Notre Amour

This was a world where everyone could join the verdict, and conviction was decided by votes.

My brother and I, both in a vegetative state, had sensory caps forced onto our heads. In an instant, our consciousness was uploaded onto the massive screen above the judgment table.

The rebirth trial was about to begin. The screen displayed the two names on trial—Emma Harper and Ethan Harper.

When our names appeared, the live chat exploded.

"That's that internet-famous family, right? I heard their parents favor the daughter and treat the son like crap."

"Yeah, Emma made headlines recently. She ran naked on the streets. Can you believe it?"

"That's nothing. I heard she's violent and sleeps around."

"Gross. No way I'm voting for her."

The insults kept flooding the live chat. Just then, the judge's gavel sounded sharply.

The judge on the platform announced solemnly, "The rebirth trial begins now. The applicants presented charges of parental disrespect, assault, and murder.

"The public will vote to determine whether you are guilty. If convicted, you will face immediate brain death on the spot. Defendants, do you have anything to say?"

My brother, Ethan, was the first to speak. His voice cracked as he said, "Mom and Dad loves Emma so much. They'll definitely vote for her. Please help me, everyone. I don't want to die."

Comments started scrolling across the screen.

"Aw, poor kid. He didn't receive any love from his parents. I'm voting for him."

"Same here. If his parents won't vote, we will."

Unlike Ethan, I stared at the stoic judge and asked, "After I'm reborn, can I request a new pair of parents? It's fine if the answer is no. My parents will still die, anyway."

The crowd gasped, and the live chat blew up again.

"Is she for real? In the videos, her parents look like they'd die for her. How can she curse them like that?"

"That's messed up. How dark do you have to be to say that?"

"She's a monster. She deserves the worst kind of death. How can anyone be this wicked?"

"I think there's no need for a trial. Just convict her and trigger the brain death already."

On the stands, my hunched parents wept as they stared at the screen in utter disbelief.

"Emma, you're our precious daughter. How could you say that?"

Whispers filled the room, but I showed no reaction on the screen.

How could I say that? It was precisely because of my "dear" parents.

The gavel struck again, and silence fell.

"The first charge is parental disrespect. With that in mind, have both of you fulfilled your duties to your parents?"

Ethan nodded frantically. Fearing his mental projection might be too blurred, he said with desperate conviction, "I love my parents and will do everything to honor and care for them."

I scoffed and said, "Those two monsters don't deserve to be my parents."

The crowd erupted again.

"That's unbelievable. I've never seen such an ungrateful kid."

"In those videos her parents filmed, they gave her the absolute best of everything. Yet, this is what they get in return."

"I'm not going to watch this anymore. I'm voting to kill her."

On the opposite side, Dad and Mom cried, but I caught a faint smile at the corner of their lips.

At that moment, the trial system finished scanning our memories.

In Ethan's, he happily sang the birthday song with Dad and Mom.

Once they finished their livestream, he brought out a bowl of freshly simmered soup.

Someone commented, "Ethan is such a good kid."

"From the videos his parents posted, it looks like he's almost invisible at home but never complains. What a good-natured kid."