The Father's Remorse and Her Silence

I was born unwanted.

When I was three, my mother left me and fled the country.

When I was five, my brothers poured chili water down my throat.

I smiled and told them it was delicious.

My third brother, Noah, would deliberately leave me stranded outside the kindergarten. My older brothers, David and Joseph, would corner me with the other children, blocking the way to the bathroom, laughing as I was humiliated.

Then one day, the little girl next door got sick. I was sick too. Without a moment's hesitation, my father swept her into his arms and rushed her to the hospital.

He told me to go die somewhere far away.

But later, so much later, my father would look at me, tears streaming down his face.

"Rosie," he’d beg, his voice breaking. "Can you please... just call me 'Dad' one more time?"

I would just clutch the hem of my shirt, my mouth opening and closing like a fish, unable to make a sound.

01

The sky bled from gray to black.

Rain fell in thick, heavy drops, pelting my face and stinging my eyes. It soaked through my little hooded coat, seeping into my bones until a shiver wracked my small body. A few adults hurried past, assuming I was lost, urging me to get out of the downpour.

I told them I couldn't. I promised my brother I would wait for him right here.

Good children get candy.

I waited until the sky turned light again, but my brother never came.

Finally, our butler, Mr. Henderson, found me. He seemed to sigh, a sound lost in the morning traffic. "Miss Rosalind, your father has been looking everywhere for you."

"My brother..." I whispered, my voice hoarse.

"Master Joseph returned home last night. Please, come with me. Your father will be very displeased otherwise."

I was more afraid of my father's displeasure than I was of my brothers.

I let Mr. Henderson lead me to the car. Before we even stepped inside the house, I could hear their laughter.

"That idiot," Joseph was saying. "I bet she's still waiting at the mall entrance. How can someone that stupid be our sister?"

Noah, the youngest of them, was fiddling with a toy truck. "You know how she is. She believes anything we say. She's so obedient, she'll come crawling back to us no matter what we do."

David, the eldest, spoke with a low voice laced with contempt. "Why does she have to be my sister? Chloe from next door is so much cuter. I wish she were my sister." Then, his voice dropped further, filled with a venom that made my skin crawl. "If it weren't for her, Mom would have never left."

I stood dripping in the doorway, a gust of wind making me feel colder than ever.

When they saw me, their dark eyes flickered away, refusing to meet mine.

My father descended the grand staircase, his first words an accusation. "What happened?"

I didn't dare say it was because of my brothers.

"I got lost... after we went out yesterday."

His face hardened. "Did I not tell you to stay with your brothers? To not wander off?"

I twisted the fabric of my wet coat. "But... I waited in the right place."

Joseph chimed in...