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Chapter 3

Auteur: Jasmine Flower
On the night before Bella’s sixteenth birthday, I was locked in the basement.

My chest had already been hurting for three days, and I could feel my body getting weaker.

I curled up on the pile of hay, my whole body cold, my teeth chattering. I barely had the strength to even say that it hurt.

A line of light came through the crack of the basement door. It was David.

He crouched outside and pushed a bowl of soup through the gap.

“Clara,” his voice was very low, as if afraid someone might hear. “Eat something. Don’t go hungry.”

I floated in front of him, separated by the door, and watched as he pulled his hand back without even looking inside.

“Dad,” I called out to him.

He didn’t react. After all, he couldn’t hear me.

He sighed. “Clara, don’t be stubborn with us. When your sister is gone, I will make it up to you.

“I’ll buy you the best deer-hide boots. Haven’t you always wanted them?”

I stood in front of him and said softly, “No need. You’ll never have the chance.”

He couldn’t hear me.

He thought I was still being stubborn, refusing to respond.

“Why are you so stubborn?” He frowned, stood up, and left.

Not long after, someone else came. It was my mom, Linda.

I saw her red and swollen eyes, filled with bloodshot veins. It looked like she had been crying for a long time.

“Clara,” her voice was extremely tired. “Don’t blame me. Your sister only has one day left. Just bear with it.

“It’s not that I don’t love you,” she sighed. “After your sister is gone, I’ll roast a whole rabbit for you. Isn’t that your favorite?

“I’ll also make you a real fox fur coat. White, even prettier than your sister’s.

“At the full moon celebration, I’ll take you to the square to watch the performances. Haven’t you always wanted to go?”

Her tears fell, hitting the door.

“So stop this, okay?”

There was no sound from inside.

The body curled up on the hay had long stopped responding to her.

“How can this pup be so heartless?” After waiting for a while, she stood up. Only coldness and resentment remained in her voice.

“Her sister is about to die, yet she won’t even say a word.”

No one knew how much time had passed.

When it was almost dark, the yard gate was pushed open. Footsteps came in, quick and firm.

“Where is Clara? Why haven’t I seen her?” It was Grandma Mary’s voice.

“Mom, why are you here?” Linda went up to her, her voice clearly flustered.

“I’m asking you where Clara is.”

“She… she’s in her room reflecting. That pup caused trouble again—”

Mary didn’t wait for her to finish and walked straight inside.

Unable to stop her, Linda followed behind, her voice growing more urgent.

“Mom, don’t go. She’s throwing a tantrum. She won’t see anyone—”

Mary pushed open Bella’s room. No one was there.

She pushed open our parents’ room, only to find no one as well.

Finally, she walked to the back of the yard. When she saw the locked basement door, her face darkened.

“You locked her in the basement?”

Linda opened her mouth, but no words came out.
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    “I can see you.”When those words came out of Mary’s mouth, I thought I had heard wrong.She was standing at the doorway of the old house, holding the urn containing my ashes. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead at me, floating in midair.There was no fear in her cloudy, old eyes, nor was there shock, only a kind of heartbreak I couldn’t describe.My tears fell.So someone could see me. From the moment I died, Mary had been able to see me.Mary placed the urn on the table and reached out her hand.She extended it into the empty air, stopping right where my lingering soul was. Her fingers trembled slightly, as if she were testing something.“You’ve suffered,” her voice choked.She opened her arms to gesture a hug.I drifted closer and stopped in her embrace.Of course, she couldn’t hold me.Her arms wrapped around nothing. When her fingers closed, there was nothing there to grasp.However, she didn’t let go. She just stayed like that, holding the empty shape, as if she were

  • The One Chosen to Die   Chapter 8

    My funeral was simple.The pack built a small cremation platform out of pinewood on the open ground west of the village. The logs were stacked into a neat, square frame, tidier than any bed I’d ever slept on when I was alive.Mary took out a white fox fur cloak from the bottom of a chest.I had seen that cloak before. Kept at the very back of her wardrobe, it was wrapped in cloth, brought out once a year to air. She had once said it was meant for her own passing, when she would meet her ancestors.Now she draped it over my body.The white fur covered my ashen face, the soft collar resting against my chin.I had never worn anything this fine when I was alive.Linda tried to help. With reddened eyes, she reached out, wanting to fasten the cloak’s ties.Mary slapped her hand away.“You don’t deserve to touch her.”Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word was like a blade dipped in ice.Linda’s hand froze midair. Her lips trembled twice before she slowly withdrew and stepped ba

  • The One Chosen to Die   Chapter 7

    The crying drew a neighbor, Ms. Hill, over.She had probably been passing by and heard the noise. She peeked into the yard and stepped inside.She stood at the doorway and glanced in. Seeing me in Mary’s arms, Linda collapsed on the ground, her lips curled, then she clicked her tongue.“Oh my, this is… Bella didn’t make it?”Her voice was lowered, but every word was clear.“Poor thing. She finally made it to sixteen, and still didn’t survive…”Mary raised her head and looked at her.“It’s not Bella,” she said. “It’s Clara.”Ms. Hill froze. The expression on her face shifted from pity to shock, and then to something else.Her voice rose, loud enough for the whole yard to hear.“Clara is dead? Wasn’t it Bella who was supposed to be taken?”No one answered her.She stood there, holding a fur bag. Her mouth moved faster than her thoughts as she muttered, “This… the one who should die didn’t, and the one who shouldn’t did…”Linda sprang up from the ground.I had never seen my

  • The One Chosen to Die   Chapter 6

    When my sister fainted, no one was there to catch her.She fell straight down, and her forehead hit the doorframe, leaving a streak of blood.Linda screamed and rushed over. David was still holding my body, unmoving, as if he hadn’t heard anything.It was Mary who helped Bella up.She carried her into the room, laid her on the bed, wiped the blood from her forehead with a wet cloth, and covered her with a blanket.Linda followed beside her, flustered. She was crying so hard that she couldn’t speak clearly.I stood in the corner, watching.I was already dead, but when I saw my sister’s pale face, I still felt a pang.When my sister woke up, it was already noon.Sunlight came through the window and fell on her face, making her pale skin look almost transparent.Linda sat by the bed, holding her hand. The moment she saw her open her eyes, tears fell again.“Bella, you’re awake,” Linda’s voice was hoarse and broken. “It’s good that you’re okay… It’s good that you’re okay…”Bell

  • The One Chosen to Die   Chapter 5

    Linda didn’t understand why David was still standing at the door.“Why are you just standing there?” She stepped forward, trying to squeeze past him to look inside.David raised his hand and stopped her.He stood with his back to the moonlight. His face was hidden in shadow, but his shoulders were trembling badly.The hand he used to block Linda was shaking too, as if it took all his strength to lift it.“What’s wrong?” Linda’s voice tightened. “Where’s Clara? What happened to Clara?”Bella leaned out from behind her mom and looked into the basement. She called softly, “Clara?”No one answered.The basement was dark. Only a thin strip of moonlight came through the doorway. It fell onto the pile of hay, lighting up a curled, motionless figure.My body.It lay curled in the hay, like a small, abandoned animal. The hay covered most of my face, leaving only a patch of grayish skin exposed. My eyes were tightly shut. My lips were bluish-purple, like frozen meat.Linda pushed Da

  • The One Chosen to Die   Chapter 4

    “I’m asking you a question!” Mary’s voice exploded. I had never seen her so angry before.“You locked Clara in the basement? That cold, damp basement?”Linda’s voice grew softer and softer until I could barely hear her.“She… she’s been throwing a tantrum these past few days. I was afraid she would affect Bella…”“Affect?” Mary’s body swayed. She held onto the wall, her voice trembling.“Clara is your daughter, too! She was born premature and has always been weak. The basement is cold and damp. Are you trying to kill her?”Linda lowered her head, her shoulders hunched. She couldn’t say a word.Mary stared at her, her voice not loud, but every word sharp.“I know Bella was prophesied not to live past sixteen, and you want to give her the best of everything.“But what about Clara? Hasn’t she suffered? Since she was little, what has she ever had?“Old furs her sister didn’t want, leftover scraps, even her parents’ love had to be shared. No, she didn’t even get half!”Linda coll

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