16
Three months after the divorce, Dad lost his
job.
The factory upgraded its technology. Dad was
too old to learn the new skills, too slow with
the old ones.
The new manager laid him off.
In his forties, with no diploma, Dad struggled
to find work.
He’d find a job, only to be replaced by a
college graduate.
Jobs were scarce in the county seat, so he
returned to the village to farm.
He realized farming was much harder than he
imagined, and he missed Mom.
But Mom refused to reconcile. She warned
Grandma that she’d call the police if she
harassed her again.
Dad had given the thirty thousand dollars
from the divorce settlement to Uncle Mark for
,
Ethan’s new computer and gaming.
equipment.
Uncle Mark had promised that Ethan would
be successful and take care of Dad in his old
age.
Ethan had apparently won several gaming
tournaments and was about to compete in a
national competition.
The entry fee was waived, but travel,
accommodation, and coaching expenses
totaled over one hundred thousand dollars.
Dad didn’t have the money. Grandma gave
them her life savings.
The family pinned all their hopes on Ethan
winning the national championship.
Mom and I went back to the high school one
last time to say goodbye to Ms. Lincoln.
Mom took me to KFC, a place I’d always
wanted to try. We ran into Aunt Sarah and
Ethan.
Aunt Sarah generously bought me the same
meal she got for Ethan. He wore glasses now.
He’d grown taller and stood quietly beside
Aunt Sarah, sipping his soda.
A year later, Mom and I moved to the city for
college. She set up a food stall near campus. I helped her after classes, taking orders and
packing food.
The next time I saw Aunt Sarah and Ethan
was on the local news.
Aunt Sarah was on the ground, wailing, looking much older.
The training facility behind her was deserted,
abandoned.
L
The reporter told Ethan his certificates and
awards were fake.
Uncle Mark’s family had been scammed out
of over half a million dollars.
Grandma was so distraught she threatened to
drown herself.
Uncle Mark, unable to cope, went to work in a
factory in another province.
Dad toiled day and night in the fields, but the
meager income barely covered Ethan’s living
expenses.
Ethan, almost eighteen, still insisted he was a
talented gamer.
The reporter helped him contact a legitimate
esports team.
After a tryout, they said he did have some
talent, but he was too old. They only recruited
<
players under sixteen.
Ethan shut himself in his room, refusing to
leave, staring blankly into space.
Dad, desperate to help Ethan, went into the
mountains to dig for rare medicinal herbs.
One winter day, he fell and couldn’t move half
his body.
The village doctor diagnosed him with a mild
stroke. He could no longer work and needed
constant care.
Grandma, in her seventies, now had to care
for her son.
Dad wanted Ethan to visit, but Ethan wouldn’t
even answer his calls.
Grandma tracked down my phone number
and called me, demanding I drop out of
college and come home to care for Dad.
I laughed. “You’re dreaming. I will never see him again.”
She threatened to sue me for abandoning my
father. I told her to go ahead. I’d wait for the
court summons.
As I was about to hang up, I heard a familiar
voice.
“Jenny… Dad’s sorry… Dad was wrong… Can you…”
I hung up. I couldn’t bear to listen.
His apology, once more precious than any
jewel, now sounded like static.
17
