The Disappeared Sister

5

August 9th, Tuesday

It was getting colder and colder at home, so I was wearing a coat while having breakfast.

Porridge with Beef Bourguignon.

The beef was getting more and more smelly and less tasty.

I kind of missed the breakfast my mom used to make and her nagging.

When I left for work, I said goodbye to my mom on purpose, but her face was hidden under a big hat and she still ignored me.

It's okay. As long as my mom is still with me and my dad, it's good.

When I arrived at the company, my colleague Irene looked at me with strange and helpless eyes.

She asked me why I had come alone again and where was my sister.

Sister?

I don't have a sister!

My parents only have me as their only daughter!

Did my colleague have some kind of delusion?

I wanted to share my lunch with her, but she still despised my Beef Bourguignon.

When I went home, I met Benny again downstairs, and he still barked at me fiercely.

Did I steal his bone?

Another day that I couldn't figure it out.

6

August 10th, Wednesday

Someone knocked on the door early in the morning.

My dad was accompanying my mom, so I went to open the door.

It was Caleb Stalder, a handsome guy who moved nearby recently. He played the piano and had a special temperament.

Before my mom got married, she liked music very much and learned to play the piano for a while. She and Caleb shared the same piano teacher, but my mom stopped learning after getting married and seemed to have lost contact with Caleb.

Who knew that Caleb would move here?

When he saw me, his gaze was kind and his voice was gentle. He asked me why my mom and my sister hadn't come to his place to learn the piano recently.

I became even more confused.

I don't have a sister!

My dad suddenly came over and saw Caleb. His usually honest face instantly became ferocious, and he yelled at Caleb to get lost.

Caleb was a refined person and couldn't argue with my dad. In the end, he could only leave in anger.

Then my dad dragged me into the house.

He didn't say a word and just hit me.

And he locked me in a narrow place.

He repeated like a madman that it was for my good so that I wouldn't make mistakes.

He said that our family could not fall apart because of Caleb anymore!

I begged for mercy for a long while, but he refused to let me out.

I curled up in a small space where even turning over was difficult for me and slept there for a long time.

7

August 11th, Thursday

I opened my eyes and saw my dad combing my mom's hair through the gaps.

My mom's ridiculously big hat was taken off, and her long hair was stuck together because of some black liquid.

My dad patiently combed it for her.

I saw my dad grab something from my mom's hair, squeeze it, and throw it in the trash can.

My mom had been quiet all the time.

I felt wronged and couldn't help calling her.

My mom still ignored me.

She hadn't paid any attention to me for days.

I knew my mom was sick. When she was sick, she wouldn't pay attention to anyone, but she wouldn't leave us.

I knew all of that.

But I still wanted her to respond to me.

The doorbell rang again.

My dad put the hat back on my mom's head and went to open the door.

He closed the door as soon as he went out.

It was Caleb again.

I heard his voice.

He seemed to say that the fees of my mom's previous piano lessons had not been settled, demanding my mom to settle accounts with him.

My dad wanted to transfer him the money directly, but he refused, saying that he needed to talk to my mom for some lessons.

He also asked if my dad was afraid of something as he didn't even allow him to see my mom.

Compared to being scolded and driven away by my dad yesterday, Caleb was going all out to confront my dad today.

My dad's temper flared up again, and the two of them argued at the door.

The door was pushed open, and although my dad quickly closed it again, Caleb and I exchanged a glance.

He saw that I was locked up by my dad.

But I didn't hear Caleb mention me until my dad drove him away.

My dad came back and bent down in front of me.

"That guy surnamed Stalder wants to take your mom away again," my dad said.