The Memory of Seven Breaths

The girl was a child whose mother had died and whose father did not love her.

Since birth, she had never seen her father smile, and she had never had any sort of paternal love. From the moment she could remember herself, she had to cover her body and face with blankets during the nights, and in the morning, she had to be careful and avoid the rooms in which her father stayed. If she ran into him, she would only see his aloof gaze.

It seemed to be resenting her for not dying, and while she was still just a child, she understood what it meant…

She did not have many friends. There was only the son of her teacher who had grown up with her, and he was her childhood friend. If she was to add another person as her friend, then it would be the teacher. He taught her to perform good deeds and taught her how to read. He shouldered all the tasks that a father should take up.