My 10-year-old daughter always rushed to the bathroom as soon as she came home from school. When I asked, “Why do you always take a bath right away?” she smiled and said, “I just like to be clean.” However, one day while cleaning the drain, I found something. The moment I saw it, my whole body started trembling, and I immediately…

as if she were trying to erase something before it had time to dry.

When she came out, her cheeks were pink and her hair damp at the temples.

She would be wrapped in clean clothes, freshly brushed, every trace of the school day gone from her skin. Sometimes she looked relieved. Other times she looked exhausted.

One evening, while I chopped carrots for continue reading …