Chapter 2
981 Words
Clutching the clothes I had packed for Sarah in my schoolbag, I was itching to make a move.
I had anticipated this scene before even bringing her to school. I apologized to the teacher and the parents, then cleaned the classroom and changed Sarah's clothes.
The parent-teacher conference started again. Not only was the teacher not angry with me because of this, but she praised me profusely.
"Eva, you are so lucky to have such a good granddaughter."
"You are in a class. Eva has performed so well. You should all learn from her. Do you understand? You should not only study hard but also be filial and respect your elders. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
These voices, I heard them in my ears, and they quietly bloomed into flowers in my heart. Sarah wasn't as happy as I imagined, or maybe she wasn't as happy for me as I imagined.
I felt like she didn't love me anymore because other classmates' grandmas would show a proud and gratified look when their grandchildren were praised by others. But my grandma just remained silent and even cried.
At this parent-teacher conference, I stole the show.
The head teacher applied for a poverty subsidy for me, and it was the highest level.
I often received help from my classmates too, whether it was a lunch or a handful of snacks.
I became a celebrity at school because of Sarah.
*****
But at home, the relationship between Sarah and me completely reached an impasse.
Sarah stopped taking her medicine after returning from the parent-teacher conference.
I was very anxious. The doctor said that Sarah's condition was very serious and she must not stop taking her medicine. Forgetting to take medicine for a long time would lead to further deterioration of the condition.
At first, I lost my temper with her a few times, and Sarah stopped eating.
She even stopped talking to me.
I was so anxious that I lost a lot of hair, and I was thinking about how to make Sarah take her medicine every day.
"Sarah, please take your medicine. The doctor said it's not good for your health if you don't take it, please."
I used both hard and soft tactics, and Sarah finally looked at me. She didn't take the medicine, but asked me, "Do you regret letting me go to your parent-teacher conference?"
For a moment, it was as if I didn't recognize the Sarah in front of me who used to love me the most. Because from the angle I was squatting at, Sarah's face was livid, even a little scary.
"Sarah, because I performed well enough at that parent-teacher conference, the school applied for a poverty subsidy for me. I bought this chicken leg with the poverty subsidy money. Do you want to try it?"
I picked up the chicken leg from the table and handed it to Sarah. Sarah turned her head away and continued to ask, "I embarrassed you at your school. Don't you blame me?"
I was still confused.
"You didn't embarrass me. I told the teacher in advance that you might wet your pants, and the teacher was also mentally prepared. Besides, I cleaned up the hygiene. Everyone knows our family's situation. How can it be considered embarrassing me? Sarah, you don't know that now people are praising me for being sensible and praising the good relationship between the two of us!"
I straightened my back proudly.
Sarah stopped talking, pushed the chicken leg away, took the medicine from my hand, and swallowed it.
I watched her swallow the medicine, and my tense nerves finally relaxed.
It was good that Sarah had come to her senses. It was good that she was willing to take her medicine. But when I was about to finish taking out the trash and go to bed, I found several half-dissolved pills in the trash can.
*****
A huge rage surged into my brain, and it buzzed instantly.
I had a breakdown.
I angrily picked up the trash can and slammed it in front of Sarah.
"What is this? Tell me what this is!"
I pinched the softened pills from the trash can and thrust them in front of Sarah.
Sarah looked around guiltily, but not at me. I knew this was her usual trick of pretending to be pitiful, so I just ignored her guilt.
Instead, I continued to yell at her. After yelling, I picked up the remaining pills from the trash can, which had been stained gray by the sewage, and put them in the water to completely dissolve.
I handed the glass of water to Sarah, my eyes red and my voice suppressed. "Drink this."
She didn't take it.
I roared, "Drink it! Don't force me!"
Sarah slowly took the glass of water and drank it. When she handed the empty cup back to me, I couldn't tell what kind of feeling it was.
It was an urge to kill myself. When I was a child, Sarah was so good to me. She always put me first when she had something good.
Let alone the trash can, even if the meat that she could finally eat fell on the ground, she would change a new piece for me.
And now, I actually used the pills stained with sewage from the trash can to feed her.
"How could you?"
I slapped myself hard, and one slap was not enough, so I slapped myself again until my cheeks became red, swollen, hot, and painful.
Sarah fell asleep after taking the medicine.
Usually, she would snore lightly when she fell asleep, but today, I waited, but I couldn't hear her snoring.
I couldn't even hear her breathing. My heart skipped a beat, and suddenly I had a very bad feeling.
I hurriedly got up, but I was lying on Sarah's bed.
I tentatively touched her hand first.
- Writer
