No matter how much I cried or begged, my mother refused to remove the lock.

“Oh, stop crying. Of course, we’ll still visit you. It’s not like we’re going to leave you to starve here.”

“I wish you would! I wish I would die! I’m not going to eat anything you bring me, so don’t bother coming to see me. That way, I will starve, and then you can be happy!”

“Sioni, stop being a baby. Now come and eat your supper.”

I sat on my bed with my arms crossed, refusing to look at her.

She stood there for a moment, twisting her wedding ring. Then she sighed.

“Fine, have it your way. I’m leaving now, but the tray will stay here until tomorrow. I’ll pick it up in the morning. Try to eat something, OK, hon?”

I willed myself to be as still as a statue and just as stony. I refused to crack. I stayed that way until she climbed back out the window and down the ladder, locking the window again before she left.

That night as I lay in bed, I heard a sound outside. It sounded like pebbles being thrown at my window.