She Broke Things, I Got Slapped

Synopsis

My mother only remembered she had a real daughter when the hospital called with a critical condition notice. Back then, when my stepsister broke something, she slapped me instead. That slap made me realize the truth and pushed me even further away. I left home twelve years ago. From that day on, I was dead to her. Now she was lying in a hospital bed, still pretending we ever had a loving bond. She said she was wrong, that she wanted to make things right, and begged me to come back and see her off. I didn't shed a tear or say a word. I just calmly mailed her a package. There were no gifts inside, only the bus ticket from all those years ago. The note inside was just a single line: [You forgot, Mom. The bus I took that day... There was never a return ticket.]