Chapter 2

Night fell. The last sliver of light slipping through the crack was gone.

I was so thirsty that I could only lick the droplets of water that had gathered on the inside of the coffin to ease it. I learned to take tiny breaths, one after another, to force myself awake.

Late at night, I heard a few coughs outside. "Rue, Adam's too young to be locked inside. What if something happens to him?"

That was Grandma! Grandma loved me! She had to be here to save me!

I dug my fingers desperately against the coffin wall, making a faint scratching sound. Her hand seemed to be resting on the coffin lid.

"Hurry, Grandma! Hurry up and save me!" I screamed internally. "Tell them the coffin is nailed shut! Tell Mommy and Daddy that I wasn't throwing a tantrum! I was good!"

"Mom, do you have any idea what I felt when I picked up Andy?" Mom cried out pitifully. "His body was completely limp, and every bone in him was broken. He died such a horrible death. Who was there to save him?"

"Adam has never suffered since he was little," she continued. "If he's thirsty or hungry, he can crawl out and eat by himself. If he has even a little bit of guilt, he should stay inside and atone for his sins, praying that Andy's soul can finally rest in peace!"

She straightened herself. "And don't worry. He's not locked inside. I specifically told them not to nail the coffin shut yet. And he's not numb. If he feels suffocated, he'll push the lid open himself to get some air.

"I only wanted him to experience the helplessness and fear Andy felt when he died. I'm not trying to kill him."

But Mommy, the coffin had already been nailed shut. I was close to suffocating.

Grandma sighed. "If I'd known this would happen, I would've just left him at the orphanage to fend for himself. I mean, what kind of sin did the Lawsons commit to end up with a jinx like him?"

My raised hand froze, then dropped helplessly.

A jinx, a sin, an orphanage…

Why?

Why had everyone changed? Why did everybody want me dead? Was I really a jinx after all?

Grandma's hand moved away. The darkness grew deeper, and the air grew colder.

I couldn't tell if it was the third or fourth day. All I knew was that my body was getting weaker and lighter.

I had so many dreams. In one of them, Daddy carried me on his shoulders and ran around with me. Mommy tied a beautiful bow tie around my neck. They held my hands and walked me outside.

Grandma stood there holding a spatula, reminding me to come home after school and eat the lemon tarts she made.

Andy's soft little hand touched my face. With his babyish voice, he called me, "Adam…"

I was so happy in those dreams that I kept smiling. Then, I woke up.

A suffocating darkness loomed over, while Andy's stone-cold body lay beside me. Tears slid down my face. If I could, I would rather fall asleep and never wake up from that dream.

That day, many people seemed to attend the funeral. A blind priest showed up, and Mommy and Daddy seemed to treat him with great respect.

The priest walked around the coffin once, his mouth constantly muttering something I couldn't understand. Then, he suddenly stopped. My heart jumped into my throat.

I pressed myself tightly against the coffin wall and looked outside through the crack. A pair of terrifying eyes met mine. I blinked desperately, trying to get his attention.

"Help me…" I muttered weakly, using every bit of strength I had to force the rest of the words out. "I'm stuck…"

I looked at him with hope I had never felt before. Mommy and Daddy didn't know the coffin had been nailed shut. As long as the priest told them, I would be saved!

After staring at me for a few seconds, his eyes slowly moved away. The prayer resumed, this time louder and more urgent than before.

He knew. He must've known. Why wouldn't he save me?

"I told you that the child has a cursed soul. He brings misfortune to his own family and harms those closest to him. He can't be kept," he said.

"Now that things have come to this, the only thing you can do is leave him inside without showing any mercy. Otherwise, your son, Andy, will never be able to rest in peace. Your entire family will suffer a bloody disaster."

Mommy responded with a hollow laugh. "Why only seven days? If I could, I'd rather let him stay in there for the rest of his life."

Daddy chimed in. "Rue, don't say that. He's still our child at the end of the day. Once this is over, we'll listen to the priest and send him to the orphanage."

I stared wide-eyed at the pitch-black coffin lid. The last bit of strength I had left to call for help slowly slipped away.

So, this was it. Even if I behaved and listened to them, they would never love me again. In this world, no one wanted me alive.