Sleeping Accompanied by Spring Tide and Rain

When my cousin Violet came to live with us, I was only thirteen. She wore tattered clothes and cried in my mother's arms.

I later learned she was my mother's older sister's daughter. My mother's sister had eloped with a poor scholar against the family's wishes, thinking she found true love. But he turned out to be a gambler and drunkard, who tried to pawn his wife when he had no money. My mother's sister narrowly escaped with her life and entrusted her daughter to my mother on her deathbed.

My mother, feeling sorry for Violet who had suffered a lot, treated her with great affection. Even my usually stern father told me, "Annie, Violet has had a hard life. You should be more considerate of her."

I nodded.

I was the only child and had always been lonely. I was happy when my cousin came.

But gradually, I realized my cousin wasn't as kind as I imagined.

In public, she always acted scared of me, timid and compliant, but in private, she would pinch me. If I fought back, she would cry and complain.

After many incidents like this, my mother believed I was secretly bullying her.

Once, she deliberately fell into the lake in front of me. When I tried to save her, my mother rushed over and slapped me hard!

My face was turned sideways from the blow. My ears were ringing, and I experienced a moment of deafness.

It hurt so much.

I looked at my mother in disbelief as she held the soaked Violet, pointing at me and cursing, "Annie Parrish, how can you be so wicked at such a young age! She's your cousin! You tried to drown her out of jealousy!"

She left with Violet without hesitation. I looked up and saw Violet smirking at me from my mother's arms.

Later, rumors spread that I was jealous and wicked. Neither my father nor mother stopped it. They just scolded me, saying I deserved it, and let me be isolated.

Unnoticed, a light rain began to fall as I knelt on the stone path. I heard soft footsteps and turned to see my father returning.

Seeing me kneeling, he frowned and said, "Upset your mother again? Why can't you be as obedient as Violet?"

I stayed silent. In his eyes, Violet was obedient and gentle, while I was jealous and unruly.

The more I explained, the more he thought I was making excuses and challenging his authority, and the punishment would be harsher. After experiencing it multiple times, I learned to endure silently.

Disappointed in me for not living up to his expectations, he summoned the butler and said, "Watch her. She's cunning! Don't let her up until she's knelt for two hours."

The butler hesitated. "Sir, it's about to rain..."

Father waved dismissively. "A little rain won't kill her! Sometimes I wish she wasn't my daughter!"

I smiled. The little rain will hasten the death of a tuberculosis patient like me.

But the good news for them was that I, the disobedient daughter, would die soon, so they wouldn't be upset by me anymore.

After the heavy rain, I developed a mild fever, just as I had predicted.