Chapter 5

I tugged at my mom's sleeve. "Mom, wake up, okay? Don't you want Christine anymore?"

I touched my forehead, then my mom's. Mine felt warmer than hers.

I must be sick too. Mom always said if I drank lots of water, I'd get better.

I spotted a small puddle not far away. I went over, got down on my stomach, and scooped up some water with my hands.

I brought it to my mouth and drank.

Mom was sick too. She needed to drink some water. I gently cupped some water in my hands and tried to feed it to her.

The water just trickled down the side of her mouth. She just wouldn't swallow.

I scratched my ear, totally lost about what to do next.

I remembered when I was sick, Mom always said I had to eat to get strong and feel better.

But there was nothing to eat, so I grabbed some sand from the ground and put it in my mouth. It was kind of like candy.

After I ate it, my stomach didn't feel so bad.

I wanted to feed Mom some sand too, but her mouth just wouldn't open.

By evening, I gently moved Mom's hand aside and curled up in her armpit, pulling her coat over me.

Mom was still cold as ice.

Early the next morning, I heard voices coming from below.

I crawled to the edge and peeked down. There were people down there.

They were wearing uniforms just like the ones the men at Dad's villa always wore.

One of them waved and called out loudly, "Come on, Mr. Lawson said we just need to go through the motions with the police.

"Yeah, everyone knows Mr. Lawson is throwing a birthday party for some other girl at Riverside Plaza. Getting stuck here is just our bad luck."

I was just about to cry out. But then I realized I couldn't get any words out.

I stared at Mom in shock, and suddenly it felt like there were lots of Moms in front of me, and a whole bunch of Christine too.

Then I drifted off to sleep again.

When I woke up again, I crawled over to the puddle and cupped my hands, drinking the last few drops from the bottom.

My stomach still ached, but it felt a little better. Mom still hadn't woken up.

If we stayed here too long, we'd get sick for sure. Mom always said if we ever got lost, I could reach her with my watch.

Or I could leave stuff behind as I walked, so she could follow my trail and find me.

I checked Mom's watch, but it was already broken and out of battery.

I could only unclasp it from her wrist and toss it down below. The watch vanished into the green grass.

I could only hope Dad would find us soon.

Once I'd done all that, I curled up in Mom's arms again. I was craving jello, rice, and so many snacks.

My stomach hurt so much that I'd rip pieces off my clothes and stuff them in my mouth to chew. It helped with the pain, just a little.

I shook Mom, trying to see if she was hungry too. But she still didn't respond.

Mom had never slept this long before. Maybe she was just super tired.

I told myself I should try to be more obedient from now on, and learn how to do a bunch of things.

Even though Dad doesn't really like us, at least Mom still has me.

That thought cheered me up a little.

After what felt like forever, the sun finally came out. It was so bright it hurt my eyes, but at least it wasn't so cold anymore.

There was a faint smell lingering around.

I gave myself a sniff. I hadn't bathed in days, and I stank. Mom used to always make me smell nice.

I lay on top of Mom, calling out for her, "Mom, Mom." But she still didn't respond.

Suddenly, I thought of our neighbor's dog. When he passed away, he looked just like he was sleeping.