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Chapter 3

Author: Eva Winter
My younger brother must have been plotting his little act for a while because he barely touched his bread at dinner, claiming he was not hungry. Mom was so freaked out she did not even finish her food before dragging him off to the clinic.

If he had not kept eyeing the meatloaf like it was the last one on earth, maybe I would have bought his act.

Just as I figured, the doctor at the clinic handed him a quiz to check how he was feeling. Of course, my brother started checking off all the worst answers.

[Lost my appetite lately.]

[Don't care about anything anymore.]

If it had not been for my soul having been able to see in my previous life—seeing him munching on chips and gaming under his blanket at night until his phone practically caught fire—I might have fallen for it.

"This looks bad," said the doctor, scribbling out a prescription. "Take these meds daily and come back in a month for a check-up."

Brother left the clinic grinning like he had won the lottery, while Mom looked like she was about to cry, clutching a diagnosis for major depression and a bunch of mystery meds.

"Zane, go chill in your room. I'll grab your favorite chicken wings later. Try to eat a bit, okay?" Mom told him.

His room soon echoed with snores that could wake the dead.

"Brianna, your brother is sick, so you're on dinner duty from now on. I'm getting him a school break tomorrow. You'll take care of him when you're not in class, got it?" declared Mom.

I kept my face blank, but inside, I was completely detached.
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  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 20

    The evidence I gave to the police was solid, so after they checked it out, they cuffed the so-called spiritual healer.The cop who took my statement said the witch was in deep trouble for abusing kids and had a rap sheet that included someone dying. She was looking at 10 years or more behind bars.Zane took his last breath one night in the hospital, just a few weeks after he was admitted. The beeping machines flatlined, and that was it for him.Mom threw a fit in the hospital, but this time, she walked away with nothing but her son's body.She tracked me down just as I was wrapping up a big project at work, getting ready to hit a celebration dinner with my team."I'm telling you, you little brat, as long as I have your papers, you'll never shake me off! Your address will snap back here once you're done with school, and you better believe you'll be handing over every paycheck!" she snarled, clutching my ID.I just gave her a half-smile. "I never switched my address to the school,

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 19

    "Internal bleeding, viral infection, heavy metal poisoning—the patient is in critical condition. Brace yourselves…""In a world where science reigns supreme, I can't believe there are still people who put their faith in witch, to the point where they'd hurt their own kids."I knew Mom heard the whispers; her face went ghostly white for a split second."Should I not have gone to that witch? But Zane was sick, and I just wanted him to get better...""He was covered in bruises, his blood almost drained, forced to drink that vile water until he puked blood..."I could not tell if I was talking about my brother, who was fighting for his life in that hospital bed, or about myself, from a previous life, when I could not take the torment anymore and chose to end it all."It's all because of you. If you hadn't shown me that news piece, I never would've gone to that witch, and your brother wouldn't be in this mess..." She trailed off, a memory seemingly catching in her throat.Mom's voice

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 18

    "Hehe—"The room was silent for what seemed like forever until my little brother's throat suddenly let out a wheezing sound, like a broken accordion gasping for air.Mom frantically dabbed at his forehead when, out of nowhere, he coughed up blood.A spray of dark red, mixed with the gray of shredded paper and the vivid scarlet of fresh blood, splattered everywhere.His face turned a sickly pale in a heartbeat."Ambulance! Brianna, call an ambulance, now!"See, she knew exactly what could save a life. At the life-or-death moment for her baby boy, she did not hesitate to choose what would really work.So why, in my previous life, when I was the one spitting up blood from that vile water, did she just unemotionally question the witch?"The evil has been driven out, right? My son's going to be okay now, isn't he?"The ambulance came anyway, not because I had any soft spot for Zane, my brother. It was because the last piece of Mom's punishment needed to come from him.I watched as

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 17

    As expected, when I got home, Mom went back to her old ways. She tied up my brother in his sleep, and this time, she did not even need my help to make sure he could not move an inch."Mom! Didn't I tell you I'm better now? Didn't the doctor tell you? I'm not sick! Let me go—"The witch we called in again narrowed her eyes, waving a stick around, drawing symbols in the air like she was casting a spell.She mumbled some incantation for what felt like forever, burned a pile of paper, and then mixed in half a bowl of animal blood."We've got no choice but to try this! The evil spirit's too strong. If we don't get rid of it, your son's life is at risk."I watched them force a bowl of that dark, blood-red potion down my brother's throat.He gagged a few times and then went still.His eyes shut tight, mouth half-open as he struggled to breathe.Suddenly, I felt like I was the one being choked, my breath caught in my throat. However, instead of discomfort, I felt a rush of exhilaration

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 16

    "Doctor, I've been faking it! I'm not sick, you can see that, can't you? Tell them I'm all better, that I'm not sick!"Zane was not slow on the uptake; he knew convincing the doctor was his ticket out of the witch's clutches.Oh, dear brother, you have not lived through all the trials I have faced in my previous life—how could you possibly think this was over?"Okay, okay, calm down. Trust me, go take a break, and I'll talk to your mom."Once Zane was out of earshot, the doctor let out a weary sigh. "This kid of yours, he's in a bad way! I've seen it before—a kid kept saying he was just putting on an act, and his family bought it. Then, a few days later, he tried to end it all!"The doctor's story turned my mom's face ghostly pale.I had only given the doctor a heads-up a few days earlier that my brother kept insisting he was fine. However, deep down, I was scared for him, scared he had to do something drastic.The clinic's doctor was not about to take any chances, so he played

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 15

    Ever since that so-called witch, Zane had been a shadow of himself. He stopped begging to play his video games and just sat there in his room, zoning out as he stared at his fingers.Come dinner, he did not dive for the meat anymore, just nibbled on the vegetables in his plate or whatever was within arm's reach.Mom had been watching him, getting more worried by the day.One time, catching her sighing over his slumped figure, I sidled up to her. "Mom, is he really all better? He's been acting off lately. Maybe we should get him checked out at the hospital?"For once, Mom looked drained, too tired to snap at me as she just nodded. "I've noticed it too. He won't even touch meat, and it just kills me. Let's take him to Anthony's clinic tomorrow, see what they say."As I sat in Anthony's clinic, it hit me—I was right. Even with her son, her pride and joy, sick before her eyes, my mom would not put her faith in a big hospital.Stubborn to the core, she always thought she knew best.L

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