First, I'm sick. If you forget, please remember not to tell anyone about my illness, especially York.
Second, York, my son, I love him very much.
Third, Transfer York to another school.
Forth, Take York out to play.
Fifth, I hope York has many friends.
Sixth, I hope York gets into his dream university.
Seventh, Organize a birthday party that will make York happy.
Eighth, Buy York a pair of sneakers that he likes.
Ninth, Cook a meal for York.
Tenth, Watch a movie with York.
Eleventh, Find a guardian for York.
Twelfth, Tell York that I love him.
My name is Anne.
I have a son named York.
His father is Dick Green, a scoundrel.
Everyone thinks that the child's father is someone I met during the summer after my graduation.
Actually, that's not true.
The first time I met Dick, I was thirteen years old.
At that time, I inexplicably became the victim of school bullying.
My first reaction was to tell my parents.
They said, "If someone bullies you, tell your teacher! What's the use of telling us? We can't go to your school."
So I told my teacher.
The teacher found them and gave them a stern warning.
Naively, I thought that would solve the problem.
Little did I know that it was the beginning of my nightmare.
Because of my whistleblowing, their bullying escalated from pranks to physical violence.
I sought help from my parents.
"Why do they only bully you and not others? Look at your grades, what have they become? Tell me, what have you been doing lately? Anne, you need to reflect on yourself!"
I sought help from my teacher.
But he grew more and more impatient each time.
Finally, he said, "Anne, just focus on your own business and ignore them. Look at you, knowing full well that they are disobedient and unmanageable, why do you keep getting involved?"
At that moment, I suddenly realized that I was completely alone.
Later, their bullying spread from school to outside its walls.
A group of them cornered me in an alley.
I knew what was coming next, and all I could do was accept it calmly.
There was a boy in the alley, squatting there smoking.
He neither intervened nor left, but watched with interest instead.
He watched as I was surrounded three times.
The fourth time, when everyone had dispersed, I staggered to my feet, ready to go home.
But he suddenly grabbed my backpack.
He said, "You really are a little wimp."
I broke free without expression, wanting to leave.
He then said, "I have an idea, do you want to hear it?"
I stopped.
But he put on airs.
He said, "Want to know? Bribe me!"
He didn't look like a good person, but there was no malice in his eyes.
And he was the first person to tell me he had a solution, so I wanted to listen.
I took out all the money I had hidden on me.
At that time, I thought: if he cheats me, I'll die.
Because that money was my living expenses for the next month.
But he rejected it, saying, "Who wants this? Go buy me a pack of cigarettes."
He took me to a convenience store and used my money to buy a ten dollar pack of cigarettes.
Then he told me, "Find the weakest among them. Next time they bully you, aim for the weakest and hit him. Once you knock him down, they won't dare to bully you anymore."
I followed his advice.
But I didn't have enough strength, even to beat the weakest one.
However, even so, they looked at me with a bit of apprehension.
He asked me, "Do you know why?"
I shook my head.
He said, "Because the aggressive fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who are fearless."
And I was the one who was fearless.
That wasn't enough.
I had to win for them to be deterred.
So he taught me how to use clever force, how to turn a small effort into great power.
He also told me which parts of a person are most vulnerable.
Later, I won.
I pinned that person to the ground and glared fiercely at the others around.
My gaze forced them back, and they fled in disarray.
I had won.
He threw me an apple with a smile, saying, "Impressive."
He was right; because of my strong counterattack, those people no longer dared to bully me.
Kids that age don't have a strong sense of right and wrong; they simply bully the weak and fear the strong. Once you show them you're stronger, they won't dare to mess with you.
To thank him, I bought him a big bag of apples from a fruit stand, carefully selecting the biggest and reddest ones.
I waited for him at the alley entrance, and before long, he arrived.
Seeing me, he was surprised.
"Waiting for me?"
I nodded and handed him the apples.
I said to him, "Thank you!"
He was even more surprised, "Turns out you're not mute."
That was the first time I spoke to him. I couldn't explain to him that after repeated unsuccessful attempts to seek help, I had learned to keep quiet.
But he didn't press further, merely waving the apples in his hand as he left.
I should have had no further intersection with him, but once people become connected, they always end up meeting again.
