They Laughed When Soda Was Dumped in My Lap. That Night, I Removed My Name From the Loan

me were not born cruel—they had been shaped that way, the same way they had tried to shape me, and the only difference was that I had eventually refused the mold.

My parents came once, on a Saturday in early autumn when the bakery was busy and the air smelled like cinnamon and fresh bread. I saw them through the window before they saw me—standing on continue reading …