The Discarded Daughter's Final Gift

I was the curse of the family.

My mother had severe chondromalacia and nearly bled to death giving birth to me.

My parents hated me for it, dumping me in the dark basement to fend for myself.

Later, my little sister was born. She was always sickly.

My parents claimed it was all my fault—that my bad omen had doomed her too.

So they banished me to our old, rundown house in a remote rural town.

They left me no money and bought me no groceries. I survived for years by digging through garbage cans.

It wasn't until I turned nine that my father finally came to bring me back.