The Unwanted Shadow

From the moment she could remember, all she ever wanted was love. Not riches, not praise, not success—just the warmth of her family’s affection. But in her home, warmth was a stranger. Her parents’ eyes rarely softened when they looked at her, their voices rarely lifted for her sake. Their laughter, their tenderness, their pride—all of it belonged to someone else: her younger sister.

That little sister had everything the girl ever dreamed of. The new dresses, the bright toys, the gentle hands brushing her hair. Most of all, the love. Love that never seemed to spill over to the older one, no matter how much she reached for it.

So she learned to reach differently. To rebel, to go against the rules, to stir trouble—anything that would make her family turn their eyes toward her. But what she earned in return was not the love she craved, only anger, beatings, and sharper words than any child deserved.

School was no escape. Her grades fell behind, not because she lacked the will to study, but because her heart was too heavy. How could she focus on numbers and words when her mind repeated the same desperate prayer—just one percent of the love they give my sister… only a little piece for me?

Every night, one question circled endlessly in her head: Does my family love me at all? Or do they only have one daughter—the younger one?

When she was ten, a moment came that shattered her fragile hope forever.

Because of her poor marks, she was sent to tuition. The teacher there was a strict man, more cruel than kind. Mistakes were punishable offenses. Sometimes he struck her, sometimes he locked her in a dark room to cry alone until he deemed she had “learned her lesson.”

One day, after a test full of errors, her punishment was harsher. Hands tied, shoved into a pitch-black room, she sat trembling for hours. At first,, she cried softly, but soon she went silent, her small body folding into the corner. Only when she heard footsteps, and the teacher’s voice did she break—falling to her knees, begging:

“I’m sorry! I won’t make mistakes again. Please, I’m sorry!”

Her parents arrived late, demanding to know why she had not come home. The teacher casually told them it was her punishment.

When the door opened, and she saw her father, her heart leapt. He’s here. He’ll protect me now.

She clung to that thought as they took her home. But instead of comfort, she received scolding. Instead of protection, blame. They didn’t ask about her tears or her fear. They only reminded her it was her fault for being careless in studies.

That night, she cried until her voice was gone. And when she woke, the dark was no longer just dark—it was a monster that haunted her forever.

The next day, when her mother ordered her back to tuition, she heard something deep inside whisper:

It’s enough. You tried. Take rest. There’s a world outside this house where love exists. You deserve happiness, not chains. You are brave.

For the first time, she resisted. When her mother insisted, she panicked, bolted from the house, and ran. Hours later, her parents found her, trembling but unyielding. After that day, she never went back to that tuition.

She grew into a girl with two faces. At school, she was brave, lively, quick to make friends and lend a hand. At home, she was still the shadow, the unwanted child.

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