Chapter 15: The Unfairness
It was the way her cousins lived that made the pain even sharper.
While Mary worked from dawn until night, they lounged around the house in clean clothes, well-fed, and free of responsibility. They had shoes, new ones even, and school uniforms that fit. They carried backpacks filled with notebooks and pencils, and were always given transport money or snacks.
Mary had none of these things.
When visitors came, her aunt proudly introduced her children, praising their talents, their behavior, their school performance—while Mary remained in the background, quiet, unnoticed, or worse, used as a servant to serve drinks and wash plates.
One day, her cousin spilled a bowl of rice. The aunt didn't raise her voice. She simply chuckled and cleaned it up herself. But when Mary accidentally broke a cracked old plate, she was slapped twice across the face and made to kneel outside in the sun for hours.
"Why are you so useless?" her aunt shouted. "You bring nothing but bad luck!"
It wasn't just the harsh words—it was how no one thought she deserved fairness. The rules for her were different. The expectations higher. The punishments crueler.
When Mary did well at school, no one cared. But if her cousins passed, they were rewarded. When she fell ill, she was told to work through it. When her cousins sneezed, they were rushed to the chemist.
Even among neighbors and extended family, the double standard was clear. If Mary spoke out, she was told to "respect her elders." If her cousins shouted at her or insulted her, it was brushed off with laughter.
This constant inequality burned into Mary. Not just the injustice—but the message behind it: You are not like them. You do not matter like they do.
But deep inside, Mary began to quietly disagree.
She started to believe what they couldn't see—that she did matter. That their unfairness wasn't a reflection of her worth, but of their blindness.
And that one day, they would look back and realize the girl they treated like nothing... was becoming something far greater than they ever imagined.