Renee had guessed that her mother had a problem with vocation long ago.
Her surmise was verified by what Carmen said, and it was the first time for Carmen to mention her past before her children.
Renee felt that her mother's story was a cliche with some peculiarity, " Mom, it is not your fault. Those, who slighted you, should be blamed."
"Well? At that age, a college student was rare. And in my hometown, most of my peers started to work without finishing the primary school."
"Your grandparents were excited for my enrollment in the best high school in the city because that all graduate students from that school got admitted into college."
"Your grandfather lay all hopes on me. I should have attended a college and had a promising job if not going astray."
"It is my fault for failing to resist temptation from money and enjoy the material extravagance in advance."
That man who made me pregnant refused to marry me, and I went to have an abortion alone. Then, I got expelled from the school, and your grandmother had shed tears for days." "I will never forget the helplessness and loneliness when lying on the operating table. However, I didn't realize my bad then, and instead, I blamed the world for its unfairness."
"I went astray because of the jealousy and jeers from others. I was determined to make a rise in life to humiliate those who laughed at me."
"Your grandparents felt sad about my bad deeds. When I became stubborn, they drove me away with disappointment and desperation."
"My family is a literary one, and there are ancestors who got elected to be dignitary. They thought me a stigma to the family."
"I felt chagrin and acted rashly. I didn't go home even if I made a lot of money. I was addicted to the luxury and dissipation life. Then, my family crossed my mind occasionally."
"It is not until now I come to understand your grandparents."
"Perhaps what they prayed for me had nothing to do with money or extravagant life. They just wished that I could live healthily and honestly."
"I failed to live up to their expectations. I was doomed to be like this while abandoning courtesy, righteousness, integrity, and shame. They had a point."
"I tore apart the family of others, and the retribution came late but was seldom absent."
"When young, I was reluctant to admit my fault, thinking it was an affair with a mutual agreement."
"However, I know now the retribution falls on my children rather on me. Renee, promise me, be good and forget hatred and revenge. Lead a common and honest life, won't you?"
Carmen asked her own daughter to take the life course she detested most when young.
Renee nodded, "You have my words."
"Well, these sweet dumplings relived sentimental in me. Come to try some before they are cold. How do you like it? I remember that Leo and you loved sugar when little."
You had toothaches at 5 years old. You didn't dare to eat candies anymore after the dentist pulled out your two bad teeth. I save some dumplings for Leo, and he can have them after coming home."
"I felt it odd at my youth that my parents should believe that the sweet dumplings would unite the family. I know that it is their humble and wholehearted wishes for the family."
Carmen came out of the prison as a gabber. And she would like to cherish every second of her time with her children.
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