Sister’s Burden

My younger sister got pregnant out of wedlock and vanished after giving birth to a boy in a back-alley clinic.

The doctor used the address she left behind to find my family, leaving the baby with me.

My parents got on their knees and begged me to adopt him. Just like that, I, a single woman, began the arduous task of raising a child alone.

Years later, just as I’d finally raised him, my sister returned. On her arm was a rich businessman, a thick gold chain gleaming around his neck.

She clutched my son and sobbed, telling him I was a jealous monster who had stolen him at birth, tearing their family apart.

My son, my pride and joy, renounced me on the spot and ran into her arms. My parents threw me out of the house.

The neighbors’ gossip and condemnation became my personal hell. In utter despair, I threw myself from the roof of my apartment building.

When I open my eyes again, I’m back on the day my sister gave birth.

1

The pounding on my door started with the dawn, jolting me awake in a cold sweat.

This was it. In my last life, this was the exact moment the clinic doctor had hammered on our door, waking the entire neighborhood. He’d handed me the baby in front of everyone, scolding me for being an irresponsible mother.

Only later did I learn the baby was my sister’s. My parents had pleaded with me to keep him. Since I had no plans to marry anyway, I agreed. A choice I came to regret with every fiber of my being.

Hearing that sound again, a jolt of electricity shot through me. I scrambled out of bed and yanked the door open to see that same, familiar face.

“Lina,” the doctor began, his voice dripping with condescension. “You can’t just have a baby and abandon it. You know that’s illegal.”

The neighbors were already awake, their heads craning out of their doorways to watch the drama unfold.

I stared at him for a single, silent second. Then I ripped off my slipper and brought it down on his face with all my strength.

“You goddamn vulture!” I screamed, hitting him again and again. “How dare you show up at my door with this scam! I don’t even have a boyfriend, let alone a baby! Have you ever seen a woman who just gave birth hit this hard?!”

I gestured wildly at my own body. “Do I look like I just had a baby?!”

My furious assault left the doctor stunned and speechless. Mrs. Gable from across the hall was the first to find her voice.

“She’s right, you know. Lina goes to work every single day. I’ve never once seen her with a baby bump.”

“Yeah, you must have the wrong person.”

“Wait, I recognize him. Isn’t that the doctor from that sketchy clinic down the street?”

I planted my hands on my hips, my slipper still raised. “You sleazy old quack! You run a back-alley clinic and now you’re trying to pin a baby on me? That’s it, I’m calling the cops!”

The word “cops” made him panic. “I—I won’t press charges for the assault!”

I grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking his head back. “Oh, you won’t press charges? Too bad, because I’m not letting you run away!”

I pul...