At my Aunty's house, she forced me to memorize the multiplication tables.

Every time I made a mistake, she'd pull my ear and smack me.

I kept repeating them the entire day.

By nightfall, the numbers were haunting my brain.

That night, I shared a room with Sis.

In my sleep, I was muttering the tables—making weird noises like a possessed person.

Sis woke up in the middle of the night, terrified.

The next morning, she told Ma—

Sis: "Ma, send her to Tanjung Rambutan. She's gone mad."

Ma stared at her blankly, deep in thought.

Ma (thinking): "Should I just send both of them there…? I'll save lots of money. Most importantly, my sanity."