The Last Offering のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

"Don't play dead."Mom's voice came from afar."Who are you trying to kid, playing dead each time you do something wrong?"I opened my eyes and found myself standing by the dining table.Strange. Didn't I just fall down?I looked down and saw someone on the ground.She was wearing an ill-fitting school uniform that had faded from many washings.She was kneeling on the floor, her head plastered on the floorboard.Was that… me?I reached out to touch the person on the ground, but my hand went through the body.Was I dead?Even as the thought crossed my mind, I realized I didn't feel very scared.In fact, I felt a sense of relief.I no longer had to bear with hunger or walk on eggshells, living under someone's thumb.Mom was coaxing Hailey."Darling, you won't look pretty if your eyes become swollen from crying.""Helen is naughty. I'll punish her.""Daddy will be back real soon. I'll ask him to take us out for some fried chicken."Hailey sobbed as she pointed at me, sti

In the deep of the night, the lights in the house started getting switched off, and the door to the master bedroom was shut.I floated to the gap in the door and looked in.Hailey was sleeping in between Dad and Mom, snugly wrapped up in the comforter in the air-conditioned room.She was still grabbing onto that red balloon.I floated back to the dining room and sat on my back.It was so cold. The body on the floor had turned completely icy, and the joints were starting to turn stiff.I sat there, accompanying myself.At three in the morning, Mom stepped out for some water.She was in her nightgown as she groggily made her way to the dining room to pour herself some water.Under the moonlight, my kneeling silhouette resembled a monster.Mom paused midway while drinking her water.She stared at me for a while, doubt flashing across her eyes.She put her glass down and took a step forward."Helen?"She called out my name softly and tentatively.I floated in front of her an

I floated above the operating table and looked at the contents of my stomach.I started to remember that the day before yesterday, I was so hungry, and Mom didn't give me any food to eat.The bread that was Hailey's leftovers was thrown into the trash, and detergent was poured all over it.I was so hungry that I was having gastric pains.I hid in the toilet, tore a page off my assignment book, and stuffed it into my mouth.I chewed it and swallowed it down.Although it was tasteless, it managed to fill my stomach.It no longer hurt when my stomach was full.One time, when I was playing downstairs, I saw a stray dog eating dirt.I tried a mouthful of it.Though it tasted a little raw and dry, it felt heavy in my stomach and was very filling.I ate a lot of it.That meatball was the only proper food I had eaten over the past three days.It was the only decent piece of food item I had eaten.The coroner plucked off his gloves and smacked it hard on the metal tray."Beasts!"

Dad sat by her side, goosebumps rising on the back of his arm."Are you crazy?""Shut up. I'm coaxing her to eat!" Mom said as she glared at Dad and continued acting to thin air."Helen, eat. Chomp!"I floated opposite her and saw that twisted look on her face.What a joke. She refused to let me eat while I was alive and continued using me even after my death. I reached a hand out. Although I couldn't actually touch an object, I could affect the air around me a little.I swung my hand hard.Smack!The meatball on Mom's fork dropped on the table.It rolled about and fell to the ground, just like it did that day.Mom jumped up in fright."It slipped out of my hand! It slipped out!"She bent over to pick it up.Just then, Hailey screamed."Ahh!"She pointed at where I was, her eyes wide open with shock."Helen… Helen is eating…""There's blood in her mouth, so much blood…""Mom, stop feeding her! She's going to eat me up, too."Hailey was so frightened that she hid un

The next day, my homeroom teacher, Ms. Turner, came to visit with my school bag.Her eyes were red and swollen, and she had a crumpled form in her hand."This is Helen's application for free lunch at school.""The school management saw how skinny she was and wanted to help her apply for financial assistance, but under the field for parental consent, it was indicated that it was not necessary."Mom glanced at the form and saw her own handwriting on it."Isn't it just free lunch? We can afford to give her lunch."Ms. Turner asked her, "If that's the case, why did she not have any money to buy food?"She fainted twice due to hunger in this school term alone. I gave her some bread, and you called to tell me that she's just being a glutton and that I shouldn't spoil her."Mom tried to argue back, "She was just picky and refused to eat anything at home."Ms. Turner laughed out of frustration."She was willing to eat even paper and dirt, yet you're telling me she's picky?"Silence