11 The story broke everywhere - on the news , in the papers . Hero Doctor's Shocking Deception . Deserter , fraud , bigamy ... the charges were like nails , pinning Joshua to a pillar of shame . Vivian didn't fare much better . Conspiracy , accessory to fraud . She would be locked away for a very long time . The gossip at the community bulletin board was louder than ever . Only now , no one called me pitiful or cra- Chapter 2 zy . When they looked at me , their eyes held a new kind of respect , mingled with a little bit of fear . 11 20 They couldn't understand how a " simpleton " like me could bring two clever , " normal " people to their knees . They would never understand . The world of adults is too complicated , full of compromises , calculations , and bargains . My world is simple . There is right and wrong . Good and bad . If you steal something , you give it back . If you do a bad thing , you get punished . It's just that simple . Mrs. Gable saw me downstairs and stammered a clumsy greeting . " Tricia ... uh ... I just wanted to say ... I'm sorry for what I said before . Please don't hold it against me . " I just looked at her . Why would I hold it against her ? Her words were like the wind to me . They meant nothi- ng . My world no longer needed anyone's approval or pity . I only needed my rules . Mr. Peterson helped me with all the legal things - getting the money back , repossessing the condo that was in Vivian's name . He told me I could sell it for a lot of money , or move in myself . I shook my head . " I don't want it . " " It's dirty , " I explained . " A bad kid lived there . " I gave the keys and the deed to Mr. Peterson . " Thank you , Mr. Peterson , " I told him . " This is for you . " He was shocked . " Oh , no , Tricia ! I couldn't possibly ! This is too much ! " " It's not , " I said , looking at him seriously . " You're a good person . Good people should get rewards . " That was another new rule of mine . Good people get rewards , and bad people get punishments . My world was being rebuilt , piece by piece , exactly how I wanted it . 0 I took the shoebox with the dolls inside and buried it deep in the ground , under the big oak tree by the lake in the park . I didn't make a marker . Bad kids don't deserve to be remembered . I didn't think about them anymore . They were like a drawing I'd finished and thrown away . They didn't exist in my world . I started to clean my house . I packed up everything of Joshua's - his clothes , his books , his photos , anything that held a trace of him - and threw it all away . I even threw out our only wedding photo . The girl in that pict- ure smiled like such a fool . The music box I had smashed went into the trash , too . I never wanted to hear Twinkle , Twinkle , Little Star " again . I painted the walls a clean , crisp white . I bought new paints and canvases . I stopped drawing dark , angry pictures . I started painting new things . A cat napping in a patch of sun . B / 11 11:20 Chapter 2 A flower swaying in the breeze . Mr. Peterson sitting on a park bench , reading his paper with a kind smile . My paintings filled with new colors . Not just black , white, and red , but yellow , blue , and green . 11 20 03 ) My life became simple , too . I painted , I read , I watered my plants . Mr. Peterson would visit sometimes , bring- ing me treats from the market . He never brought strawberry tarts . He knew I didn't like them anymore . One day , the phone rang . It was the prison . They said Joshua wanted to see me . I refused . There was nothing left for us to say . My trial was over . He would stay in his box forever . And I had a new world to live in .