Pain is the only thing I can remember. It's funny how it's the only emotion I know. All my life, it's been one kind of pain or another. I grew up in a really abusive family. My parents were drug addicts, lost in their own world. They didn't care about us. I had to take care of my siblings by myself, and it wasn't easy. Life just kept throwing cruel jokes at us.

My parents got caught, and we were taken to a foster family. It wasn't easy, but we survived—me, my brother, and my sister. I was only 12, and my siblings, Luke and Lila, were just 9 and 8.

"Rica! Rica, get your ass over here and clean this table! All you fuckers do is eat and sleep!" my foster mother yelled. I rushed to do what she said. She looked at me, tilted her head, and sneered, "Ugly as fuck."

I don't blame her. I was ugly, or at least, that's what everyone said. I was a tomboy, and people couldn't even tell if I was a boy or a girl. I didn't care. It was better to stay unnoticed.

School wasn't any better. I was invisible, just a shadow walking through the halls. But sometimes, even being invisible didn't help. The kids at school were cruel too. They called me names, threw stuff at me, laughed at me. But I learned to endure it. I had to. Pain was all I knew, and I embraced it.

The only good thing in my life was my siblings. Luke and Lila were my everything. We stuck together, us against the world. I was their protector, their shield. They depended on me, and I couldn't let them down.

Every night, after the house went quiet, we'd huddle together and dream about a better life. We'd whisper about a world where we were free, where we didn't have to be afraid. Those moments were brief, but they kept us going.

As time passed, I got stronger, not just in my body but in my mind. The pain that once almost broke me became my strength. I used it to keep going.

I made a promise to myself. One day, I would break free from this cycle of pain. I'd make a new life for us, one where we could be happy.

That dream kept me alive through the darkest times. It was a flicker of hope in the darkness. No matter how bad things got, I held onto that hope.

So, I endured. I fought. I survived. Pain was all I knew, but it wouldn't define me forever. One day, we would be free.