chapter five

Mother even has my youngest brother, Russel, brainwashed. He watches me like a hawk and sometimes makes up stories to tell Mother, just to see me get beat. One day, she told me I had twenty minutes to get my chores done. I glanced down at Russel who was clinging to her leg. She was quickly upset by the fact that I wasn't looking at her when she was speaking. Mother grabbed a knife and told me she would kill me if I wasn't finished in time. Suddenly, she began rocking back and forth. The knife flew from her hand and hit just above my stomach. She dressed my wound and made me finish the dishes. Mother was so nice to me that night, but turned into her normal self the next day. I continued to take care of the wound myself. I felt like Superman.