Life really was fucking shitty.
Some people were born to good parents and got to walk an easy, flower-strewn path, while others were abandoned by their parents and had to struggle just to survive without ever getting to live a proper life.
‘Life…….’
Viola gave a bitter smile as she gazed at the sunlight barely filtering through the old, narrow window. Leaning against the window frame with her head lowered, her younger sister Scarlett had shoulders far smaller than those of other nine-year-olds her age, a consequence of not having enough to eat or proper clothes to wear.
“I’m sorry, Sister…… It’s because of me.”
Scarlett kept lowering her head as though she had done something terribly wrong. Viola let out a deep sigh, stood up, and gently stroked her younger sister’s head.
“What do you have to be sorry for? I’ll take care of everything, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Despite the complaints she had been harboring inside, Viola smiled at her with confidence. It was always Scarlett’s sad eyes that silenced every one of those grievances.
‘If we don’t have parents, then I can be her parent.’
There was only one meaning to life for Viola.
To give Scarlett a better future.
Just a few days ago, when Scarlett had suddenly come down with a fever, Viola had boiled cinnamon and thistle for her to drink, just as the old herbalist woman from the nearby village had taught her.
They had neither a hospital nor medicine, but Viola had always solved problems that way.
At first, her hands had been clumsy, but while staying with farming families, she had learned how to select well-ripened potatoes, how to dig for deodeok roots from the soil, and even how to treat sprains with traditional remedies.
Each of those skills had helped shape the woman she was now.
Thanks to them, there was hardly a job she couldn’t handle whenever someone in the neighborhood called for her. Whenever something happened, all it took was someone saying, “Go get Viola,” and somehow things would work themselves out.
“I told you, you’re good with your hands.”
Even when her neighbors occasionally offered her such praise and encouragement, Viola never made a point of thanking them.
She knew all too well that those abilities could never fundamentally change her life.
Still, the fact that those skills were undeniably helping her protect Scarlett’s life was at least some small comfort.
As Scarlett grew a little older, there came a day when Viola’s heart grew heavier along with her.
While returning from the market, Viola and Scarlett happened to pass by a modest-looking building.
Inside, children carrying worn-out bags were sitting together in little groups, learning something. Even in the cramped classroom, their faces were full of life.
“School……”
At the faint murmur, Viola turned her head in surprise.
Scarlett had stopped where she was, staring intently at the children beyond the glass window.
For some reason, that sight remained in Viola’s mind for a long time.
That night.
Scarlett quietly spoke as she scratched the floor with a small branch.
“Sister…… If I go to school too, could I help you more with your work? If I become smart, I can make lots of money, right?”
“You want to go to school?”
After a brief silence, Scarlett half hid her face beneath the blanket and said,
“……If you don’t want me to, I won’t go!”
For some reason, those words pricked at Viola’s heart.
It was a tender feeling that went beyond her desire to learn—the heartbreaking wish not to become a burden to her sister.
Viola slowly turned her head.
In the darkness, Scarlett was waiting for her answer, unable to cry or smile, holding her breath as she waited.
From that night onward, those words quietly began to smolder in Viola’s heart like a tiny ember.
Starting the next day, Viola began asking around about schools.
She carefully wrote down everything she needed to know—admission requirements, tuition, supplies, textbooks, and so on—repeatedly calculating the costs in her head.
But when she looked at the numbers densely covering the sheet of paper in her hand, Viola couldn’t help but sigh.
‘As I thought…… It’s too much for us.’
Viola quietly folded the paper and tucked it deep into her pocket.
Then she turned her gaze away.
As always, Scarlett was crouched in a corner, seriously scribbling something with a small branch.
Her quiet expression, tiny fingertips, and focused gaze.
‘She’s drawing something strange again today.’
At some point, Scarlett had begun to change little by little.
She used to follow her sister around with her short legs, eager to help, and whenever they finished working, she would smile and say, “Good job, Sister!”
But little by little, she began speaking less, and each of her movements became strangely slow and heavy.
She also began talking to herself more often and scribbling strange, incomprehensible drawings on pieces of paper.
Even so, her affection for Viola remained unchanged.
No, if anything, Viola even had the feeling that it had grown stronger than before.
It was a little unfamiliar, but rather than feeling that something was wrong, Viola simply felt puzzled by it.
Still, one thing was certain.
Scarlett was growing much faster and much more deeply than Viola had ever imagined.
If Viola taught her a few simple letters, Scarlett would soon be forming sentences on her own.
Whenever Viola taught her a necessary skill, Scarlett understood and put it to use much faster than Viola had expected.
Scarlett was more capable than other children her age.
And Viola began to think that if Scarlett could acquire knowledge through a proper education instead of being forced to learn skills simply for survival, she might be able to live a completely different life—a far better one than Viola’s.
At the very least, Viola desperately wanted Scarlett to live as brightly and happily as the children who went to school, with dreams of her own.
That earnest wish eventually became her goal.
“Scarlett, listen carefully. Your sister is going to the capital. I’ll save money there and send you to a good school.”
Scarlett’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then, a dark shadow fell over her small face.
“You’re going alone? Then what about me……?”
Her voice was filled with tears.
Viola pulled her younger sister tightly into her arms, holding her firmly as though she could embrace all of Scarlett’s fears away.
“It won’t be long. I’ll come back to get you soon. I promise.”
Parting was not easy.
But it was a path Viola had carefully considered and prepared for.
She left Scarlett in the care of an elderly couple from the village who had always treated them kindly.
The old couple willingly agreed to take care of her, and Viola promised that once she found a job, she would regularly send them money for Scarlett’s living expenses.
“Sister…… If things get too hard, you can come back. Okay?”
By then, Scarlett was holding back her tears and gathering her courage.
Viola forced a smile and nodded.
“Yeah. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Viola looked back again and again until the very moment the carriage departed.
Sitting atop the old, creaking carriage, Viola clenched her fists tightly.
She wanted to cry right then and there, but she forced herself to steel her heart.
‘Wait for me, Scarlett. Your sister will succeed and come back to get you. I promise.’
