“Mom, I’m not dead yet... Can’t you wait until I die before you nail the coffin shut?”
I cried and begged her in desperation, but all I heard was my mother hammering in the nails.
And beneath me lay Grandma, who had just died of an illness.
“Two people in one coffin. That saves us some money!”
“You little jinx, you’re nothing but a burden. You even lost the meat ration coupon. Why didn’t you die sooner, instead of causing me all this trouble?”
I really didn’t know how the coupon had gone missing, but I hadn’t lost it on purpose.
Outside, I heard my father and mother talking.
“Let Nuannuan out. Something could happen to her!”
“She’s a tough kid. She won’t die! If we don’t teach her a lesson, how will she ever learn?”
Two hours later, my hand slowly fell away from the coffin as I scratched at it.
I was tired, and tears slid from the corners of my eyes.
“Mom, I’m sorry. If I die, will you forgive me...”
