Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

As soon as the rainy season hit, the rain started pouring out of nowhere. It was sunny one minute, and then right after school let out, it just started dumping rain.

I was biking to the intersection, and when the light turned green, I headed in the opposite direction from home. After a few turns and passing Sunshine Elementary, the rain got even heavier, so I picked up the pace.

At the next intersection, I spotted someone familiar-Emily. She was hurrying along, using her backpack as a makeshift umbrella since she didn't have one. Suddenly, a group of boys blocked her path.

One of them said, "Hey, why are you in such a rush?"

Emily kept her head down, looking a bit scared, and tried to dodge around them. But they weren't having it and pulled her back. In the scuffle, her backpack fell into a puddle.

"Trying to run away? You don't have any family to care about you. Come hang with us," one of the boys taunted.

Emily picked up her backpack and said, "I'm not going."

One of the boys grabbed her hair, saying, "Don't be ungrateful."

As they were dragging her away, I pedaled hard and skidded to a stop in front of them, blocking their path.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" I leaned on my bike handle, giving them a lazy look.

"Ethan," one of the boys exclaimed.

They recognized me. It looked like they went to the same middle school. Most kids at school knew me. I wasn't one to start trouble, but I sure wasn't afraid of it. They stuck out their tongues, and one scratched his nose, saying, "Ethan, we were just messing around with her. We're heading home now."

With that, they took off. Emily stood there, head down, her toes wiggling in her wet sandals.

"Thanks," she said softly.

She was always so timid; I'd noticed that a while ago. Just like now, she thanked me but couldn't bring herself to look up. I stared at her face. She was small and thin, looking a bit underfed. But her long, fluttering eyelashes were the most striking feature. I found myself wanting to see the eyes behind those lashes, but Emily wouldn't look up.

"The rain's getting worse. Let me take you home," I offered.

She shook her head and put her backpack back over her head.

"No, thanks. My place is just up ahead. I'll be there soon."

With that, she turned and dashed off, her backpack over her head. I trailed behind on my bike, watching her until she disappeared into Broadway Alley. I stopped at the entrance, seeing her run deeper into the alley, her worn-out sandals kicking up mud.

That was two years ago. Since then, every time I saw her from a distance, she was always keeping her head down, looking timid. Now, two years later, she still got picked on, but there was a kind of strength in the way she ran through the rain. She had to be strong!

When the rain came and there was no umbrella, Emily couldn't just stand there and cry; she had to keep moving. She kept wiping her eyes as she ran. Was she crying? Those boys must have really upset her. I wanted to comfort her, but I felt like I was the last person who could.

Everyone's life path was different. The best comfort for her would have been to bring Victor back to life and wake her mom up. But that was impossible; what was done was done and couldn't be changed.

It wasn't until she was out of sight that I pedaled away. Not far ahead, I saw my cousin. He was also carrying a backpack and riding a bike. My cousin, Jason, had just transferred schools. He used to live in that Broadway Alley, but not anymore. "Ethan, what are you doing here?" Jason asked.

I shrugged and said, "Just wandering around."

Jason laughed and said, "You really have a good mood, wandering around on a rainy day?"

He seemed skeptical, but I didn't explain. We rode side by side until we parted ways at an intersection, and I kept going. Passing a mall, my eyes unconsciously looked towards the entrance. My fingers tightened on the brake, and I stopped. The man walking out of the mall was my father, Victor, and the woman beside him was probably his mistress, Linda. She was carrying shopping bags in one hand and holding a boy's hand in the other. The boy had a backpack, probably just picked up from school to go shopping.

Victor's affair with that woman was no secret, but seeing them together still hurt. They were chatting and laughing, looking like a happy family. Even when they got into the car, Victor didn't notice me standing in the rain. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't have a kind expression because he hated me.

Back then, not many families had private cars, and Victor was one of the few who did. However, the number of times I had ridden in that car could be counted on one hand.

My mom, Cindy Windsor, never got the chance to ride in it because she was always in poor health and rarely went out. As for me, I preferred my bike, even if it meant getting soaked in the rain.

Victor's car headed towards the stone factory. He spent most of his time there, staying in the dormitory, so it wasn't unusual for him to be away for days.

I kept riding towards home and saw Cindy coming out of the farmers' market with groceries. She was carrying bags in one hand and holding an umbrella in the other, coughing so hard her back was bent. Seeing her like that, and thinking of Victor laughing with Linda, made me feel really upset.

I rushed up to Cindy.novelbin

"Mom, your cough is getting worse. How about going to see Grandpa?"

Cindy was pleasantly surprised to see me and quickly tilted the umbrella towards me to cover me.

"Look at you, I told you to always carry an umbrella, but you didn't listen. Now you're soaked."

Cindy was a very gentle woman. Even when she scolded me, there wasn't a hint of harshness; every word was filled with care and love.

Actually, Cindy was more beautiful than Linda, but she had a chronic cough all year round, and years of medication hadn't helped. Victor used to show some concern at first, but later he got annoyed by her coughing and even told her to go far away to cough. So Cindy suppressed her coughs in front of Victor.

Cindy's illness wasn't congenital. When Victor first started the stone factory, the conditions were quite rudimentary, and he hadn't bought a car yet. Cindy was worried that Victor wouldn't eat well at the factory, so she delivered meals to him every day, rain or shine. Sometimes she came back completely soaked.

I remember one winter when it was snowing heavily. Cindy went to deliver a meal to Victor, but he wasn't at the factory. She waited in the snow for a long time, and the meal got cold, but Victor never returned. The workers didn't know where he had gone.

After bringing back the cold meal, Cindy fell seriously ill with a high fever and a cough. That was when her chronic cough started, and it never got better.

I pushed the umbrella back towards Cindy.

"Mom, you cover yourself. I don't mind getting wet, but your health isn't good, so don't catch a cold."

Cindy smiled gratefully and walked beside me, sharing the umbrella. I pushed my bike, and we walked home side by side. I glanced at the groceries in her hand; they were all things my dad and I liked to eat.

Cindy was a good wife and mother. She took great care of Victor and me, often neglecting herself. I don't think I ever knew what she liked to eat.

"Mom, what do you like to eat?" I asked.

Cindy looked at me and said, "I like all kinds of food."

Cindy was a very mild-tempered woman, but not everyone appreciated women who were very compliant.

As we neared home, I heard the neighbors gossiping about my philandering father, Victor.

"He's rich. It's not just one mistress; he could support a whole soccer team if he wanted." "Poor Cindy, putting up with this humiliation. If it were me, I would've left long ago."

"Exactly, Victor was treating home like a hotel, coming and going as he pleased."

I hated these women who had nothing better to do than gossip behind people's backs. At that moment, I wished I could silence them. Cindy probably noticed my displeasure and quickly pulled me back home, signaling me not to act impulsively. The large table at home was filled with small cakes, and I remembered that today was my birthday. It looked like Cindy had worked hard all day at home.

Cindy took out a bag and packed some small cakes for me to take to Martin. She said she had planned to invite him over for dinner, but he had to work overtime and couldn't make it. Handing me the cakes, Cindy also asked me to call Victor to come home for dinner since it was my birthday.

I thought to myself, 'He wouldn't care about this meal.'

Seeing my silence, Cindy asked if I had heard her. I nodded and asked, "Mom, can I take a few more?"

Cindy smiled kindly, saying, "Take as many as you want. There's plenty. If it's not enough, I'll make more."

I took an extra bag, packed a few more cakes, and headed out. By then, the rain had stopped. When I reached Broadway Alley again, I saw Jason coming out from a distance. He didn't see me and rode away quickly.

I rode into Broadway Alley, parked my bike downstairs, and carried the cakes upstairs. I knew which floor Emily lived on. Jason used to live just below her, and I would occasionally see her when I visited him.

When I reached her door, I was surprised to see two beautifully wrapped small cakes placed there. Inside, I could faintly hear the sound of someone reading aloud.