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Ms. Celeste kept knocking at the door. “Lily, open up! Auntie brought you some yummy food, and little Jason is here too!”
I also heard a small boy throwing a tantrum, saying he didn’t like it here and wanted to go back to play games.
“I’m not opening the door for you! Go away!” I shouted.
Even though I was so hungry, even though I really wanted to eat.
Ms. Celeste stopped talking to me. She called my mom’s name directly. “Anya, come out! Let’s talk again.”
“You don’t need to hide from me like this. We’ll have to see each other eventually.”
“Why bother? Chasing after someone who doesn’t like you.”
After a long while, she finally left.
I quietly opened the door; it was empty outside.
Sigh, I wish she had left the food.
My tummy hurt a little from hunger. I rummaged through the trash can and found an egg I had dropped on the floor earlier.
Mom said not to eat things that fell on the floor because I would get sick.
But I was too hungry; I couldn’t help it.
I carefully peeled off the bits of trash and took a bite. Then I remembered Mom hadn’t
eaten either.
Mom said that when you’re sick, you need to eat. Eating helps you get better.
I held the egg and walked to Mom’s side: “Mommy, you eat this. You’ll get better if you
eat”
Mom didn’t eat. So, just like feeding her medicine, I broke the egg into tiny pieces and put
them into Mom’s mouth.
Then I lay down next to her.
Tomorrow, Mom will be better, right?
