Unloved Daughter, Unbreakable Spirit

y finally came: my parents and

ate hope, imagining the hugs a

ht to my doll-like sister, Brittany, leaving

, Sarah, stated flatly, her gaze making

like a country girl," was met with my dad' s chuckle

onizing realization: I wasn'

hores, yet my mother dismiss

e: stuck in our small town, running th

ion, a burning sting on my face for

any physical pain, confirming I

nly warmth in my worl

to be in your heart," she whis

n saved money, only for her to call it "ugly" and knock it

sed me of theft, hitting me so hard my

their immediate, doting concern made it sickeningly cl

ditional, so utterly, dev

a superficial scrape while my pain was in

e so blind, so callo

ng clarity: I was done trying to

achievement, every proof of my efforts, a quiet