Jason didn't understand why his parents wouldn't let him sell his little sister at the garage sale.

Jason didn't understand a lot of things about his parents.

Jason didn't understand why his parents were mad when he left his little sister alone to play in the mall.

Jason didn't understand why his parents were mad when he left his little sister at the park.

Jason didn't understand why his parents were mad when he forgot to feed his little sister.

Jason didn't understand why his parents were mad when he didn't get his little sister a band-aid after she scraped her knee.

Jason didn't understand why his parents were mad when he locked his little sister in her room to get some peace and quiet.

Jason thought his parents were hypocrites.

Perhaps Jason's parents couldn't remember. Jason did.

Jason remembered the click of the door when he was locked in his room. He remembered passing the time by counting the stripes on his wall. Four-hundred in total. Then by counting the tiles in the connected washroom. Sixty-six tiles in total including half-tiles. He remembered counting the seconds, once, until his door was unlocked. Ninety-nine-thousand-one-hundred-and-thirty-three seconds.

Jason later learned that ninety-nine-thousand-one-hundred-and-thirty-three seconds translates to twenty-seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and thirteen seconds. He got hungry those days.

Jason remembered when he fell and scraped his arm. He showed his parents. His parents said that the scrape was too small for a band-aid, and would heal on its own, and if he could please just stop bothering them because they were very busy.

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He remembered it getting infected. He remembered that when he passed out on his way home Santa Claus brought him to the doctor and gave him a lollipop. He liked lollipops. He passed out before he could eat it. He remembered spending days in the hospital but only being awake for a few moments.

Jason remembered his parents forgetting to feed him for three days. He remembered the rumbling of his stomach. The way his stomach screamed in pain. He was glad his stomach could scream for the both of them. His parents got mad when he did. He remembered being too tired to move much at all.

Jason remembered when his parents left him alone at the park. He made lots of friends that day. He played and he played until all the other kids left. When the sun went down he was all alone again.

He remembered waiting a really long time before anyone came. Soon somebody did come, Mr. Honem. Mr. Honem was always dirty and smelt a bit funny, and his clothes were always a bit worn down. Mr. Honem was always around whenever he was outside too late. Mr. Honem was nice.

Whenever Jason was feeling lonely at night Mr. Honem gave him some candy. Mr. Honem's candy was the best, it always made him feel really happy and not as lonely anymore. After taking Mr. Honem's candy the morning came super quickly.

Jason remembered his parents leaving him alone in the mall when they went shopping together. His parents liked going shopping in the store for adults where they sold fancy drinks. Jason tried those drinks before. They didn't taste very good.

Jason liked being alone in the mall because there was so much to do. He could try on new clothes, but he couldn't buy them because he had no money. He could eat the free samples in the stores and they always tasted so much better than anything else he ate. He could play hide and seek with the security guards but they always cheated and checked the cameras after a while. Eventually, he'd have to go back home, but he liked the mall.

Jason remembered his parents selling him. Jason must not have been very likable, though, because all the people always refunded him and gave him back to his parents after just one night. He usually got free food in the morning because he listened to the people at night. Regardless of how well he listened he'd always go back, though.

One time the people who bought him hurt him because he listened too well and they got bored. He didn't understand that. Jason's parents got annoyed when that happened, too, because they weren't paid too well.

Jason didn't understand why his sister was special. Jason didn't understand why his parents changed. He knows when they did.

One day he was with Mr. Honem and stole a bit of extra candy from him because it didn't work as well anymore. He didn't remember much but he knew he was in the hospital for a while. Then he got moved to a special hospital for kids like him where they told him that candy was bad for him. He didn't understand that, either.

He got home two years later. When he got home his parents started crying. They said they were sorry. He didn't understand why.

He didn't understand why his parents treated him differently.

When his sister was born a few months later he didn't understand why she was treated differently, too.

Jason didn't understand anything anymore. He didn't think he wanted to.