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Home / The Little Red Star / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of The Little Red Star: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

13 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Your sister was playing with the stove, and you didn't stop her. You deserve to be punished!"Mom reached over and twisted one of the burner knobs.A soft hiss filled the kitchen.The rotten-egg smell rushed into my nose.I coughed hard and tried to run outside.Mom slammed the kitchen door in my face."Mom!" I threw myself against it and slapped both palms against the wood."I want to come out! It smells awful in here!"Last week, Ms. Harper had shown us a safety cartoon in kindergarten.She said leaking gas smelled like rotten eggs.She said children who breathed too much of it might never see their moms and dads again.I braced myself against the door and pushed with all my strength.I finally opened a tiny gap and slipped one hand through, trying to grab Mom.But she pressed her whole weight against the other side and shoved the door back."Ah!"Tears burst from my eyes.The door crushed my fingernail backward. It hurt even more than when I scraped my knee last tim

Chapter 2

The rotten-egg smell kept getting stronger, and my head began to spin.I raised my hand and tapped the door again, my voice very small."Mom, I feel dizzy...""Stop pretending."Mom scolded me from outside."You've only been in there two minutes. If you can't handle this much, how are you ever going to protect your sister?"I didn't have enough strength to answer. Holding my injured hand, I staggered toward the window.It was open just a crack.I sat beneath it, but I still kept getting sleepier.Click.The sound pulled me partway out of the fog.I looked up and saw that the wind had blown the window shut.The bad smell filled the room again almost at once.Another wave of dizziness rolled over me.My eyelids grew heavier.Then I remembered what Ms. Harper had told us the week before.If you smelled rotten eggs, you must not go to sleep.A hard shiver ran through me, waking me up a little.I lifted my uninjured hand and knocked on the door for the second time.My voi

Chapter 3

I didn't want a toy. I only wanted Mom to tell me she was proud of me.I rested my head against the cold door.I tried to lift my hand and knock one more time.But before I touched it, everything turned black.I was so tired. I needed to sleep.Then my body felt light.I felt like a soap bubble.I slowly floated upward, with nothing solid beneath my feet.When I looked down,I saw my own body leaning against the cold kitchen door with its eyes closed.The wet red star was still clutched in my hand, wrinkled like a tiny wilted sun.I floated closer and tried to take it, but my fingers passed straight through.Oh.I had become a little ghost.Just like the ones in cartoons, with no feet, floating everywhere while no one could see them.Ms. Harper had been right. Children who breathed leaking gas could no longer touch their moms and dads.I drifted through the crack beneath the door.Mom was holding Lily's hand beneath the gazebo outside our building.Mrs. Parker, who so

Chapter 4

Mom's face went pale.She stared toward Mr. Dalton and muttered stubbornly,"That can't be right. I left the kitchen window open..."The security guard spotted Mom and raised the bullhorn even higher."Rachel Stuart in Unit 2401? It's your apartment! We traced the readings floor by floor. The concentration is off the scale, and every gas detector in the building is sounding!"Mom's knees buckled so suddenly that she nearly collapsed.Her face had gone white, but she still insisted,"That isn't possible. I opened the window. How could there be a leak..."Before she finished, she grabbed Lily and ran toward the lobby.She left the strawberries she had picked out sitting on the market stand.The elevator was already on the first floor. She stabbed the close button so wildly that her trembling finger missed it twice.Inside, Lily sobbed so hard that her braids came loose.Mom looked terrified. For once, she forgot that Lily was usually the child she treasured above everything.

Chapter 5

The moment he said it, Lily wailed.She tore free from the officer and tried to run toward me, but he caught her around the waist.I floated overhead and looked down at my little body beneath the white sheet.The crushed red star was still in my hand. The blood beneath my torn fingernail had dried dark brown across my Star Ranger slipper like a tiny scar.Mom stood frozen for three full seconds. Her first instinct wasn't to look at me. She covered Lily's eyes and pressed Lily's face against her chest so she wouldn't see.Then tears poured down Mom's face, and she screamed loudly enough for the entire building to hear."My son! My precious son! What kind of building management lets a gas leak happen? You killed my child! I'll destroy every one of you!"She tried to charge inside, but an officer stopped her. Mom collapsed to the floor, pounding it with her fists as she howled, hair plastered across a face slick with tears and snot."I only went downstairs to buy strawberries for

Chapter 6

"We found the source. Someone deliberately turned one burner valve roughly a third of the way open. This wasn't a pipeline failure."We also examined the kitchen lock. It was secured from the outside, so the child couldn't open the door."Mom's wailing stopped as though someone had cut the sound. Her face went white, and her mouth moved without producing a word.Then she seemed to remember something and slapped the floor before howling even louder."I knew it! I knew there had to be a reason! It was my useless husband, Daniel. He worked on that burner last week and must not have tightened it. I told him to call a professional, but he is always working and never home. How would a woman like me understand gas equipment?"And that kitchen lock has been broken forever. I begged him to replace it. This is all his fault. He killed our son!"She pounded the floor as she cried, hair covering her face. Several neighbors who had begun to doubt her now whispered again, and someone remarked

Chapter 7

The hallway erupted. Every face turned toward Mom. The neighbors who had pitied her now looked disgusted, calling her cruel and inhuman for risking her own son's life just to protect her reputation.Lily wriggled free from the officer and ran to Mom, clutching her coat as she sobbed."Mom, please tell the truth. You locked Noah inside. You turned on the gas. Tell the police what happened, okay? If we take him to the hospital, maybe he'll wake up. I'll never cause trouble again. I don't need princess dresses. Just let my brother come back!""You ungrateful little liar!" Mom's eyes turned red. She raised a hand to hit Lily, but an officer caught her wrist. Trembling with rage, she pointed at Lily and Mrs. Parker. "You're all trying to frame me! I would never hurt my son. You have no proof!""You want proof?" The officer looked toward our living room and nodded to another member of his team. "Your security camera faces the kitchen door, correct? We'll review the recording. It will sho

Chapter 8

"Let you out? Not a chance."She shook me off and turned the burner knob. The blue flame went out, but the gas kept hissing. I backed away in terror and called for her. She stepped outside, locked the door from the hallway, and spoke through it in a voice as cold as ice."Stay in there and think about what you did. I'll open the door when your sister says she forgives you."Then Lily appeared on the recording, pulling at the kitchen door and begging Mom to release me. Mom crouched and stroked Lily's head, her tone suddenly gentle."It's okay, Lily. Mommy is only frightening you a little. If you touch the stove again, this is what will happen to your brother. Do you understand?"She picked up her purse from the entryway and clicked away in her heels without looking back.On the video, I pounded the door and called for Mom and Lily. My hands bled, but no one answered. My voice grew hoarse and softer until I slid down against the door, still clutching the dusty red star. My head dro

Chapter 9

Dad ignored her and walked slowly toward the television. His eyes reddened as he touched the image of my bloodied hand.The week before, he had come home after midnight. I waited by the door with my classroom star and told him I would show him the certificate once Ms. Harper gave it to me.He had been exhausted, but he patted my head and promised to buy me a Star Ranger toy on Saturday. That Saturday would never come."Give me back my son."Dad turned toward Mom, who had collapsed on the floor. His voice sounded scraped raw, his eyes burned red, and his fists were clenched until his knuckles turned white."Rachel, I work twelve-hour days and give everything I earn to this family. I never objected when you wanted to give Lily the best of everything. I gave you whatever you asked for. What gave you the right to kill my son?"I floated beside him and watched his tears fall onto the cold tile. I tried to touch his clenched fist. He seemed to feel something and turned sharply toward w

Chapter 10

Because Mom faced a murder charge and had secretly drained marital funds, the divorce court moved quickly. Dad kept the apartment he had purchased before the marriage. Of the twenty-four thousand dollars left in joint savings, he received eighteen thousand, while Mom received six thousand.The day the final divorce decree arrived, Mom returned from a meeting with pretrial services and found the papers on the coffee table. Dad had packed her belongings beside the door. Lily stood near the couch with her faded school backpack, clutching my dusty red star and instinctively stepping back when Mom entered."Daniel, have you lost your mind? You actually divorced me?" Mom grabbed the decree, tore it into pieces, and lunged to scratch his face."I gave everything to this family. How dare you leave me with nothing? I refuse to accept it!""You don't have to accept it. The court's order is final."Dad shielded Lily behind him and looked at Mom without warmth. "Rachel, I could have demanded

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