A Lifetime of Lies

Everyone envied me. They said my mom was like a wish-granting fairy on the other side of the world.

An electronic reading pen. A pretty little dress. A new backpack.

Whenever I made a wish to my mom, whatever I wanted would arrive from abroad within three days.

Grandma told me my mom washed dishes in foreign restaurants and worked illegally, risking everything just to keep that little hope alive for me.

"Your mom's only wish is for you to study hard and do well."

The year I got into college, I saved every scholarship dollar I'd earned and bought a plane ticket across the ocean.