After a Long Time, I Finally Knew That Mommy and Daddy Don't Love Me

Stella is five years old, and her parents insist they favor daughters over sons. They give her new dresses and cake while her brother receives second-hand clothes and plain cookies, explaining that girls need strength while boys must learn responsibility. When Stella falls ill with a fever and her brother offers to wash the dishes, her parents slap her down and drag her onto the snowy balcony, ordering her to live outside. Her brother tries to explain, but their mother chases him away.

As the snow falls, Stella crawls into a discarded cardboard box and closes her eyes, certain her parents will bring her back once their anger fades. Yet their words drift through the glass: they call her spoiled, lazy and selfish, and feed her beloved matching bowl to the kitten. When the kitten knocks the bowls to the floor, her father smashes her plaster dolls in punishment.

Only then does Stella see the pale figure in the box that looks exactly like her, and she understands she is no longer alive. The next day, her uncle and aunt arrive with their daughter.