Mom smiled and nodded, her tone as casual as any other day.
"Don't forget to come back and cook lunch. Your brother loves your braised pork, and Val's been asking about it for days."
I walked down the cracked cement road, the surface warped and split from years of heavy trucks.
I thought about the year I turned sixteen, when Dad died in an accident.
At the funeral, Mom grabbed my hand and wept like her soul was being torn from her body.
"You're the oldest. From now on, you're the backbone of this family."
"My health is failing, and your brother and sisters are still young. You have to help me hold this family together. I'm counting on you."
That day, I stood in front of Dad's headstone in mourning clothes that didn't fit. I clenched my teeth and nodded.
From that day forward, my youth, my dreams, everything had to make way for this family.
I could have gone to college.
I could have had my own life, my own future.
But I gave it all up.
After the funeral, I held my baby brother on one hip while I knelt and bowed to every uncle and elder, thanking them for helping arrange Dad's burial.