登入My funeral was simple.It was drizzling that day. The sky was gray and overcast, as if bidding me farewell.My dad’s hair turned white overnight.He was dressed in black mourning clothes and was so thin I could barely recognize him. His eyes were vacant and blank.He clutched my urn tightly to his chest and did not let anyone touch it. It was like I was still a baby in swaddling clothes.He no longer muttered about grades and exams. Instead, he mechanically repeated a single phrase.“Teleus, Dad made you some fish. Will you wake up and have a bite?”The once sharp and capable father who had been so strict about grades had completely turned into a raving old man.Mr. Wade brought the entire class to say goodbye to me.They were all wearing their school uniforms with white flowers pinned to their chests. Their eyes were teary.Sean was crying so hard he could not stand. He knelt before my grave and placed a jar of my favorite snacks in front of the tombstone. My dad had always
“It was me…”My father’s lips trembled as he uttered the words in a broken voice.“It was my poor treatment of his leg… that hurt him.“It was me who made him keep going… It was me who wouldn’t let him seek treatment…”He stopped making a scene and stopped shouting. He slowly slid to his knees on the floor. He covered his face as he gazed at the tiny figure lying in a pool of blood on the screen and let out a sob of utter despair.That sound was not like a human’s cry. It was more like the death rattle of a wounded beast.He finally understood. It was he, with his own hands, bit by bit, who had driven his beloved son to his doom.My dad returned home like a walking corpse.As soon as the door opened, an elegant yet haggard figure rushed toward him.It was my mom.Upon hearing the news of my death, she had flown back from Angleterre that very night.This woman had been absent for years. She had been content to just send money and shift all responsibility for my upbringing ont
“I don’t believe it!”My dad suddenly roared, shoved the doctor aside, and stormed into the emergency room.I drifted in after him.A white sheet had already been draped over me.With trembling hands, my dad pulled back the sheet.There I lay, quiet and still. I would never cry out in pain again, and I would never do homework again.“Teleus, wake up. Get up.” My dad gently pushed my shoulder, his voice strangely soft.“Hurry up and get up. I found you the best tutor. He’s coming to the hospital tomorrow to give you lessons.“Aren’t you the sweetest child? Come on, get up!”He shook my corpse. His grip grew tighter and tighter until it turned into a frantic, hysterical shoving.“Teleus Costa! Get up right now! Are you trying to slack off?“Don’t you want to take the exam?”“Enough!” The doctor rushed in and pulled him away. “The patient has passed away! Please let him rest in peace!”My dad collapsed onto the floor. He clutched his hair with both hands and let out a muffled
When I opened my eyes again, the world felt very light.I found myself floating in the air. Looking down, I saw chaos reign in the cramped emergency room.Doctors were gathered around the operating table, frantically trying to save a body.That body had looked pale and ashen. Its eyes were tightly closed, and traces of blood still lingered at the corners of its mouth.That was me.I watched it all in a daze.My body was jolted upward by electric shocks, then crashed back down.I tried to slip back into my body. I wanted to tell the doctors how much it hurt. I wanted to stop my dad from crying.But no matter how hard I tried, I passed right through my own body like a gust of wind. I was unable to touch it, and I was unable to stay.I felt a sense of surreal disorientation at my sudden death.I wanted to go see my dad.I passed through the heavy doors of the emergency room and stepped into the hallway.My dad was sitting on a bench, trembling all over.Mr. Wade was beside hi
The ambulance screeched through the night.Inside the ambulance, the ECG monitor emitted a rapid, erratic beeping sound, as if counting down the seconds of my life.The doctor was administering emergency treatment, cutting open my school uniform and attaching the electrodes.My dad sat beside me, tears streaming down his face. He kept muttering over and over.“How could the fall have been so bad…? What are we going to do…?”I looked at his red, tear-stained eyes, and a bittersweet warmth welled up inside me.Dad, you did love me after all, right?But before that warmth could spread, my dad’s next words hit me like a bucket of ice water, dousing me completely.He wiped away his tears. Then, he suddenly turned, grabbed the doctor’s sleeve, and asked with a trembling yet urgent voice.“Doctor, my son’s injury… How long will it take to heal? Would it affect his brain? The SATs are coming up soon. If he’s hospitalized, how could he catch up on his coursework?”The doctor who was a
“Teleus! Teleus Costa! Open your eyes! Stay with me!”A series of steady yet urgent cries pulled my consciousness out of the liquid darkness.I struggled to open my eyes. Through the blur, I saw Mr. Wade’s usually-stern face filled with panic.He did not dare move me abruptly. So, he knelt on the cold concrete floor, took off his still-warm coat, and wrapped it tight around me.All the while, he kept talking to me, trying to hold onto my consciousness as it slipped away.“Sir… I’m so tired…”“You can’t fall asleep! Teleus, listen to me. You absolutely must not fall asleep!” Mr. Wade’s voice was trembling, but he was doing his best to stay calm.“Everyone, spread out a bit to let the air circulate! Sean, go check on the ambulance again!”“Mr. Wade, Teleus is bleeding so much… Why won’t it stop…?”My good friend Sean knelt beside me, clutching my ice-cold hand. His eyes were red, and tears fell in big drops onto the back of my hand. Their heat made my heart tremble.“Mr. Wade.”







