00:00When I was 8, my parents brought home a boy named Malcolm Harrington.
00:04The first thing he did was sink his teeth into my finger and bite off half of it.
00:08The second thing he did was save my life.
00:11One night, my parents beat me with sticks until I lay motionless on the floor.
00:15Malcolm ran back.
00:16He threw himself over me.
00:18He held a kitchen knife against his own throat.
00:21If you kill her!
00:23His tears fell into my mouth.
00:25I die, too.
00:28From that night on, I gave him everything I had every piece of candy I saved.
00:33Every secret I kept.
00:35Each night he turned away to cry into his pillow until it soaked through.
00:39I stayed awake.
00:40Making sure he wasn't alone.
00:42When we were 18 men in black came to take him back to Chicago.
00:46He was the Harrington heir now.
00:48I was just the retarded girl.
00:50They'd taken in as charity.
00:52But before he left, he pulled me into a crushing hug.
00:55His voice breaking.
00:59Lily, come with me.
01:03You like birds, right?
01:04There are so many beautiful birds there.
01:06So I went.
01:07I thought we'd finally be happy together.
01:10Malcolm and me.
01:11I was wrong about so many things.
01:13But one thing I was right about.
01:15The only thing that ever mattered.
01:17Malcolm would always find his way back to me.
01:19The question was whether he'd find me in time.
01:21When I was born, I was diagnosed with intellectual disability.
01:26When I was 8, mom and dad brought home an adorable little boy named Malcolm Harrington.
01:31He had a real mean streak.
01:33When I offered him candy, he sank his teeth into my finger and bit off half of it.
01:37When I tried to help him clean up, he shoved my head into the sink and held it there.
01:42One day, I went to my uncle's house to play games.
01:45I was hoping to win some fancy chocolate for Malcolm.
01:48Then, without warning, Malcolm charged in frantically and bit down hard on my uncle's leg, drawing blood.
01:54He told me his home was far away in Chicago.
01:57I didn't understand what that meant.
01:58But at night, he would turn away from me and cry until his pillow was soaked.
02:03I figured he missed his family.
02:05So I sneaked him out.
02:07I stuffed every piece of candy I'd saved into his pockets.
02:10I gave him a firm shove, urging him to run.
02:13When mom and dad caught me, they beat me with fists and sticks.
02:17As my blood mixed with the crushed candy, I just wanted to close my eyes and never wake up.
02:24But instead of leaving, Malcolm ran back and threw himself over me.
02:28His tears fell into my mouth, salty and bitter.
02:31He held a kitchen knife against his own throat.
02:33If you kill her, I die too!
02:36After that, he never mentioned going home again.
02:39Then, when we were 18, a line of shiny black cars pulled up in front of the house.
02:45Men wearing armbands took mom and dad away.
02:49A beautiful woman who smelled like perfume cried as she pulled Malcolm into one of the cars.
02:56I knew he was going home.
02:57I held out the chocolates I'd been saving for six months.
03:00But he knocked them out of my hands.
03:02He pulled me into a crushing hug.
03:04His voice shaking.
03:07Lily, come with me.
03:14I'm taking you to the city.
03:17You like birds, right?
03:19There are so many beautiful birds there.
03:25Chicago was beautiful.
03:26The buildings were taller than the mountains back home.
03:29I stared at everything with my mouth hanging open, trying to take it all in.
03:33Malcolm told me it all belonged to his family, but there were no birds.
03:36And the woman, Rachel Harrington, kept digging her long fingernails into my palm.
03:42Scared, I tugged at his sleeve.
03:47Malk, when can I go home?
03:50His expression darkened, though his voice stayed soft.
03:54My home is your home.
03:58We are never going back to that place.
04:01Rachel's voice rose to a shriek.
04:03Malk!
04:03Your father will never agree to adopt her!
04:07If it weren't for her human tracker parents, you wouldn't have suffered in that slum for ten years!
04:13Malcolm's face was cold.
04:17The couple was at fault, not her.
04:19But she's retarded!
04:21Rachel waved a stack of papers in the air.
04:23Severe intellectual disability.
04:26She'll be a burden forever!
04:28Do you know how bad that looks for your father?
04:33I froze in fear, and then my pants felt warm and wet.
04:37A dark stain spread across the carpet.
04:39The servants covered their noses and stepped away, whispering to one another.
04:44I wanted to curl up and hide my shame.
04:46But then I noticed the white papers scattered on the floor.
04:49I dropped to my knees to pick them up.
04:51I carefully patted off the dust and handed them to Malcolm.
04:54He used to complain that his homework paper was too thin and tore easily.
04:58Now he finally had good paper.
05:01Malk!
05:02White paper!
05:04You can do your homework now!
05:06His eyes turned red.
05:07He took the stack of papers, gripped my hand, and led me into the guest room.
05:12A few maids came over to change my pants, clearly unhappy about it.
05:16I clutched my waistband tight, so they pinched my side hard.
05:21Ugh! Disgusting!
05:22Let go!
05:23Tears stung my eyes from the pain.
05:25But I remembered what Malcolm told me no one was allowed to touch my pants except him and me.
05:30The door was slightly ajar and I heard Malcolm's icy voice coming from the hallway.
05:34Rachel, you know exactly how you got into my father's bed, and you know exactly why I went missing all
05:40those years ago.
05:41If you try to poison my father against Lily, I promise you and your precious son will be thrown out
05:45of the Harrington family.
05:52Rachel's face went pale, and she ran away crying. The hallway went quiet.
05:56When I came out in clean pants, Malcolm was slumped on the sofa.
06:00He looked at me and let out a long sigh.
06:02Malcolm was home now, so why wasn't he happy?
06:05Later, Malcolm's father came home.
06:08They stayed in the study for a long time.
06:10When Malcolm finally came out, he had a bright red handprint on his face.
06:14He locked himself in his room and refused to eat.
06:17I shook with fear.
06:19Back home, when mom and dad said I was bad and wouldn't feed me Malcolm used to sneak his food
06:23to me.
06:24Once, he went hungry for a whole week until he passed out.
06:28I ran to tell mom and dad.
06:29But they beat me and accused me of starving him to death.
06:32When he woke up, he kept his mouth shut tight, no matter how much I begged him to eat.
06:37He waited until mom and dad finally brought me a plate of food, too.
06:42Only then did he open his mouth and let me feed him.
06:48I took a bread roll I'd hidden during dinner and sneaked into Malcolm's room.
06:52I tried desperately to push it into his mouth, but his eyes were red.
06:56He pulled me close, his hot tears dripping onto my neck.
07:00Like, Lily, he might be my biological father, but he stopped caring about me a long time ago.
07:07No one here cares.
07:11I only have you.
07:16If they can't accept you, they won't accept me either.
07:20I didn't understand his complicated words, so I just used my sleeve to wipe his face.
07:25Let's leave.
07:26His voice was sudden and firm.
07:29Isn't this our home?
07:30Lily, anywhere I am with you is home.
07:34He took me and ran away.
07:35We lived under an overpass for three days, huddled together for warmth.
07:40Finally, Malcolm's father gave in and agreed to let me stay.
07:43But Rachel complained I was covered in germs.
07:46She wouldn't let me touch anything and made me stay in my room.
07:49Every night, Malcolm came to hold me while we slept, whispering that he was sorry.
07:54I didn't understand why even though there were no birds here, I had Malcolm, and that made me happy.
08:02But then Malcolm went to college and got very busy.
08:05He stopped coming home for dinner.
08:07He stopped reading me stories before bed.
08:10A pretty girl named Alicia Quinn started following him around.
08:13She had long hair and always smelled like flowers.
08:16The servants told me she was Malcolm's fiancé.
08:19I didn't know what a fiancé was.
08:21They laughed and told me.
08:25It means she's his bride.
08:28They'll sleep together and eat together every day.
08:32I tilted my head.
08:39Does that mean I'm Malcolm's fiancé too?
08:44Malcolm laughed and shook his head.
08:50That's different.
08:51When I asked him why, his face fell.
08:53And he looked at me with a strange expression.
08:56He didn't explain.
08:57After that, he stopped coming to hold me at night.
09:00I lay awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the door to open.
09:04It never did.
09:08I could only watch through the glass as Malcolm and Alicia sat on the garden swing.
09:12They were reading, feeding the fish by the pond, and walking that fluffy puppy of theirs.
09:19I wanted to be out there so bad it hurt.
09:21I missed Malcolm.
09:23But one time, Alicia had actually spotted me at the window.
09:30It startled her so bad she fell right to the ground, pointing at me and screaming that she'd seen a
09:35ghost.
09:36I panicked.
09:37I ran outside and almost got hit by a car.
09:40Malcolm was furious.
09:41He struck me hard with a clothes hanger.
09:45Why are you running around?
09:48Why won't you listen?
09:50After that, they covered the window with black cloth.
09:53I couldn't see anything anymore.
09:55The servants stopped bringing me food, and I started feeling dizzy from the hunger.
10:00They didn't let me out until the day of Malcolm's engagement party.
10:09Malcolm pulled me aside.
10:10When he saw how thin my face was, a flicker of guilt passed through his eyes.
10:14But his voice stayed harsh and cold.
10:19Today is my engagement party.
