Mina and her mother carefully mixed the ingredients for the cake and put it in the oven. They then turned their attention to breakfast, which was a simple bowl of oats with a slice of pork and a boiled egg.
As the designated 'kitchen helper' Mina was expected to help her mother every morning, so she knew it was a special breakfast. The family rarely ate egg, meat and oats together for one meal and Mina tried to figure out what the difference was between her actions and her mother's.
Mina was aware that her mother had been taking on extra housekeeping work while they were at school, and she understood it was so that she could splurge a little on her eldest daughter's birthday. She opened her mouth to ask what the difference was but thought better of it. She could take judgement from others, but it hurt twice as much when it came from the people she loved most.
----
