On a muddy path that wound through rice fields and banana trees, a little girl no more than five was running barefoot, crying so hard she could barely breathe.
“Mae… don’t leave…”
She reached out her hand.
Up ahead, a young woman turned slightly at the sound of her daughter’s voice. Her stunning, tired face broke into a sad smile.
“Don’t cry, Mali. Mae will come back soon, okay? Be a good girl. Stay home with your father. If you’re naughty, Mae will be upset… and if I’m upset, I won’t love Mali anymore.”
With that, she turned away and kept walking, her figure shrinking down the red clay road until it disappeared into the mist.
“Mae! Mae!”
Mali sobbed louder, arms flailing as she tried to chase after her, but two rough hands caught her around the waist and held her back. She kicked and screamed, twisting as hard as she could.
“Let me go! I want to go with Mae!”
She bit down on the wrist gripping her and managed to wriggle free. She took off again, feet slapping against the wet earth, but she slipped. Her feet shot forward, her tiny body flew backward.
SPLASH.
She landed flat in the mud.
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The Next Day170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbv4Ro2sUy
District Hospital, Nakhon Lampang
A doctor in a short-sleeved white coat shuffled some papers and handed a thin medical file to the man across from him. The man wore a threadbare canvas jacket and smelled faintly of sweat and cheap alcohol.
“The little girl’s in rough shape,” the doctor said. “When she fell, the back of her head hit something hard. Her skull is fractured in two places. She’s still young, so it’s hard to say how things will turn out. But there might be damage—she could grow up slow, confused, have trouble learning, even walking. You need to prepare yourself.”
The man bowed his head. “I see.”
He left the office without another word, but in the hallway, he sank down beside the wall and cried.
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Four Years Later170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yVBJckAWN
Ban Huay Saen Primary School
A teacher with a knitted scarf and reading glasses looked up from a stack of tests.
“You’re Mali’s father, right?”
“Yes,” the man nodded quickly. “My name’s Boon.”
He looked like he’d made an effort—his shirt was tucked in, but his hair stuck out in strange directions and his chin bore at least two days of stubble.
Teacher Ampha pinched her nose discreetly, turning slightly to one side to avoid his breath.
“I asked you here to talk about your daughter.”
She handed over a test paper.
Boon squinted at it, then his eyes widened.
“A hundred? She got a hundred?”
“That’s right,” said Teacher Ampha, with a thin smile. “Perfect score. The only one in the whole class.”
A proud grin spread across Boon’s face.
But then she added, “Which is why I think she cheated.”
The smile vanished.
“Cheated? From who? You just said no one else got full marks.”
“She could’ve copied the answers off the girl in front of her. Mali always stares into space, never finishes homework, fails most exams. And now, suddenly, this?”
“She’s only nine and already starting to lie. If you don’t correct her now, what kind of woman will she grow up to be?”
Boon opened his mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come.
Teacher Ampha kept going and you can tell from her expression that she was certain.
He clenched his jaw. His fists curled. For a moment, he looked like he might stand up and shout something horrible.
But he didn’t. He stood stiffly, nodded once and left the room.
Behind him, he heard someone mutter, “No wonder his wife ran off.”
He froze in the hallway.
Then kept walking.
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Evening170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7laLoVdHI
Old Wooden House
Mali knelt on the floor with her hands over her ears. Her cheeks were flushed.
Boon took a swig from a half-empty bottle of cheap white liquor, then slammed it down on the floor.
It rattled against the bamboo mat.
“Why did you cheat on the test?”
“I didn’t,” Mali said, voice small but firm.
He stood. His eyes were red and heavy.
“We’re poor, yeah, but we’re not trash. I never asked you to be smart, I never asked you to do anything but try. But now you’re lying to my face? You think you’re clever?”
“I didn’t lie. I really didn’t cheat.”
“Liar!”
His belt came off in one fluid motion.
She flinched but didn’t run.
CRACK.
“I said, you’re lying!”
CRACK.
Mali bit her lip, eyes wet, but no tears fell.
“I just studied! I wanted to win so you’d take me to see Mae—just like you promised!”
That stopped him.
His hand froze in mid-air.
He dropped the belt, sat down heavily and buried his face in his hands.
But the damage had already been done.
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That Night
Boon was snoring in the next room.
Mali lay on her belly, wincing as she shifted. Her thighs and lower back ached. She carefully rolled over and got to her knees.
She pulled on a faded windbreaker and tiptoed across the room. Reaching under her cot, she slid out a wooden box and lifted the lid.
Inside were a few cracked pencils, a notebook and a worn out textbook.
She slipped outside quietly.
A skinny yellow dog ran up, tail wagging.
“Chokdee,” she whispered, petting his head. “Come on.”
The two of them limped toward the riverbank. Mali’s walk was uneven as one leg was stiff and her knee was never bending right. She’d had the limp since the fall.
Kids laughed at her.
They called her “slow,” “stupid,” “the girl with the broken brain.”
But that night, she climbed the small hill behind the village’s knife handle factory. A single bulb flickered there, left on all night to keep away thieves.
She sat down by the big tamarind tree and opened her book.
Chokdee curled up beside her.
She ran her fingers across the pages. The title read: “Mathematics: Volume 2.” The subtitle: “Algebra and Functions.”
Mae had given it to her before leaving. She’d read it over and over. Every page. Every problem and still, she wanted more.
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Dawn
The first rooster crowed. Mali looked up at the pale sky.
“I finished it,” she whispered. “Only exercises left.”
She closed the book gently and slipped it into her bag.
She looked at Chokdee, who yawned and stretched.
“We should go home.”
The two of them turned back toward the village.
One girl and one dog, walking slowly down a muddy path.
The world was waking up.
But Mali had already been awake for a long time.170Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIuvvuBj0m
and then Add to home screen.