I'm a thief. I can steal other people's things. Mom was always praising my cousin for being good at everything: great grades, good at making money, pretty, and a boyfriend with an impressive background. Then she'd look me over with a strange, knowing gaze. I would instinctively hunch my shoulders, like a shadowy rat secretly peering at my cousin's happy life. Envy and resentment screamed in my ears: Take her life! Take everything! Heaven took pity on me, and I stole it all from her. Now it's my turn to bask in the glory.
