The Discarded Daughter's Rise

Christmas morning should have been filled with joy, but for me, it was the day my hard work, my straight-A report card, was ripped to shreds by my father.

Instead of comfort, my own paternal grandmother slapped me, calling me a "bad omen" just like my mother, Brenda.

My mother, a paralegal who valued appearances, had vanished weeks prior, only for divorce papers to appear.

Soon after, my father dumped me at a bus station, tossing a few crumpled bills and driving off, telling me not to call him, even in an emergency.