Chapter 1

My mom always said I was born a dummy. By the age of three, I still couldn't say "Mom."

She dragged me to the clinic for an evaluation. The specialists in white coats asked endless questions, handing me little blocks to stack.

I was actually doing pretty well, but then mom pinched my upper thigh so hard under the table that my vision swam. I screamed and burst into tears.

I shoved the stacked blocks over, drooling everywhere.

The certificate was approved quickly. an intellectual disability.

My mom clutched that document, looking happier than if she'd won the lottery.

She pinched my cheek, smiling.

"Mommy's little fool, from now on, I'm counting on you!"

I nodded eagerly, my face stretched in a vacant grin.

I didn't really know what that piece of paper meant.

But I knew that the meager $350 a month in disability benefits would be enough for Mom and me to eat meat. And that was enough.

......

When I was six, my neighbor, Leo, went to school with a brand-new backpack.

The colorful backpack seemed to shimmer, making my eyes ache with longing.

I clung to the door frame, drooling onto the floor, a desperate ache scratching at my heart.

I whispered to Mom, "Mom, can I go to school?"

She was counting the month's benefits money.

She snapped her head up, her gaze cutting through me like a knife.

"What for? You're a dummy. Going to school would be a waste of money, wouldn't it?"

I wiped my drool, my voice even softer, a barely audible whisper.

"I'm not a dummy..."

She sprang to her feet, yanking my ear until tears welled in my eyes. Her breath was hot against my face as she hissed.

"Shut up! Say you're not a dummy one more time, and you'll go to bed without dinner!"

She rummaged through Daniel's old, smelly clothes, pulling some out for me to wear. Then she smeared mud all over my face and hands, black dirt under my fingernails, and finally sighed in relief.

"Remember," she said, her voice low and sharp. "Outside these walls, you're a fool. Fools don't get to be clean. They don't get to be smart. They don't get to go to school."

From that day on, I, Daisy, became the undisputed ‘little dummy' of our small town.