I once noticed a girl in school. She would sometimes look at me as if she saw a rotten dead cat on the road.

I never talked to her because she would always avoid me whenever I tried approaching her. I thought that maybe it was because it was of the smell that I got from working in the farm and on the streets.

Everyday, I would have to wake up at 3:00 a.m., farm out in the burning sun, slouch for more than two hours, beg on the streets and finally change and go to school by 7:00 a.m.

It seems like a lot and trust me, it is, but I would do anything just to keep my sister and I alive and fed. During school, I would try my hardest during class and listen as much as possible but the lessons would never stick in my mind.

During lunch, the lunch lady knew of my circumstance and she would often give me free food. I would be starving by that time because of all my work and my very little earnings. After I ate, I would keep some food for my younger sister so that she could eat some food after school.

At the end of school, people would look at me weirdly because I stayed in my chair after dismissal. I needed to stay late after school to clean up some classrooms and the bathrooms. I had to work as a janitor after school to get a bit more money for my sister and I. After I was done cleaning the rooms, I would get paid a small amount of money by the principal and I would walk back to my little sister.

I would give her the food that I saved for her from lunch, but while she was eating I had to leave the house again so I could work at the farm yet again. I would spend hours and hours just planting rice until about 10:00 p.m.

After that job, I would go to a store and buy some bread for my little sister's breakfast and I would finally be able to go home. I would sing my little sister to sleep and I would have to sleep myself from my very tiring day.

I had no time to study just because of my work, but my sister's health is always my first priority. I may not get the highest grades, but I'm content knowing that my little sister will live another day.

End