No More Money for the Daughter They Sold

I had a little sister who'd been sickly since the day she was born.

The year I got into the top public high school in the county, my father crouched on the front step puffing away at his pipe, and my mother held my hand and kept wiping at her eyes, her face full of pity.

"It's your father's and my fault. We just aren't good enough to give you what you deserve."

"You've seen how things are at home. Your sister goes back into the hospital tomorrow. We really don't have the money to keep you in school."