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I Took Her Fall, Now They Disown Me

I Took Her Fall, Now They Disown Me

Maikling Kwento · Emotional Realism
By:  ArupaKumpleto
Language: English
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13Mga Kabanata
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Synopsis

Remorse Family

Family Emotions

Familial Bond

Bias

Face Slapping

Plot Twists

Feel-Good Story

Independence

On my 18th birthday, I take the fall for my sister, Josephine Walker, and plead guilty to felony hit-and-run. My parents fall to their knees before me, kneeling on the floor until they bleed. "Edwin, you've saved our family! When you get out, we'll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you!" Josephine, too, wraps her arms around me and sobs until she passes out. "I'll never forget what you've done for me, Ed. I owe you everything," she says. I endure the humiliation for their sake, clinging to the promises they made me. At last, after serving my full sentence, I walk free. At the dinner table, years of exhaustion catch up with me, and I let out a quiet sigh. Hearing that, Dad slams his fork down on the table. "What's with the sighing? Is the food not good enough for you? You think we've had it easy while you've been gone all these years?" "Oh, so now you're too good for our food? Maybe prison didn't teach you anything. We should send you back for a few more years!" Mom exclaims as tears well up in her eyes. Beside them, Josephine bursts into tears. "What right do you have to feel sorry for yourself? Because of you, I can't even show my face around here! Everyone laughs at us. They all say I have a murderer for a brother!" "You're nothing but trouble! You should've died in that accident!" Then the door slams shut. I look down at the cancer diagnosis in my hands, the paper soaked through with rain. And strangely, I feel calm. Maybe it's for the best. I can finally pay for that lost life.

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Kabanata 1

Chapter 1

I went back to my room, with everything still being exactly as I had left it. My yellowed college acceptance letter still sat on the desk.

Once, I had been the one my family was proud of.

A family portrait hung on the wall. In the photo, I looked happy and full of promise. My sister, Josephine Walker, nestled against me while beaming at the camera.

She had just gotten her driver's license that year and insisted on taking me out for a drive in her new car.

But then a stray cat darted into the road. Josephine swerved to avoid it and hit an elderly man passing by. She was horrified, shaking uncontrollably.

I looked at her pale face, at the tears streaming down her cheeks, then calmly called the police.

"It was me. I hit him," I said.

I took responsibility for everything. Josephine's life was just beginning, and I couldn't let this ruin it. But what about mine?

I reached up and took the family portrait down from the wall. The glass had already come loose from the frame because of the humidity.

I gave the glass a slight bend, and it shattered with a sharp crack.

Then, I picked up the sharpest shard and held it against my wrist. I could hear Josephine's desperate sobs all over again, see the blood running from my parents' knees, and remember the promises they'd made with such certainty.

It turned out it had all been a lie.

I closed my eyes and made the cut without hesitation. Blood spilled onto the acceptance letter on my desk, staining it red.

I could also feel the strength and warmth draining from my body. I was freezing.

I curled up on the floor, wrapping my arms tightly around myself. Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

But somehow, it felt good.

From now on, Josephine could hold her head high. She was free from the shame of having a murderer for a brother. My parents wouldn't have to live with other people's judgment because of me anymore.

At last, they could finally be free of me and start their lives over. And I wouldn't have to live with the pain of my illness anymore or face the way they looked at me.

Outside, fireworks boomed in the distance.

Right. It was Thanksgiving, a time when families came together.

"Dad, Mom, Josephine… I hope you have many more Thanksgivings together. I'm leaving now. I won't bother you anymore," I thought.

But if I could go back and do it all over again, I would still have pushed Josephine aside and taken the wheel myself.

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Walang Komento
13 Kabanata
Chapter 1
I went back to my room, with everything still being exactly as I had left it. My yellowed college acceptance letter still sat on the desk. Once, I had been the one my family was proud of.A family portrait hung on the wall. In the photo, I looked happy and full of promise. My sister, Josephine Walker, nestled against me while beaming at the camera.She had just gotten her driver's license that year and insisted on taking me out for a drive in her new car. But then a stray cat darted into the road. Josephine swerved to avoid it and hit an elderly man passing by. She was horrified, shaking uncontrollably. I looked at her pale face, at the tears streaming down her cheeks, then calmly called the police. "It was me. I hit him," I said. I took responsibility for everything. Josephine's life was just beginning, and I couldn't let this ruin it. But what about mine?I reached up and took the family portrait down from the wall. The glass had already come loose from the frame because
Magbasa pa
Chapter 2
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself floating in midair. My family should have stormed out in anger. Instead, they were all huddled together in the narrow hallway. Dad crouched in the corner, smoking one cigarette after another. Cigarette butts were scattered across the floor around his feet.Mom leaned against the wall, trembling as she cried silently. Meanwhile, Josephine sat on the stairs with her knees drawn to her chest, her face hidden against them. Her shoulders shook with each sob. The heavy silence stretched on until Dad finally spoke. "Did I… go too far just now?" he asked in a hoarse voice. Josephine jerked her head up. Tears streamed down her face, and she snapped, "Dad! How could you say that to Edwin? He just got home, and he's still not well…"At that, Mom could no longer hold back her sobs. "It's all my fault! I never should have said those things!" she cried out as she slapped herself. "How could I have said that to Edwin? He'd suffered so much i
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Chapter 3
By the time my family got home, night had already fallen. They stepped inside with a little gift box in hand, wearing faint, relieved smiles. It was as if that tiny box held all their love and regret. Dad placed it right in the middle of the dining table and said softly, "When Edwin comes out, we'll give this to him. He'll love it."Mom nodded, then headed into the kitchen, where she immediately began getting dinner ready. "I'll make his favorite spaghetti. Maybe it'll bring us some luck. I just hope things will finally start getting better for our family," she said. Josephine followed Mom into the kitchen to help. "Mom, let me help. I'll toss the salad."Warm light filled the kitchen as their quiet conversation drifted through the house. In the living room, Dad took a clean towel and began wiping down my bedroom door. He wiped slowly and firmly, as though he could erase not only the years of dust, but also the distance that had grown between us.I drifted beside him, lookin
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Chapter 4
Early the next morning, someone began pounding urgently on the door. Dad thought I had finally changed my mind and hurried to answer the door. Instead, he found a middle-aged man in a sharp suit standing there. "Excuse me, is this the Walker residence? I'm looking for Edwin Walker."Dad paused. "I'm his father. And you are?"The man pulled a business card from his briefcase and handed it to Dad. "Good morning. I'm Bernard Shaw, the attorney who represented Edwin in his case."I drifted behind Dad, confused. The case was already over, so why was Mr. Shaw here?Still, Dad ushered Mr. Shaw inside. Mom and Josephine emerged from their rooms when they heard the voices. Mr. Shaw got straight to the point. "Mr. and Mrs. Walker, I'm here because I have some good news to share with you. "The family of the elderly man who was hit in the accident recently contacted me. They're willing to submit a letter asking the court for leniency, and they want to drop the case."At that, Dad, Mom
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Chapter 5
Then the world fell silent. The hope and joy on Dad's face crumbled, bit by bit, like glass splintering. He stood frozen in the doorway, looking haggard and defeated. His lips parted, but nothing came out.Mom's smile had barely reached her lips before it froze. Her gaze shifted from my deathly pale face to the dark pool of blood beneath me, then to the college acceptance letter soaked through with blood.The light in her eyes slowly went out, leaving them empty. "N-No…"A broken sound escaped her throat. Then, she let out a raw, anguished cry. "Edwin! My son!"Mom rushed toward me, but her legs gave out before she could reach me, and she crumpled to the floor. She reached out to touch me, then jerked her hand back as though I were on fire. Her hand trembled violently in midair, grasping at nothing. My body had already gone cold. Josephine's scream died away, replaced by harsh, muffled sobs. She fell to her knees and crawled toward me, tears and snot running down her face.
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Chapter 6
The sirens grew louder as they drew closer, breaking the stillness of the early morning and stripping away whatever dignity my family had left. The commotion brought the neighbors out of their homes. One by one, they appeared in their doorways, pointing at our house and whispering among themselves. The pity, ridicule, and contempt they had once shown us had all been replaced by undisguised curiosity and prying. Police tape went up around the house, and our home became a crime scene. The routine questions and impersonal notes were like scalpels, cutting into my family's wounds and laying them bare for everyone to see. "Name of the deceased?""Edwin Walker.""Time of death?""We're estimating sometime last night.""Cause of death?""It looks like he died from severe blood loss. We'll have to wait for the medical examiner's report for the official cause of death."Dad answered each question mechanically, his voice flat and lifeless. His eyes were vacant, as though there wa
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Chapter 7
My funeral was very simple. In fact, it could hardly even be called a funeral. It was a little more than a hasty farewell ceremony. The service was held in the smallest chapel at the funeral home, and only a handful of people came. Dad wore an old suit, faded from years of washing, with a white flower pinned to his chest. He stood tall, stubbornly clinging to the last bit of dignity he had left as a father. But the slight tremor in his fingers and the wrinkles that seemed to have appeared overnight betrayed how fragile and old he had become. Mom sat in a corner, dressed in black with a veil draped over her head. She had cried until she had nothing left. Now, she simply stared at my black-and-white photograph, looking like a lifeless statue.In just a few days, she had lost a great deal of weight. Her eyes were sunken, and she looked utterly haggard. Josephine came too. She was dressed in black, her face pale as a sheet. She didn't cry or say a word. She simply stood before
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Chapter 8
The house was no longer a home. It had become a silent prison of grief, holding the three of them captive. No one spoke, and no one bothered to turn on the lights. The entire house seemed to sink into darkness and a suffocating silence. Every day, Dad sat on the couch and smoked cigarette after cigarette. Smoke hung thick around him, veiling his face and his bloodshot eyes.The ashtray in front of him was always overflowing with cigarette butts. Perhaps only the nicotine could dull the pain of losing me, if only for a little while. Mom, meanwhile, shut herself away in my room and barely came out. She went through my things one by one, then carefully put everything back exactly where it belonged. She held my clothes close, breathing in the faint scent that still lingered on them as tears streamed down her face. She carefully framed my college acceptance letter, stained with my blood, and placed it beside the bed. Every day, she would sit near it and talk for hours, as though
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Chapter 9
By the next day, Josephine had disappeared. All that remained on her bed was a letter and the empty gift box. When Mom and Dad found the letter, they panicked. Josephine's handwriting was unusually neat and steady, nothing like the way she normally wrote. It read, "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry. Mom was right. I'm the reason Edwin is dead. If it weren't for me, our family wouldn't have fallen apart like this. "Edwin took all the blame for me. He sacrificed his future and his life so that I could walk free. And yet, we became the people who drove him to his death. I'm too ashamed to go on living. I don't deserve to. "This necklace was meant to be our way of making it up to Edwin, but he never got it. So, I'm taking it with me. I'm going to make amends to him, and I'll give him this long-overdue gift myself. "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry. I was a terrible daughter. Maybe in another life, I won't be your daughter. Maybe I'll never be a burden to anyone. "Please don't worry about me. Josie."Mom
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Chapter 10
The wind came off the river, cold and biting. The officers slowly pulled back the white sheet, revealing a pale, swollen face. Even after being underwater, her delicate features were still recognizable. It was Josephine. Her eyes were closed, and she looked so peaceful. It was almost as if she were asleep. The gold necklace was still around her neck, its faint glint barely visible beneath the overcast sky. Mom took one look at her and let out an anguished scream. Then, she collapsed. Dad, on the other hand, didn't cry. He just stood there, staring at Josephine's body. The wind ruffled his graying hair, and he looked utterly lost and broken.He slowly crouched beside her. His calloused hand trembled as he reached toward the wet strands of hair plastered across her forehead.But his hand froze in midair. He couldn't bring himself to touch her. Dad was afraid that touching Josephine would break the illusion that she was only sleeping. He was afraid that touching her would fo
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