Chapter 3

As my soul drifted free from the body, I finally became my own person. From now on, that body belonged to Stella alone.

I floated beside my family.

Ash held the short lottery stick and smiled gently. “Stella will wake up tomorrow.”

Then, something seemed to occur to him, and worry crossed his face.

“But Claire’s injuries haven’t healed yet. Stella’s going to feel all that pain when she wakes up.”

He turned to our mother. “Mom, call the family doctor. Have some painkillers ready. Stella’s always been delicate.”

My mother hurried off without hesitation.

I let out a bitter laugh. Why had no one thought about treating my injuries yesterday, when I was still in the body?

I had felt pain too.

The next morning, Stella opened her eyes to find our parents and brother waiting beside her bed.

The pain hit her instantly.

She burst into tears.

“Ouch! It hurts so much, Ash! Why couldn’t you let Claire finish suffering before waking me up?"

My mother’s eyes immediately reddened with distress.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Mommy didn’t think it through.”

My father rushed in with the family doctor, sweat dripping down his forehead.

“Don’t cry, Stella. The doctor’s here. We’ll get you something for the pain right away.”

As Stella buried herself in Ash’s arms, he gently comforted her while reminding the doctor, “Be careful with her wounds.”

The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly gave her a painkiller, handling her as delicately as though she were made of glass.

Once the medicine took effect, Stella stopped crying. Still pouting in our brother’s embrace, she asked, “Claire took care of everything, right? The Lawsons won’t come after me anymore?”

He nodded. The way he looked at her was nothing like the cold indifference he had always shown me. His eyes were warm.

“It’s all settled.

“And even if the Lawsons still aren’t satisfied, I'll just wake Claire up again and have her take the punishment for you.”

Stella immediately put on a smile.

“Thanks, Ash!”

She stuck out her tongue playfully. “You promised you’d take me to see the Northern Lights!”

Ash froze for a moment.

“Well, I promised Claire I’d take her too. Does that mean we’d have to go twice?”

His hesitation vanished when he noticed the displeasure on Stella’s face.

“All right. I’ll take you.

“When Claire wakes up next time, I’ll explain to her and take her somewhere else instead.”

At that moment, I floated nearby, silently watching.

For reasons I never understood, I had always been able to see everything Stella experienced.

However, she had never been able to see me.

That was why I knew exactly how much our parents and brother loved her.

I knew every way they treated us differently.

Stella always believed I would steal their love whenever I woke up, so she hated me for it.

I smiled bitterly.

From now on, she would have that body all to herself. She would never have to see me again.

To make it up to Stella, my mother personally cooked an elaborate dinner that evening.

One of the dishes was barbecued pork ribs. It was my favorite.

I could not look away.

In all these years, I had never gotten to eat that dish even once.

When I was little, I had seen Stella eating them. The next time I woke up, I begged my mother to make some for me too.

She only frowned and refused.

“I’m busy enough as it is. Do you expect me to cook every day, too? Can you stop making trouble the moment you wake up? Why can’t you be more considerate?”

She shoved me aside, and I stood there crying.

From that day on, I never asked her for anything again.

After dinner, Ash took Stella to the mall. They climbed into a photo booth, the kind he had always dismissed as childish and ridiculous with me.

“Smile, Ash!”

Stella tugged on his sleeve playfully. He had no resistance to her at all. With a helpless smile, he looked into the camera.

As strip after strip of photos slid from the machine, a memory surfaced.

The day after my college entrance exams ended, I asked him if he could take photo booth pictures with me, too.

He barely looked up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk.

“Let’s talk after you get your results.”

I did not feel disappointed. I waited until the scores were released. I had earned a 1580 on the SAT, which was more than enough to get into Harvard University.

When I went to Ash, eagerly expecting him to keep his promise, he said with a straight face, “Today’s the last day of the month. We’re drawing again tomorrow.”

He woke Stella up instead. She accepted every interview, every congratulation, every headline, and every bit of praise that should have belonged to me.

The photo booth pictures he promised me remained nothing more than a wish, even until the day I disappeared.