Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

“Henry was accepted into that school before he died. You’re going there too!”My teacher called to reason with Mom, but she cut him off with one sentence.“If Henry hadn’t died, Harry would never have been born. What right does he have to become the top scorer?”As I looked at her hysterical expression, I suddenly felt like everything was pointless.If I had to copy my brother in everything, then I should not miss out on dying at 18 either....The day my community college acceptance letter arrived, several reporters appeared outside our house.The moment Mom opened the door, microphones and cameras shoved their way inside.“Are you the parents of Harry Stone, the top scorer? Was applying to a community college really Harry’s own decision?”“Do you think it’s fair to sacrifice Harry’s future just to make up for the regrets of his late brother?”The moment Mom heard their questions, she snapped. She pushed the reporters away and slammed the door shut. Then she grabbed me and d

To celebrate Henry’s 'new beginning', my parents decided to throw him a grand banquet. I was expected to attend as his replacement.Mom took it very seriously. She even searched for clothes that Henry used to love wearing and gave them to me. It was a style from 20 years ago, and it was completely outdated.They were old clothes she had dug out from secondhand markets and relatives’ closets. Some collars were stretched out. Some sleeves were already coming apart. All of them carried a stubborn smell of mildew that refused to fade.When I was little, Mom forced me to wear these clothes to school, causing my classmates to laugh at me behind my back.This time, I calmly put them on.The moment Mom saw me dressed like that, her eyes suddenly turned red. I knew she was looking at Henry through me again. That loving gaze had never truly fallen on me.“Don’t smile too much when you’re there, but make sure you speak sweetly. Henry was closest to your uncle and your aunt. Make sure you ta

When I regained consciousness, I saw a teenage boy lying motionless on the concrete. For a long moment, I could not understand what I was looking at, and then it hit me.It was me.I was dead.The next second, an invisible force yanked at my soul. In the blink of an eye, I was standing beside my parents.Mom was kneeling in front of a gravestone, sobbing uncontrollably. “Henry, it’s been 20 years, and I still can’t move on.”They had come to visit my brother again.Ever since I was born, they had visited his grave once every single week, without fail. However, they had never once taken me with them.When I was little, I thought they were secretly going somewhere fun. One day, I begged to go too, but Mom answered with a slap across my face.Her eyes were bloodshot as she questioned me, “You already have us every single day! Henry only gets to see us once a week! And now, you want to take even that away from him? How can a child be so selfish?”I fell silent immediately. After t

The entire room seemed to freeze. It was as though someone had pressed pause on the world. Mom and Dad stood motionless like statues.Sienna’s eyes turned red as her voice cracked. “Harry jumped! He was eating lunch with us just this afternoon! Why would he jump?!”Neither of them reacted.Unable to bear it any longer, Sienna turned and ran out.It was only after what felt like an eternity that Mom finally seemed to come back to herself.“He actually jumped?” She slowly sank to the floor. “Even now, he’s still trying to compete with his brother for our attention. He stole Henry’s life, and now, he has the nerve to jump off a building.”Dad’s mouth hung open, but no words came out. He simply leaned heavily against the wall.After another long silence, Mom turned toward him. “What if my sister and that boy planned this together? They’re lying to scare me. They just want me to stop talking about Henry. That has to be it. It has to be!“That ungrateful little monster! I should’ve s

After collapsing at the police station that day, Mom’s mind completely broke. Dad had no choice but to send her to a care facility.She lay on the bed in a hospital gown. Her body was so thin that she looked almost fragile enough to tear. Her hair had turned completely white, making her look like an 80-year-old woman, worn down by years of suffering.When my brother died, Mom and Dad were only in their early 40s. Now, they were both in their sixties.When I was young, I would look at the old family photos of my parents in their younger days as they stood beside my brother. A quiet, shameful jealousy would rise in my heart. Why did I never get to see my parents when they were young?By the time I was old enough to stand on my own, they were already old.For a long time, I lived beneath the shadow of anxiety and fear of death. I never imagined I would be the one to leave first.At the care facility, Mom kept crying out that she wanted to find her son.Dad had no choice. Little by