The guards rushed in and took her to the hospital. The next morning, I learned that my sister was in a coma. I blamed myself. Then Jenny came to me. She had discovered something. “I know how you got here,” she said. I froze. The truth came back. The grocery store robbery had not been an accident. I had deliberately gone there because I wanted to be arrested. I wanted to end up in detention with Lily so I could protect her. But the cashier had fought back. I panicked and pushed him. His head struck the edge of a shelf. I had never meant to hurt him. I had lied because I was afraid. Jenny promised not to tell anyone. Weeks passed. The cashier eventually woke up and survived. But Lily remained unconscious. The warden noticed how much I cared about the other girls and allowed me to visit Lily at the hospital. When I arrived, Patricia was arguing with the doctors. She wanted to remove Lily from life support. “She has almost no chance of waking up,” Patricia said. “Your father left the decision to me.” I stared at her. “You can't do that.” Patricia insisted that Lily was suffering. Then I threatened her with the truth. “I know what I did to the cashier. And now you know I did it on purpose.” Patricia's face turned pale. She left. I entered Lily's room and sat beside her. I held her hand. “Lily, I spent my whole life trying to protect you because I thought you were weak. I was wrong.” “You were never weak. You were hurting.” “I should have listened to you. I should have noticed how much you missed Mom. I should have made you feel loved.” I remembered the bracelet she had stolen for me. She had done something wrong, but behind that mistake was a sister who wanted to make me happy. “I forgive you,” I whispered. “I love you, Lily.” “I want us to start again.” Then I took the diamond bracelet I had secretly taken from Patricia and placed it around Lily's wrist. I held her hand. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then I felt it. A tiny squeeze. I froze. “Lily?” Her fingers moved again. I began crying. She was waking up. For the first time in years, I understood something important. Being the strong sister did not mean protecting Lily from every mistake. It meant standing beside her while she learned from them. Lily didn't need a perfect sister. She needed someone who would listen. And I didn't need a perfect sister either. I just needed my little sister. We had both made terrible mistakes. We had hurt each other. We had lost our way. But we still had each other. And this time, I promised myself, neither of us would face the world alone.