With nowhere to go, I ran deep into the forest with Bruno, my loyal dog. Unfortunately, the villagers found us again. Right in front of me, they killed my dog and used its body to make a pot of soup.
Heartbroken, I held one of his bones and cried until I couldn’t breathe.
I was only sixteen then. I had no father, no mother.
On the stage, Ivana looked at my crying face on the screen and let out a cold laugh. “Selina, don’t you deserve this? If you hadn’t protected the rapist, would people treat you like that? Do you really think you’re the victim here?”
“You have no right to feel sorry for yourself. You protected a criminal and this is your punishment!”
Others agreed and shouted, “She has no shame! How dare she complain after everything she has done?”
“Trying to use these sad memories to make us pity her, huh? Ridiculous. She helped a rapist! That makes her no different from him. She belongs in hell!”
“Who is really pitiful here? Lizzy’s family lost everything. A family lost their daughter, the mother went insane from broken heart. Who is more deserving of our sympathy?”
Just then, a soft, cheerful laugh echoed from the screen. “Lizzy, wait for me!”