On the first day, my mother-in-law smiled and humiliated me: “In this house you will eat the leftovers”; I didn’t raise my voice, I just obeyed every word until she had to cook alone for the whole family, and then everyone understood that the black notebook hid something much darker.

“What do you mean you cannot do that?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Last night you explained that my place is the lowest and that I should not touch the food of the elders until they have finished,” I said, keeping my voice very sweet. “If I prepare breakfast now, I would have to taste the salt, serve the dishes, and touch your table before you continue reading …