Forgotten By My Family

Synopsis

My younger sister Iris Norris was getting engaged, and the whole family drove to her fiancé's hometown for the engagement party. There was a traffic jam on the highway, so everyone got out to stretch their legs. As soon as the road cleared, my father hit the gas and sped off, not even closing the door properly. I chased after them for a few hundred yards until my shoe fell off and my feet were bleeding. Cars zoomed by all around, but no one dared to stop. I stood on the emergency lane like an idiot. My phone was still charging on the car seat, and I was only wearing a thin shirt, shivering in the wind. I finally made it to a service area on foot, and I huddled on a bench in the lobby for the entire night. I survived only because a kind cleaning lady gave me a sandwich. When I finally borrowed a phone and called, before I could even speak, my mother's impatient roar came through the line. She said, "Where the hell have you been? The whole family is here waiting for you. Are you hiding on purpose to ruin Iris's big day?" In the background, I could hear Iris's whining voice complaining that I had no sense of propriety and was making her look bad. My hand holding the receiver had turned purple from the cold. The last bit of warmth in my heart died completely. They hadn't even noticed I was gone. They thought I was throwing a tantrum somewhere.