Intro. At fourteen, Linh Nhi was small and fragile, her face marked by a dark red birthmark that made both her family and the villagers despise her. Only her grandmother ever loved her, holding her close whenever others whispered cruel things. When war swept through their village and everyone fled in terror, her family died in the flames, leaving only the two of them alive.
They wandered from place to place, surviving by begging. At first, her grandmother went out to ask for food because no one wanted to look at Linh Nhi. But when illness and age finally overtook her, she could no longer walk. The two of them hid in a filthy alley, her grandmother lying weakly on a torn mat.Yet her appearance made people avoid her; some even kicked or hit her as if she were something dirty.With no one willing to help, she searched through trash bins for scraps to feed them both. On stormy nights, she curled beside her grandmother, crying softly and wishing she could stay alive with her just a little long