Chapter 9 — Two Girls of the Ky Family

“Don't cry, your eyes will get smaller.” I laughed out loud. She smiled too, revealing a row of small white teeth. 13 A few years later, Dao Dao and I started learning dance again. Not because of competition. Just because she still likes it. I once asked her: "Are you no longer afraid of the stage?" Dao Dao tilted her head in thought. “It's a little scary.” “But if you sit below and look at me, I won't be afraid.” The baby has grown quite a bit. The silver bell bracelet has been unable to fit for a long time. Mom kept that string of bells in a transparent box, placed on the cabinet in our room. Dao Dao said it was a treasure that helped her find her. I said that was also the sound that woke me up from the nightmare. At school, someone knows that I am the adopted daughter of the Ky family. Sometimes there are children who don't understand and ask: "Your sister is your biological child, aren't you sad?" Before, I would be silent. Not now. I will tell them: "My mother said love is not cake." “If I didn't have to share it with her, I wouldn't have it anymore.” Every time Dao Dao hears it, she gets angrier than me. “Who said you're not your biological child?” “You are my biological sister!” The girl put her hands on her hips, so angry that her cheeks were round. Looking at her, I remembered the crying girl rushing towards me from the peacock box when she was four years old. She is still my sister. Soft, small but always wanting to protect me. Later, Wen Nhuoc Tinh wrote a letter to his father from prison. In the letter, she said she regretted it. Said she dreams of that peacock box every day. Said that if she could choose again, she would definitely not touch Dao Dao. Dad didn't let me and mom watch it. Dad just gave the letter to the lawyer to keep. Mom asked dad: "Don't you read it all?" Dad shook his head. “Her regret is her business.” “We have no obligation to help her alleviate her guilt.” I stood on the stairs and heard these words. The rock that had been weighing heavily on my heart for a long time finally completely fell off. No forgiveness. That's good. There are people who do not temporarily go the wrong way. But knowing clearly that there were children in front, he still deliberately stepped on them. Such regret is not worth a penny. On Dao Dao's eighth birthday, my father took us to see a children's dance play. When the lights in the theater dimmed, my hand instinctively tightened. Dao Dao immediately grabbed my hand. “Sister, I'm here.” I looked at the baby. She was no longer the little ball of cotton that had been stuffed into the bin. But in my heart, she will always be the little sister that I risked my life to find that day. After the show ended, our whole family walked out of the theater together. The night wind is very light. Mom put a scarf on me and Dao Dao, one for each of us. Dad walked outside, blocking us from moving towards the traffic. Grandparents slowly walked behind, still discussing which child actor had danced the best. Dao Dao suddenly held my hand and ran forward. “Sister, hurry up!” “Let's go home and eat cake!” I was pulled forward by the girl. The light fell to the ground, stretching our two small shadows. I turned my head to look back. Parents are both smiling. There are no kidnappers' phones. There are no anonymous letters. There is no basement. There were also no continuous questioning voices. Only the small bell is worn on Dao Dao's wrist, ringing softly with each step she runs. Jingle. Jingle. It's like telling me: The nightmare is over. In this life, my sister was taken away. But I didn't stand still and cry. I took my parents to find her. Also found my home again. RUN OUT OF