The $600 Ticket Home

On the first of every month, my mom would give me my living allowance based on my performance from the previous month.

You can earn $20 for greeting your parents morning and night, but last month you only met the requirement for ten days, so you only get $200.

The $300 bonus is also being completely deducted.

"Adding the base allowance of 0-050, your living expenses this month will only be $350."

"Write me an absence report later. Once you write one that's acceptable, I'll transfer the money to you."

My voice trembled with anxiety. "Mom, I was preparing for finals last month."

"I had to line up at the library every morning to get a seat. That's why I couldn't call you on time."

I begged with tears in my voice. "The plane ticket home for Christmas costs $600. $350 really isn't enough."

"Mom, could you please"

She cut me off decisively. "The allowance system was specifically designed for you! It's to help you break your habit of expecting handouts! Why can't you understand my good intentions!"

She hung up.

When I was helpless and desperate, a thug appeared.

He was willing to buy me a ticket if I went with him.

......

I lowered my head in shame. "But I... I don't have money to pay you back."

The thug and his friends froze for a moment, looking at me like I was an idiot.

"You don't need to pay it back. Just have dinner with us, and I'll give you the money for the ticket right away."

Have one meal with them and earn my ticket home.

I was tempted. I desperately wanted to go home.

Last week, Grandma had specially walked to the little store at the village entrance to call me. She said she'd already prepared the softest quilt for me.

She'd also made my favorite apple pie.

Grandma raised me herself. She was seventy-eight this year.

Last year, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Every time we saw each other could be our last.

So I had to go home and spend Christmas with her.

I squeezed the $350 in my pocket tightly.

I made up my mind and nodded at the thug.

They took me to a remote rental unit.

The thug pointed at six bottles of beer on the table and slapped six hundred dollars in cash down.

"Drink one bottle, get a hundred. Finish all six, and your ticket is yours."

I looked at the six hundred on the table, and Grandma's face appeared before my eyes.

She sat in the courtyard, reaching out her wrinkled hand to touch my face, saying with concern, "You've gotten so thin. Haven't you been eating properly at school? I'll make you something good."

Tears welled up again. I wiped them away and tried to encourage myself.

Mom always taught me that as country folk, if we wanted something, we had to work twice as hard for it.

As long as I finished these six bottles, I could see Grandma. This little hardship was nothing.

I grabbed a bottle of beer, twisted off the cap, and poured it down my throat.

I'd never drunk alcohol before. I choked and coughed violently.

The thug's friends whistled at me.

Their eyes swept over my body lecherously as they spewed disgusting obscenities.

Suddenly, I felt a strong sense of unease.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom, shut the door, and immediately called my mom for help.

The call finally connected, and I rushed to speak. "Mom, help"

Before I could finish, she cut me off angrily.

"Leah, I'm so disappointed in you!"

"You're always scheming, always trying to be clever and break the rules. Deep down, you just want something for nothing!"

"This time, I'm going to fix this rotten habit of yours!"

She hung up furiously. I called back frantically, but no one answered.

The bathroom door was kicked open. The thug stood in the doorway with a menacing expression and dragged me out.

He was incredibly strong. I couldn't break free at all.

I was shaking with fear. It was too late to run.

I struggled and screamed, but no one paid attention to my pleas.

They treated me like prey, forcing bottle after bottle of alcohol down my throat.

My consciousness gradually faded. I sank into endless darkness and had a terrible dream.

In the dream, I became a bloody lamb, surrounded by a group of people.

Nowhere to run. I could only submit to the slaughter.

When I woke up again, I was somehow on a train heading home.

I blinked in confusion but couldn't help feeling excited.

I was finally on my way home. I would see Grandma soon.

Strangely, when the conductor came by to check tickets, she verified each passenger's ticket one by one.

But when she passed by me, she walked right past as if she couldn't see me at all.

After getting off the train, I ran the whole way, wishing I could fly to Grandma's side.

When I reached the village entrance, I saw Grandma in the distance.

She stood alone by the old millstone at the village entrance, leaning on her cane, motionless, gazing toward the direction I usually came from.

A neighbor passing by couldn't help but urge her, "Mrs. Miller, it's so cold out here. You should go back inside."

But Grandma stubbornly shook her head, her face full of hopeful anticipation.

She kept murmuring, "Just a little longer, just a little longer..."

I took off running toward her, shouting, "Grandma, I'm back!"

I opened my arms, wanting to hug her tight.

But my hands passed right through her body without meeting any resistance.

I stood frozen in place.

So, I was already dead.

To earn the money for my trip home, I had died in that rental unit.

I had died during my first winter break after starting college.

Grandma waited until the sun had completely set. Only then did the light in her eyes fade inch by inch.

Filled with disappointment, she hunched her back and slowly walked home.

The yellow dog following behind her, however, bounced around me excitedly, rubbing its head against my legs.

I followed Grandma home. A brand-new car was parked at the gate of the courtyard.

My parents were carrying bags of holiday goods into the house, their faces full of joy.

But when had my family ever been able to afford a car?

Mom had always told me that money was tight this year.

She told me to be frugal at school and not keep asking her for money.

My little brother, Danny, hopped out of the car and ran to Grandma's side.

"Grandma, where's my sister? Why isn't she home yet?"

"I'm waiting for her to tell me stories."

Grandma patted Danny's head. "The tickets were probably hard to get... She must have changed it to tomorrow."

When Mom heard this, she angrily slammed her suitcase on the ground.

She exploded, "That little brat is definitely giving me attitude!"

"Just because I deducted a tiny bit of her allowance, she won't even come home!"

"If she has the nerve, she can stay away forever. I'll pretend I never had this daughter!"

"She spends our hard-earned money every day, yet she can't even manage to greet her parents on time. What an ungrateful wretch!"

I stood in front of Mom, desperately waving my hands to explain.

"Mom, that's not it. I wasn't giving you attitude. I wasn't refusing to come home."

"I came back on time. You just can't see me!"

"I'm not ungrateful. I really worked so hard. I got first place in my major on the finals!"

But no matter how much I shouted or waved, they couldn't hear me. They couldn't see me.

Grandma turned and went back inside. Like when I was little, I gently leaned against her back.

I greedily breathed in the familiar scent of soap on her.

I wished this moment could last just a little longer.

Grandma put on her reading glasses and pulled an old box out from under the bed.

She opened it carefully. Inside were three bundles wrapped in floral cloth.

She opened the first one. Inside was a savings passbook.

She smiled as she murmured, "This is the savings I've accumulated my whole life. A full fifty thousand dollars."

"I'm saving it for Leah. This is her wedding fund."

She had a terminal illness herself and couldn't even bear to buy medicine, yet she wanted to leave all her savings to me.

My eyes instantly welled up. So ghosts could cry too.

She opened the second bundle. Inside were two gleaming gold bracelets.

I'd never seen her wear them, yet they were polished to a bright shine.

Grandma drifted into memories. "These were the jewelry my mother gave me when I got married."

"They're the most valuable things I own. I could never bear to wear them."

"Ah, I really want to hold on just a little longer, live a couple more years, so I can put these on Leah myself on her wedding day."

I sobbed uncontrollably. "Grandma, I'm sorry. I can't do it anymore!"

Finally, she opened the third bundle.

Inside was a neatly folded piece of paper. When unfolded, it was the deed to the old house.

Grandma's voice carried a hint of guilt. "Your brother is only five, but your parents already bought him a house in the city."

"Grandma doesn't have the means to buy a big house in the city."

"But this old house can still keep out the wind and rain. If Leah ever faces hardship out there, she can come back to her own home."

"When you miss Grandma, just go to the cemetery on the east side of the village and talk to me. I'll hear you."

I couldn't hold back anymore. I rushed forward to tell her.

I'm already dead. Take this money and get treatment!

Don't keep worrying about me. Don't keep caring for me.

Forget about me! Live your life!

But she couldn't hear my cries.

I could only watch helplessly as she lovingly hid the wooden box back under the bed.

At dinner, Mom had prepared a table full of food.

Grandma sat at the table but barely touched anything.

She kept glancing toward the door, full of hope and worry.

Seeing Grandma like this, Dad hesitantly spoke up. "Maybe... we should give Leah a call."

Mom slammed her fork on the table, her face instantly darkening. "Call her? I see you're all just spoiling her!"

"What, I'm her mother, and I can't discipline my own child?"

"I'm telling you, nobody is calling her today. She needs to reflect properly. We can't keep indulging her bad habits!"

Grandma was already in poor health. Startled by Mom's outburst, she began coughing violently.

Dad quickly rubbed her back to help her catch her breath.

Mom said stiffly to Grandma, "Mom, some things aren't pleasant to hear, but I have to say them!"

"Leah was raised by you to have no sense of rules."

"The check-in system I created for her allowance is for her own good."

"It's to teach her workplace survival skills before she even enters the workforce!"

"To make her understand that you have to give before you can receive. There are no free handouts in life!"

"Mom, as her grandmother, all you do is spoil and indulge her. That's not loving herthat's harming her!"

"When she enters society someday, she's going to suffer for it!"

Grandma was a gentle, kind-hearted country woman.

She had never argued with anyone in her life, let alone her son and daughter-in-law.

Her lips moved, wanting to push back.

But she couldn't find the words. For a long time, nothing came out.

All she could do was stand there with reddened eyes, like a helpless child.

After a long while, Grandma finally gathered the courage to speak. "If you won't contact Leah, I will!"

"If you won't let her come home, I will!"

With that, she grabbed her cane and headed for the door.

Seeing Grandma about to leave, Mom flew into a rage.

She pointed at Grandma's back and shouted, "See! This is exactly how you spoiled Leah!"

"When she enters the workforce someday, she'll just be another weakling who can't handle the harsh reality!"

"She'll never amount to anything!"

The angrier she got, the more she fumed. She stormed into the bedroom Grandma had specially cleaned up for me.

My heart sank. I hurried after her.

I watched as Mom yanked the new quilt off my bed and threw it hard on the floor.

She even stomped on it viciously, cursing, "I'll show her for not coming home! I'll show her for giving me attitude! She doesn't deserve this quilt!"

Then her eyes landed on the wall covered with certificates.

From elementary school through high school, they were lined up neatly on the wall.

Those were the honors I'd worked for my whole life. They were Grandma's pride.

But Mom ripped them all down and tore them to shreds.

"What good are these stupid certificates! Can they put food on the table?"

"Can they teach her manners?"

"No gratitude, no effort! Even with all these certificates, she's still an ungrateful wretch! A waste!"

I stared at the torn scraps all over the floor, shouting desperately at Mom.

"Mom, I wasn't spoiled. I was always well-behaved."

"I could carry two buckets of water to help Grandma water the fields when I was five."

"I can cook, do laundry, take care of Grandma when she's sick."

"I know how hard you and Dad work for money. I really never complained."

"Grandma and I lived on welfare. I've been careful with money since I was little. I never wasted a single cent."

I pointed at my closet, wanting her to open it and look.

Every piece of clothing inside was patched.

If she didn't believe me, she could ask the elders in the village or any of my teachers.

They all said I was responsible, filial, hardworking, and diligent.

Grandma always told me that you loved meyou were just too busy with work to spend time with me.

So I always tried my best.

I studied hard, behaved well, because I was afraid of being a burden to you, afraid you wouldn't like me.

Just then, there was a commotion of footsteps at the door.

Dad's face immediately relaxed into a smile. He said to Mom, "See? The kid came to apologize. She's right at the door."

As soon as Mom heard this, she straightened her back.

The door was pushed open. The village chief stumbled in.

When Mom saw it was the village chief, she assumed I'd sent him to plead on my behalf.

She crossed her arms, her face cold. "What are you doing here?"

"Let me tell you, it doesn't matter who comes to plead today. She made a mistake, and she has to face the consequences."

"Tell her she has to write me a five-thousand-word self-criticism and read it aloud at the village entrance! Otherwise, she's not setting foot in this house."

The village chief, interrupted by Mom, was sweating profusely.

Grandma's eyes darted anxiously behind him. "Where's Leah? Where is she?"

The village chief looked at my stubborn mother, then gritted his teeth and stomped his foot.

He cried out in anguish, "Something terrible has happened!"

"You foolish parentshow could you push your child to this point!"