2

At the guesthouse, I lay in bed but couldn't sleep. Gazing at the pitch-black night sky outside the window, memories flooded back like a tidal wave. In my previous life, it was also this year that the police rescued me from a small place which I couldn’t name. I cried out my parents' names and address, believing I could finally go home. But when I was returned, I found a stranger girl had taken my place. My parents awkwardly explained that after I was abducted, they were so heartbroken that they adopted her. Her name was Elaine. They looked at me with a complicated expression, as if I were a stranger who had suddenly intruded into their lives. Instead, they were gentle and affectionate toward the girl, as if she were their true daughter. But… but they used to love me the most! I broke down, screaming hysterically. I pointed at the girl and called her a thief, saying she had stolen the home that should have been mine. My parents scolded me, saying I was being unreasonable. I cried uncontrollably, my voice hoarse from screaming. “But I suffered so much—why should she get to enjoy a happy life?!” My parents looked at me in silence, their eyes filled with pity but also hesitation. Unexpectedly, that night, the girl left a letter and quietly departed. She said she was returning to the orphanage, not wanting this family to be torn apart because of her. I felt uneasy inside. My parents didn’t scold me, but sighed and said they would go to the orphanage to bring her back. My brother wanted to go with them, but they stopped him. “Stay home and take care of your sister. She’s finally back, and you need to look after her.” In the end, they never returned. The car crashed on the way back from picking up the girl. All three of them were gone. From then on, my brother hated me with a passion. He hated me for ten whole years. Thinking of this, my throat tightened, and my eyes stung. I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. Now that I couldn't return to the Anderson Family, I had to think about the path ahead. I wasn't even sixteen yet, so I needed a guardian. Suddenly, a name came to mind. Kerwin. A frail teenager who always stood in front of me to protect me when I was being beaten. In my previous life, if it weren't for him, I would have been defiled by the foolish son of the family who had bought me as a child bride. When we were punished and locked in a pigsty, shivering with cold, he wrapped the last of his clothes around me. “From now on, I’m your older brother. I’ll protect you.” We endured countless difficult days together. But later, he was sold to another village. When I was rescued, the police said the people from that village had been saved before me. In my previous life, I had wanted to find him. But sudden changes at home prevented me from going. In this life, I decided to find him. The next day, I went to the police station at dawn. “Uncle and Auntie, I remember where my home is.” After registering my information, I turned to leave the police station. But Alfred, who had rushed over, grabbed my wrist. “You tricked me again! You were faking it all along!” “Why do you insist on returning to the Anderson Family? The Anderson Family doesn’t want you.” His voice trembled, as if he were suppressing immense anger. “Don’t you understand? I already have a younger sister. My parents spoil her rotten. They don’t need an extra daughter.” I shook off his hand and continued walking out in silence. Alfred was so enraged by my attitude that his eyes turned red. He suddenly shouted, “Weren’t you trafficked? Why don’t you just stay in the village forever?” His hysterical expression was identical to the one he had after my parents died in my previous life, when he pointed at me and screamed, “Why didn’t you die in their place?” It was exactly the same. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. ‘Smack!’ The crisp sound of the slap made him fall silent for a moment. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” I stared at him and asked, one word at a time. “Do you think someone who was trafficked deserves to die out there?” Alfred seemed to snap out of it from the slap. He stumbled back a step, his eyes filled with regret. “I’m sorry…” The policewoman beside me finally couldn’t take it anymore. She frowned and stepped in front of me. “Young man, how dare you speak like that? This girl is looking for her family. Who are you to interfere?” Alfred remained silent for a moment, then coldly grabbed my arm. “You want to go home, don’t you? Let’s go.” But I broke free from his grip and hid behind the policewoman under his astonished gaze. “I do want to go home, but what does that have to do with you?”