22.
“My great-grandparents kept this secret. My great aunt (my grandpa’s sister) died in her early 20s (this was in the 1930s). My grandpa was told she cut her finger while peeling an apple, and it got infected; she got septic and died. Grandpa passed in the early 2000s, but just two months ago, I was perusing the Find A Grave website and found her death certificate. She died from complications from a self-induced abortion. It made me wonder if my grandpa ever even knew the truth about his sister. The more shocking part is that I texted a cousin of mine to tell her about my findings. She goes, ‘I don’t think that’s right. Pretty sure she died from getting an infected ingrown toenail.’ Turns out my great-grandparents were making different lies about this to each of their kids (you’d think it’s simpler to just stick to one lie, but whatever).”
“Meanwhile, her boyfriend found a new girlfriend, got married, and lived normally just miles away from my great-grandparents.”
