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They Needed Me After I Left
Novelix
Completed
"After taking graduation photos with my lab cohort, my father called. “Your sister wants to go abroad for her twentieth birthday. Thirty-eight hundred dollars. Send it now.” “Don’t pretend you’re broke. I know your graduation scholarship was thirty-five hundred. Figure out the other three hundred yourself.” My fingers tightened around my phone until my knuckles went white. “I earned that scholarship by studying through the night. Why should I give it to her?” My mother gave a cold laugh on the other end. “What’s the point of you studying overseas? Will it add a few thousand to your future wedding value? Your sister is going abroad to broaden her horizons. Of course you should pay.” My sister’s voice squeezed into the call. “Does Maya hate me that much? She doesn’t even want to spend money on me…” I looked down at the worn shoes beneath my graduation gown, and it felt as if something inside my chest had been hollowed out. Since childhood, my Christmas money had ended up in her piggy bank."
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
After taking graduation photos with my lab cohort, my father called.
“Your sister wants to go abroad for her twentieth birthday. Thirty-eight hundred dollars. Send it now.”
“Don’t pretend you’re broke. I know your graduation scholarship was thirty-five hundred. Figure out the other three hundred yourself.”
My fingers tightened around my phone until my knuckles went white.
“I earned that scholarship by studying through the night. Why should I give it to her?”
My mother gave a cold laugh on the other end.
“What’s the point of you studying overseas? Will it add a few thousand to your future wedding value? Your sister is going abroad to broaden her horizons. Of course you should pay.”
My sister’s voice squeezed into the call.
“Does Maya hate me that much? She doesn’t even want to spend money on me…”
I looked down at the worn shoes beneath my graduation gown, and it felt as if something inside my chest had been hollowed out.
Since childhood, my Christmas money had ended up in her piggy bank.
While she dressed up and went to afternoon tea with friends, I stayed overnight in the lab fixing data.
When she complained that tutoring was too tiring, I used my scholarship to pay for her private school fees.
After hanging up, I turned to my professor and said softly, “Professor, about the overseas research placement you mentioned last time—please give me a spot.”
That thirty-eight hundred dollars would be my final payment to leave this family forever.
Before transferring the money, I checked my balance twice.
Thirty-five hundred from my scholarship. Three hundred from tutoring.
That last sum had come from two semesters of taking the last bus home after teaching high school students at night.
Thirty-eight hundred dollars.
Not a cent left.
In the note field, I typed: Lily’s birthday trip.
My father replied quickly.
“You should’ve sent it earlier. Why make your mother angry?”
I did not reply.
I left the chat and canceled the family spending card I had linked to my account.
A confirmation window popped up, asking whether I was sure.
This time, I did not hesitate.
My professor sent the research funding information. The airfare would be arranged through the program. Housing after arrival would also be covered.
My visa and acceptance documents had been prepared last month when I applied as a backup candidate.
Back then, I had been afraid of being too far from home, so I had never confirmed.
Now, I selected a flight three days later.
When I got home, Lily was standing on the couch choosing balloon colors.
“Mom, pink is so tacky. I want champagne gold.”
My mother immediately took down the balloons she had just hung.
When she saw me, she shoved a roll of tape into my hands.
“Perfect timing. Come help. Your sister is going abroad soon, so we’re throwing her a birthday dinner at home.”
“I still have documents to collect.”
“What’s so urgent about a few papers? You know your sister has always had a weak heart. She can’t tire herself out.”
Lily reached for a balloon, and my mother quickly steadied her.
“You sit down. Let your sister do it.”
I had not even had time to unzip my backpack.
The streamers on the wall were tangled. I climbed onto a stool and slowly pulled them apart.
Lily sat below, taking photos on her phone and complaining that I was blocking the light.
“Maya, move a little to the side.”
The stool wobbled.
My mother frowned.
“You’re grown, and you still can’t even stand steady.”
I braced my hand against the wall and said nothing.
On my eighteenth birthday, I had stood on this same stool.
Not to hang decorations.
To change a lightbulb.
I had bought myself a small cake, thinking that once the light was fixed, I could sit down and eat it.
Lily said her chest felt tight. My mother immediately took her to the hospital. Before leaving, she told me to heat Lily’s leftover dinner.
I asked if they could at least light my candle with me first.
My father pushed the cake into the refrigerator.
“Your sister isn’t feeling well, and you’re still thinking about this? You’re the older one. You should understand.”
Later, the hospital found nothing wrong. They took Lily out to dinner.
My cake stayed in the fridge until the next day, when my mother threw it away because it was “taking up space.”
“Why are you zoning out?”
My mother snatched the tape from me.
“Go wipe the plates in the kitchen too. We’ll have guests tomorrow. Don’t embarrass us.”
I went to my room to get a cloth and, while I was there, pulled my old suitcase out from under the bed.
Dust clogged the wheels. The handle was peeling.
I wiped the shell clean with a damp cloth, then placed my graduation certificate, passport, and acceptance documents into the inner pocket.
From outside, my father’s voice drifted in.
“Should we book a restaurant for the birthday dinner? Ten people. A private room.”
Lily drew out her words.
“But I want Maya to cook. Restaurant food all tastes the same.”
My mother asked, “You want to eat at home?”
“Mm. Maya’s cooking is the best.”
She poked her head in and looked at me. Her gaze landed on the suitcase, then she smiled.
“You don’t mind, right, Maya? I only turn twenty once.”
I pressed the document folder down and walked out.
My father had already exited the restaurant booking page.
“At home is fine. Saves money.”
“Exactly,” Lily said, leaning against my mother. “The hotel abroad is so small. If we upgrade my room, I’ll be more comfortable.”
No one asked how my graduation photos had gone.
No one looked at the certificate I had brought home.
My mother came out of the kitchen with an apron and held it out to me.
“Dinner for ten. You can handle it. The money we save can upgrade your sister’s hotel room.”
The apron straps fell across my faded sleeve.
The thirty-eight hundred dollars had already been sent.
I had thought that, at least, it might earn one sentence.
You graduated. You worked hard.
“Take it. Do you want me to tie it on for you?”
I accepted the apron.
“Okay.”
Tomorrow, I would cook the meal.
The day after tomorrow, I would take the last things that belonged to me and leave.
Chapter 2
I washed the vegetables in the sink for the third time before my mother brought in two more bags of shrimp.
“Your sister wants garlic shrimp. Don’t make it spicy.”
I glanced at the clock on the wall.
Eleven.
Soup was simmering on the stove. Meat still waited on the cutting board.
That morning, while trimming shrimp, I had nicked my wrist with the kitchen shears. Water kept soaking into the cut, making it sting.
“Mom, can you watch the pot for a second?”
“When would I have time? Your sister’s hair isn’t done.”
She turned and left. A hair dryer started in the living room.
The soup boiled over.
I grabbed a cloth and reached for the pot. The cloth was damp, and hot steam rushed straight against my injured wrist.
My hand jerked. The rim of the pot scraped over the cut, and a few drops of blood fell into the soup.
I quickly set the pot back down.
My wrist was already red.
“What happened?”
My mother rushed in, lifting the lid first, then looking at my hand.
“Did blood fall in?”
I nodded and tried to rinse it under the faucet.
She grabbed my arm.
“How is your sister supposed to drink this now? Her health is fragile. If something happens to her, are you responsible?”
“I got burned.”
“Who told you to be so careless? You can’t even cook one meal properly.”
She skimmed the surface of the soup several times with a spoon, then pointed at an empty pot.
“Make her a small fresh batch. Don’t delay lunch.”
My phone rang in the apron pocket.
My ticket had been issued, and the airline prompted me to choose a seat.
With my uninjured hand, I selected a window seat.
The flight would be long, but at least no one there would slap the table and demand that I give up my seat for someone else.
“You’re still on your phone?”
My mother knocked on the cutting board.
“Guests are about to arrive. Do you even know what matters?”
I put away my phone and turned on the faucet.
I had not rinsed for more than a minute before someone outside called for cups.
I shut off the water and carried ten glasses out.
There was no air conditioning in the kitchen, and the heat from the stove clung to my back.
After carrying out the fourth dish, I went to the living room for water.
The cup had just touched my lips when my mother called, “Bring the soup ladle.”
At the table, someone laughed.
“It’s nice to have an older sister. Look how sensible she is.”
Lily lifted her face.
“My sister has always spoiled me.”
My mother tucked Lily’s hair behind her ear.
“She’s always been fragile. We’ve had to take special care of her since she was little.”
“She’s about to travel overseas? How lucky.”
“Twenty is the perfect age to see the world.”
I stood by the table holding the ladle, with nowhere to set down my glass.
My father lifted his hand.
“Don’t just stand there. Bring out the cold salad from the kitchen.”
Lily added, “Maya, get me a smaller bowl. This one is too hot.”
The praise for me had not even ended before two used bowls appeared in my hands.
After all the dishes were served, I went back to the kitchen and cooked myself a bowl of noodles.
I had just lifted my chopsticks when someone outside said it was time to cut the cake. So I went to find the knife and plates.
By the time I finished washing the last stack of dishes, the noodles had gone cold, stuck in a lump at the bottom of the bowl.
The guests had not all left yet.
I sat at the corner of the table and pushed the noodles apart with my chopsticks.
My mother noticed me, as if suddenly remembering something.
“It’s your sister’s birthday. Where’s your gift?”
I looked up.
Lily was arranging a gift box on her lap. Hearing this, her fingers paused.
“Mom, don’t ask. Maya probably forgot.”
“She can remember her own graduation perfectly well.”
My mother’s face hardened.
“That thirty-eight hundred dollars was transferred yesterday.”
“That was travel money. A birthday gift is separate. How can you mix them together?”
The table went quiet.
The noodle broth had cooled. Oil had formed a ring along the rim of the bowl.
I held my chopsticks and did not stir again.
Lily moved closer to my mother.
“It’s okay. I don’t want Maya to feel pressured.”
“You’re too considerate.”
My mother looked at me.
“Your older sister is the one becoming more and more selfish.”
My father set down his glass.
“Enough. Once you’re done eating, clean up. Honestly, you leaving would be the best gift for her.”
I swallowed the last mouthful of cold noodles.
He had already turned away and was asking Lily what she wanted to buy for her trip.
No one took that sentence seriously.
Only I wrote it down in my heart.
“Okay.”
My father did not hear me.
I did not need to say it twice.
Chapter 3
By the end of dinner, only grease clung to the plates.
I washed the dishes, then took out the mop.
The dining room floor was covered in frosting and bones. Crumpled napkins were stuck under chair legs.
I crouched to pick them up, and my wrist brushed the table edge. Pain made my fingers curl.
My mother saw the last guest off at the door.
“Take care. Come again.”
Then she turned back and pointed at me.
“After you mop, take the trash downstairs. Don’t leave it here overnight to stink.”
I carried two bags of trash down, then came back to see off the last few guests.
When the elevator doors closed, the living room was finally empty.
Lily stood in front of the mirror, turning her skirt this way and that.
“Maya, there’s cake on this.”
She changed out of the dress and draped it over my arm.
“I want to wear it tomorrow. Wash it tonight.”
Frosting clung to one sequin.
I found a basin, soaked the dress in cold water, and added detergent.
The red swelling on my wrist had blistered. Even my sleeve hurt when it touched it.
The dress slipped to the bottom of the basin, and I reached down to fish it out.
Detergent seeped into the wound.
A sharp pain shot through me, and my fingers loosened. The basin slid from my hand.
Water spilled across the floor.
My shoes were soaked at once.
My mother heard the sound and came in. She picked up the dress first.
“You can’t even wash a dress properly!”
She held the skirt under the light, checking every angle.
“Will the color fade? Did any of the decorations fall off?”
I braced myself on the basin and tried to show her my hand.
“I got burned earlier, and when the detergent—”
“Who told you to be so clumsy? Are you throwing a tantrum because you had to do some chores?”
She tossed the dress back into the basin.
Water splashed onto my pants.
I stopped with my hand still in midair, then finally pressed it against the basin.
Lily was on the couch opening gifts.
“Maya, don’t scrub too hard. You’ll ruin the hem.”
My mother immediately said, “Did you hear that? Your sister is reminding you.”
I switched to my other hand and carefully rubbed the stain out.
The sequins scratched my palm. Water spilled over the side of the basin and gathered in the grout lines.
“Wipe the floor first!”
My mother pointed at the water.
“What if someone slips? Your sister has a weak heart, and you’re still deliberately making trouble.”
I brought a rag and crouched on the floor.
My injured hand was useless, so I wrung the rag with the other. It stayed too wet, so I wiped the floor again.
Lily opened a box of perfume and excitedly called our mother over to smell it.
“This smells amazing.”
“Put it away. Don’t let your sister knock it over while she’s cleaning.”
I moved past their feet and dried the water beneath the couch.
My wet shoes clung to my heels. At first it only hurt. Then my socks stuck to my skin.
I went to the balcony to hang the dress. I had to rise onto my toes to reach the clothesline, and the edge of my shoe scraped open the wound on my heel again.
My mother checked the hem before finally returning to her room.
“Check the kitchen again. Make sure the gas is off. Don’t sleep in tomorrow.”
I wiped the stove clean, put the last bowl into the cabinet, and turned off the kitchen light.
In the dim hallway glow, I placed my wrist under cold water.
One of the blisters had already broken.
As water ran across it, I bit my lip and made no sound.
When I took off my shoes, my sock pulled at the cut on my heel.
I sat on the little stool in the bathroom, soaked the sock until it loosened, then peeled it away inch by inch.
Outside, Lily laughed.
She was taking photos of her gifts and asking our mother to help with the lighting.
I set my shoes against the wall and walked barefoot back to my room.
My suitcase stood by the bed.
I opened the closet. The half that belonged to me was already empty.
Only a few old clothes lay folded at the foot of the bed. Tomorrow, I would put them in the suitcase.
I lay down, careful not to press on my wrist, and left my arm outside the blanket.
Tomorrow night, I would leave home.
The day after, I would board the plane.
I counted it twice in the dark.
At dawn, my bedroom door slammed against the wall.
I sat up against the bed frame.
The first thing that landed was a slap across my face.
My ear rang.
My mother grabbed my blanket and yanked it away.
“Hand over your sister’s necklace!”
I touched my cheek. My fingertips were trembling.
She stepped closer to the bed.
“Her necklace was there last night, and now it’s gone. You were the only one who touched her things. Who else could have stolen it?”
