Carmélia is the daughter of a single mother and has two brothers; she is her mother's only daughter. Being the middle child, she has an older brother named Jonathan and a younger one named Bryan. She lived a "normal" life with her mother always working and, on her days off, going out to drink—meaning Carmélia hardly ever saw her. Carmélia was generally responsible for looking after her younger brother. Over time, as her older brother started working, more duties fell upon her, forcing her to balance her studies, housework, and caring for the little one.
Before her younger brother was born, Carmélia was an adorable and lively little girl. She spent most of her time with her grandmother, who taught her how to cook at age 8; later, she taught her to sew and tried to teach her to knit, though that didn't work out very well. Carmélia loved making clothes for her dolls using her grandmother's old t-shirts. Often, she would pretend to be a singer while her grandparents acted as the judges. Carmélia's grandfather had served in the Army; you might imagine a grumpy old man, but in reality, he was a doting grandfather. Anything Carmélia asked for, he gave without a second thought. At age 9, he taught her how to play checkers and later tried to teach her card games, but she couldn't quite get the hang of them. By the age of 10, Carmélia already knew how to do everything from ironing clothes to cleaning the house—skills taught by her jealous older brother, Jonathan.