I'm My Brother's Cautionary Tale

The moment the coffin closed above me, I was enveloped in endless darkness. I could hear the metallic lock clanging outside and my mother's icy voice, berating, "Open your eyes and look carefully at what death really is, Joe! Let’s see if you’ll talk about death so lightly in the future."

My big brother, Joe Hastings, slammed the coffin frantically. "Let Janine out, Mom! She has asthma. Let her out and we can talk things out."

My mother grunted. "It doesn't matter if she has asthma. She won't die just because I put her in a coffin. I'm an education expert. What can go wrong with disciplining a child? It's your sister's duty to serve as a cautionary tale for you. Tell me now. Will you dare do it again?!"

Yes, I was used as teaching material to discipline Joe. This had been my duty since I was born.

When Joe stayed up all night playing video games, my mother would turn on the light at the highest voltage and audio with the highest decibel for me. I was tortured for three days and three nights without rest, breaking me down mentally and putting me on the verge of dying at any time.

Once, Joe went against her and ate an extra popsicle stick, so I ended up being locked in the freezer, nearly freezing to death.

This continued until Joe could no longer endure my mother's suffocating love. He hated how she would sit on her high horse proclaiming that she was an education expert. He hated how he was under surveillance 24/7 and he hated how she would draw up his schedule down to the very second with a sense of perverted obsession.

Joe broke down completely. He destroyed all the surveillance cameras in his room and roared, "I can't take it anymore! I'd rather die than continue being your puppet!"

To help Joe learn to have an 'appreciation for life', my mother grabbed my hair and dragged me down to an abandoned basement of an escape room.

My weak calls for help and the sound of scratching could be heard coming from inside the heavy coffin, and tears started streaming down Joe's face. He stopped fighting against my mother and he fell heavily on his knees, crying and begging my mother frantically.

"I was wrong, Mom! I admit my mistake. I won't talk back ever again. Janine's asthma is acting up, and she doesn't have any medication with her. Please let her out!"