Chapter 1

The last time I called Mom, I had not eaten anything for seven days.

When I was five, Mom and Dad adopted a girl from a remote fishing village.

From that day on, she slept in my room, wore my dresses, and called my mom and dad hers.

And I was sent back to the fishing village where she had grown up.

I lived with her grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s.

Mom said:

“She suffered too much growing up.”

“You’ve never suffered before, so you should get a taste of it too.”

Before I left, Dad ordered me to take good care of the confused grandmother and watch the house and yard.

After Grandma threw my food to the dog again, I finally could not take it anymore and called Mom to ask for something to eat.

She was terribly annoyed. “How come Clara can endure hardship, but you can’t?”

“The sea is all around you, so if you’re hungry, go catch fish in the water!”

I obediently listened and went into the sea to catch fish.

But while I was swimming in the sea to catch fish, a fisherman mistook me for a big fish and speared me to death.

It was not until three years later that Mom came to pick me up.

“Anna, I’m here to take you home.”