The Call From Eighteen Years Ago

The day I was admitted to Crownstone College, my parents threw a thirty-table banquet to celebrate my younger brother, Jason. There was a banner across the hall. [Congratulations to Jason on getting into vocational school. You've brought honor to the family.] When it was time to cut the cake, Jason made a wish in front of all the guests. "I hope my sister gets married soon and stops wasting the family's money." The relatives raised their glasses and praised him for being so sensible. Dad beamed with pride. "A boy who learns a trade has a solid future. Unlike a girl, no matter how much she studies, she'll end up getting married anyway." I sat alone in the corner. The doctor had diagnosed me with severe depression and warned that I couldn't handle any more emotional shocks. My parents said I was bad luck. They told me not to have another episode and ruin my brother's celebration. I nodded, picked up my medical report, and walked to the rooftop of the hotel. Right then, my phone rang. On the other end were my parents from eighteen years ago. My young Dad laughed through tears. "It's a girl! We have a daughter!" My young Mom's voice trembled. "Sweetheart, I just gave birth to you. "Did our child grow up feeling loved by us throughout all eighteen years?" Listening to the applause from the banquet hall below, I laughed until I could barely breathe. "Yeah, you loved your child very much. "It just wasn't me." "What do you mean? Jess, don't scare me–" I smiled in relief but didn't answer her. I could hear fireworks from below. It sounded like they were celebrating my disappearance from this family. I closed my eyes, leaned forward, and jumped. Chapter 1 The pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils. I opened my eyes. Bang! The ward door was kicked open. My dad Gary stormed in and pointed at my bed as he shouted. "Jessica! Today was Jason's big day, and you had to run to the rooftop and jump? "All our relatives saw it! Now everyone's saying we've raised a lunatic!" My mom Marielle followed behind him and tossed a plastic bag onto the nightstand. Two cold buns rolled out and landed on the tabletop. "Jessica, please. If you wanted to throw a tantrum, couldn't you have at least picked another day? "Jason worked so hard just to get into vocational school. Why did you have to ruin the moment for him? "Right after you jumped, several tables of guests left without even touching their food. They didn't even leave any gift money!" I turned to look at them. An intense pain shot through my wrist. Fresh blood had already seeped through the newly changed bandage. Neither of them even glanced at it. "I wasn't throwing a tantrum." I opened my mouth and tasted blood immediately. "The doctor said I'm sick. I have severe depression. "I can't stop myself from wanting to–" Gary waved his hand dismissively and cut me off. "Depression? That's nonsense! You just read too many books and became overly sensitive! "Jason jokingly said that you should help him buy a house in the future. He was kidding! Was that really worth trying to kill yourself over? "Kids these days call everything depression. You've got too much free time!" Marielle pulled over a chair and sat down. She chimed in. "We fed you, clothed you, and paid for you to get into Crownstone College. What else could you possibly be unhappy about? "Jason isn't very bright. He'll have to work in manual labor for the rest of his life. So what if we favor him a little more? "You're his older sister. Can't you just give in to him? Do you have to tear this family apart to be happy?" 'Give in.' Those two words had weighed me down for fifteen years. I turned onto my side. I was too exhausted to keep talking. "You should both leave. I want to be alone." Gaey sneered and kicked the bed frame. "Fine. Stay here then! "Figure out how you'll pay your own medical bills. We just paid Jason's vocational school sponsorship fee. We don't have money to waste on your nonsense! "Get discharged tomorrow and stop wasting money on a hospital bed!" The door slammed shut. Curled beneath the blanket, I let my tears soak into the sheets. Under my pillow, my shattered phone began vibrating. I answered. A man's hurried breathing came from the other end. He couldn't hide his panic. "Jess? How are you? "Don't do anything silly. Your parents are still here!" Hearing the anxious voices of my young parents, I bit down hard on my lip. But a sob still escaped. My young mom snatched the phone. She was crying so hard her voice trembled. "Sweetheart, why are you crying? Who bullied you? "Did we fail to protect you? Tell me!" I pressed the phone tightly against my ear and whispered, "It was you two–" 'Eighteen years ago, you could tell I was hurting from a single sob.' 'Why is it that you can't see the pain I'm in at all now?" "Do you really want to know?" I swallowed the bitterness in my throat. "Do you really want to know how the little girl you once treasured survived these past eighteen years?" Chapter 2 There was silence on the other end of the call. I then heard my young parents' frantic voices. "Jess, don't cry. Tell me what exactly happened. Did you say you had a younger brother? What vocational school?" My young dad's voice was filled with fury. "Your mother and I already agreed we'd only ever have a daughter. We were going to give all our love to you. How did you end up having a younger brother? "Whoever made you suffer, I swear I'll fight them to the death!" I stared blankly into space as memories drifted back. Before I turned three, we were poor, but my parents still showered me with affection. One winter, I came down with a high fever while heavy snow blocked every road. Gary wrapped me tightly against him and carried me for miles through the snow to the hospital. Marielle stayed by my bedside all night while crying anxiously. She stroked my forehead and whispered that she wished she could be the one who was sick instead. On my third birthday, Gary spent two weeks' salary on a pink dress for me. He carried me on his shoulders around the neighborhood and proudly showed me off. "Jess is the most precious little princess in the whole world." But that was also the year Marielle accidentally became pregnant. Our relatives persuaded them to keep the baby. "Have a son. Then you'll have the perfect family. A daughter will belong to someone else's family one day anyway." The day Jason was born, I was sent to stay with the neighbors. When I came home, my room had been turned into a nursery. My toys had been packed away into cardboard boxes. They were replaced by toy cars and cartoon figures that scattered across the floor. My pink dress had been cut into pieces by Marielle to use as Jason's diapers. "Jess, you're the older sister now. You have to give in to your little brother." That became the sentence Marielle repeated most often. I vented every grievance I’d buried over the years over the phone. "During my senior year of high school, I had a high fever while studying in my room. "Jason said the sound of me turning pages was interrupting his video game. He shoved me and all my books out onto the balcony in 14 degrees Fahrenheit. "I was freezing and crying as I knocked on the door. "Not only did you refuse to let me in, but you even scolded me for staying up too late and disturbing his sleep." I paused. I struggled to even catch my breath. "The day before the SAT test, Jason cut my student ID into pieces. "He said if he could only go to vocational school, then why should I get to attend college? "I kneeled on the floor, trying to piece it all back together. I even begged you to stop him. "You said that since it was already ruined, I could just take the test next year. You even said he was still young and didn't know any better. "Yesterday, he stole my antidepressants and flushed every single pill down the toilet. "I had an episode and couldn't breathe. I lay on the floor begging for help. "But all of you were outside celebrating his admission to vocational school. You set off fireworks for thirty minutes." Silence filled the line. After a long time, my young mom couldn't hold her tears anymore. "H-How could this happen? How could we turn into people like that? "How could I ever treat you this way–" My young dad's voice trembled. "Jess, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. "I swear I'll never let your brother be born! "Your mother and I will find a way to come save you!" Listening to their desperate promises, I forced out a bitter smile. "It's useless. "You can't come here, and I can't go back." I hung up the phone and slipped it under my pillow. Chapter 3 "Who are you pretending to be sick for this time?" The ward door swung open again. Jason walked in leisurely in a brand-new pair of limited-edition sneakers. Although he was three years younger than me, he'd been fed well his entire life. He was tall and muscular. "Not bad, Jessica. That pitiful act of yours was pretty convincing." He pulled a chair over, sat down, and crossed one leg over the other. "I know depression is hard on you, but after the stunt you pulled yesterday, Dad didn't sleep all night. His blood pressure hit 160 this morning. "I'm not smart. That's why I only got into vocational school. You're the genius who got into Crownstone College. You'll definitely make a lot of money someday. "So help me out. You wouldn't just stand by and watch Mom and Dad sell their blood so I can stay in school, would you?" He pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and tossed it onto my blanket. "Mom and Dad said Crownstone College gave you a pretty generous scholarship. "You're just a girl. You won't need much money at school. "So why don't you hand it over and let me use it for my living expenses? "Just sign this, and we'll all stay one big happy family." It was a declaration voluntarily surrendering my scholarship fund from Crownstone College. Attached with it was an authorization agreement transferring the entire scholarship fund directly into Jason's account. I stared at his calculating face. "Get lost." Jason's expression froze before he dropped the kind act. "Jessica, don't push your luck!" He shot to his feet, grabbed my hospital gown by the collar, and yanked me off the bed. "You really think getting into Crownstone College makes you special? "In this family, you're nothing but a money-losing burden! "Mom and Dad already said it. If you don't hand over the money, they'll go to the media and tell everyone you refuse to support your parents and abuse your little brother! "Let's see how you'll make it through college after that!" My eyes went wide. It felt like an invisible hand had wrapped itself around my heart and squeezed. The door opened once more. Marielle and Gary walked in. Seeing Jason clutching my collar, Marielle didn't stop him immediately. She walked over, pulled Jason away, and carefully smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt. "Jason, why waste your energy getting angry with her? You'll only upset yourself." Gary approached my bed with a cold expression. He retrieved a pill bottle from his pocket and slammed it onto the nightstand. It was my antidepressant medication. "Jessica, I asked the doctor. This so-called depression of yours is the result of having too much free time! "One bottle of this stuff costs up to a hundred. It's a complete waste of money!" He twisted open the bottle right in front of me. He then poured every pill into the trash can. The tablets scattered across the bottom of the plastic trash can. "I'm doing this for your own good!" Gary declared self-righteously. "Even doctors say all medicine has side effects! "It's these drugs that ruined your brain and turned you against your own family! "When you get married someday, if your husband's family finds out you're mentally ill, would they still want you?" Marielle immediately chimed in. "Exactly, Jessica. Our family isn't well-off, and Jason still has to go to school. "Giving him your scholarship fund is for the good of the family. "Parents only ever want what's best for their children. You don't actually think we'd harm you, do you?" I stared at the pills lying in the trash. My whole body trembled. Those pills were the only thing keeping me alive through countless sleepless nights spent solving practice problems. Now, they had cut off my only lifeline. "Sign it." Gary shoved a pen into my hand. I looked at all three of them. There were no tears left to cry. "Fine. I'll sign." The moment I finished signing, Marielle smiled in relief. She carefully folded up the agreement like she had won the lottery. "That's more like it. You'll be discharged tomorrow just in time for Jason's appreciation banquet for his teachers. "All our relatives will be there. Behave yourself, and get rid of that sour expression." The three of them left completely satisfied. I was alone in the ward again. I retrieved my phone and turned it on. It rang immediately. "Jess! How are you? Don't do anything stupid! Your dad and I are coming!" My young mom's voice was filled with panic. "Jess, don't be afraid! I found a way!" My young dad's voice was hoarse and filled with anguish. "I looked into it. If we're in the right electromagnetic field and are willing to pay a high enough price, we can break through the barrier between time and space. "I don't care if it costs me ten years of my life. I'll come save you! "Jess, wait for us!" Holding the phone tightly, I slowly closed my eyes. Chapter 4 The next day, I was discharged from the hospital. It was also the day my family held the celebration banquet in honor of Jason's teachers. Marielle forced me into an old T-shirt that had faded from countless washes and dragged me into the hotel's private dining room. The room was packed with relatives who were all chatting and laughing. The moment they saw me, the room fell silent. Then the discussions grew even louder. "Oh, look who's here, the college student! Jessica, Crownstone College must've given you a pretty big scholarship, huh?" "Jason's born lucky. He's definitely going to be a big boss someday. Jessica, you'll have to look after your little brother." Gary sat at the head of the table and motioned me over. There was a single chair in the center of the room. Jason sat comfortably in it while holding a cup of coffee. "Jessica, since all your older relatives are here today, let's establish a few family rules." Gary cleared his throat. He placed a handwritten document on the table with a loud slap. "You've already signed the agreement transferring your scholarship money to Jason. Now, in front of everyone, give Jason this glass of wine and sign this document as well." I lowered my gaze. [Family Commitment Agreement] [I, Jessica Jagger, hereby promise that throughout my college years, I won't spend a single cent of my family's money. Sixty percent of all income earned through work-study programs shall be turned over to subsidize my younger brother Jason Jagger's tuition and living expenses.] [As the older sister, I shall care for my younger brother for life.] I laughed in disbelief. I felt nauseated. "What gives you the right to demand that?" Dad slammed his hand against the table. "Because I'm your father! And because you've been living off this family for over ten years! "You're only a daughter to us. Sooner or later, you'll belong to another family. If you don't repay us now, what good will you ever be to us?" Jason stood up and carried the glass of wine to me. "Jessica, I know you feel wronged, but today, you will serve me this glass of wine. You will sign that document too. "It's our ancestors' rules. The eldest sister in the family is like a second mother. If you help me now, I'll have your back after you're married." My aunt chimed in. "Exactly. Do you know how hard your parents worked to raise you? "Now get on your knees, offer the wine, and thank them for raising you! "Just because you've entered college, you think filial piety means nothing?" "Kneel!" Dad roared. Mom walked over and pressed down hard on my shoulders. She was trying to force me onto my knees. Every relative watched eagerly. I had been driven into a corner. I had no medication, no money, and no way out. I violently shook free of Marielle's grip. I pulled out the small fruit knife from my pocket, which I'd secretly hidden away in the hospital. "Don't you want my money? Don't you want my life?" I pressed the blade hard against the vein in my neck. The razor-sharp edge sliced through my skin, and blood trickled down to my collar. "Then take it! I'll give this life back to you!" I screamed until my voice broke. The knife was about to sink deeper when the private dining room door was kicked open. A powerful gust of wind swept inside. Along with it came the furious roar of a young man. "I'd like to see who dares lay a finger on my daughter!"