checkup and arranging a tour group for us.
They called it a “celebration and
compensation.” I didn’t want to go, but I
couldn’t resist my grandmother’s eager
anticipation. For all those years, she had been
confined to a poor and backward village,
oblivious to the vastness of the world.
I was young, I would have other chances, but
my grandmother…
I agonized over it for a night and finally
agreed.
On that trip, I saw a much broader world.
And I saw a satisfaction on my grandmother’s
face she had never shown before. The
resentment I had for my mother and sister
faded away.
But upon returning from the trip, when I saw
<
my grandmother’s medical report, my world crumbled. My beloved grandmother had a
malignant tumor the size of a child’s fist near
her heart. The surgery cost $30,000, a huge sum for me and my grandmother at the time. My mother approached me privately and explained why she came to see me.
She wanted me to change my name to “Patricia Shen” and share my sister’s life.
In other words, my sister and I would go to the same university.
Except, my sister would take all the glory, the fame, and the attention; I would do all the
hard work – attending classes, exams, and getting certifications.
