My stepmother threw me into the snow to erase me from the world, but among rusted metal I found a missing girl’s poster with my same face… and that crumpled piece of paper opened the door to the embrace that gave me back my life…

So when Evelyn stepped out for more wood, I saw my chance. The spoon rested against the rim. A small piece of meat floated near the surface. Raymond’s back stayed motionless through the cigarette smoke. And with the desperate logic only a starving child can have, I thought if I moved fast enough, maybe nobody would notice.

I slipped my trembling hand toward the pot.

I never touched the meat.

A shove hit me hard between the shoulders. The room lurched. My body pitched forward, and my right arm slammed against the blazing side of the stove. My skin sizzled. Maybe that sound only lives in my memory now, but I still swear I heard it. A white, unbearable pain shot from my hand to my shoulder and blinded me for a second.

I opened my mouth to scream.

Nothing came out.

I fell to my knees. I tried to pull away, but Evelyn grabbed the back of my blouse with such force that I felt less like a child than a skinny animal being dragged to slaughter.

“Look what you make me do, you useless little brat,” she hissed.