"Mom, where's Kate? Didn't she go out with you?"
Dad finally asked about me.
I thought Grandma would open the padlock on the freezer and let me out.
I waited. And waited.
Praying for Grandma to remember me.
"She wasn't with me."
"She was throwing a tantrum before I left, so I just ignored her."
Grandmother paused for a moment.
Then she let out a little gasp. "That girl's been disobedient since the day she was born. You don't think she ran away from home, do you?"
I couldn't remember what Grandmother said after that to turn Dad against me.
All I remembered was the sound.
A deafening boom inside my skull, like something had detonated behind my eyes.
Grandmother had forgotten about me.
Through the haze, I thought I saw Mom's face, twisted and contorted.
Her agonized screams echoed in my ears.
"If you hadn't been born a girl, my life wouldn't be this miserable."
"Why did you have to be born at all? It would've been better if you'd just died!"
Then came Dad, his eyes bloodshot, bringing the belt down on Mom's body, lash after lash.
"Worthless woman. All these years and you can't even give me a son. What good are you?"
"You gave me a money pit, and you think you have the right to talk back?"