Chapter 17

• Every time I got sick, I would remember my mother vividly, as if she were standing right next to me. She was the kindest and most patient woman I had ever known—the best mother I could have asked for.
• The children in our village often made fun of me. First, was because my mother was blind. Then, because I didn't have a father. I could tolerate those jabs, but when I came of age and my abilities didn't manifest like the others, they found a new target to exploit.
• They called us useless and worthless. It got so bad that they forced us to the outskirts of the village, into a crumbling house barely standing against the wind.