Cerita Pendek & Novel Familial Bond Countdown

After my family deleted the only graduation photo I was in, I accepted a job three thousand miles away—and decided never to come home. That day, my parents, my brother, and my boyfriend took 380 photos. My twin sister, Emma, was in every one. She stood between our parents while they gazed at her proudly. I waited nearby in my cap and gown, but no one called me over. When Emma admitted she still hadn’t found a job, my boyfriend, Ethan, immediately turned to comfort her. “Apply to my company, so I can look out for you.” “Send me your résumé,” Dad said. “I’ll make a few calls and find you something. ” My brother, Ryan, handed Emma the only bottle of cold water he had brought. “My company’s hiring too. I’ll refer you.” Only then did they remember I was standing there. “You’ll find something,” Mom told me. “Your degree is pretty general, so don’t be too picky.” Later, Ethan frowned while scrolling through the photos. “Natalie’s blocking Emma in this one. I’ll delete it.” It was the only photo that proved I had been there. So they hadn’t forgotten me. They had seen me and decided I didn’t belong. Emma seemed like their only daughter. Even my boyfriend seemed to belong with her. I opened the offer I had kept hidden. It was one of the country’s leading aerospace research institutes—and nearly three thousand miles from home. I signed my name. Three days later, I would fly to Seattle and never come back.

My older sister Mia was sweet and affectionate, while I was the “smart, independent” one who supposedly needed no one. For my high school graduation, my parents promised me a trip to Hawaii. I packed a month early and planned everything. But the night before we left, Mia decided to bring Luke, my childhood sweetheart. There wasn’t room for both of us, so Mom canceled my ticket. “Mia and Luke had a fight a few days ago. They need this trip to work things out.” My brother pushed my packed suitcase toward Mia. “Take hers. It has everything you need.” Luke had once been the only person who never used my independence as a reason to leave me behind. But after he met Mia, he began making excuses for her too. Sure enough, he took my hand and spoke up for her. “Emma, you’re always more capable than Mia. She’s been a mess since our fight, and she needs me.” Mia’s eyes filled with tears. “I just want one trip where everyone I love is together.” I laughed bitterly. So they were only a complete family without me. Fine. I was done fighting for a place they had never made for me. In seven days, I would fly to Cambridge alone and start a new life.

When the wildfire reached our family’s vacation home, I dragged my younger sister, Chloe, out through the back door. By the time we circled around to the front, our parents were begging the firefighters to go inside. “We only have time to search one bedroom before the wind shifts,” a firefighter warned. “Which one?” “The upstairs bedroom!” Mom cried without hesitation. “Please save our younger daughter!” Dad gripped her shoulders. “She has asthma. She won’t survive the smoke.” Neither of them mentioned which room I had been sleeping in. My sister rushed past me. “Mom! Dad! I’m here!” Mom pulled her into her arms, sobbing, while Dad checked her for injuries and called for a paramedic. I stood only a few feet away, barefoot and bleeding. Neither of them looked at me. Finally, a firefighter noticed me. “Are you here with family?” I watched my parents cling to the daughter they had chosen. “No,” I said. “I came alone.” Then I opened the email offering me a year-long exchange at the University of Cambridge. I pressed Accept. My flight left in seventy-two hours. In three days, I would begin a new life in England. My family had no idea they were already losing their other daughter.

Bianca and I were switched before birth. She became the beloved daughter of both families. I became the girl neither one wanted. Every month, I carried a suitcase between two guest rooms while Bianca kept a bedroom, parents, and a place at the table in both estates. Then Bianca was diagnosed with a deadly blood disorder, and both families demanded that I become her stem cell donor. There was only one problem. My donor screening showed that I might be seriously ill too. They refused to read my medical report. They called my nosebleed an attention-seeking stunt. Then they forced me to voluntarily surrender every claim to both families before they would pay for my tests. The next day, I learned the truth. I had acute leukemia. Bianca had never completed the examination required to prove she was sick. I sent both families the evidence. They still didn't believe me. When they asked what I thought, I smiled and agreed to let them fly Bianca to Europe for treatment. They praised me for finally learning. While Bianca received treatment overseas, I suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage alone. As I took my final breath, I couldn't help wondering. Would they finally regret never thinking to spend more time with me?

Nine months ago, my younger sister Bianca and I were kidnapped at the Chicago docks. She saved me from an attacker. But when she woke in the hospital, she couldn't remember who she was. Instead, she believed my fiancé, Adrian De Luca, was the man she loved. My family begged me to play along until she recovered. “It's only an act,” Adrian promised. “Once she's better, everything goes back to normal.” Because Bianca had saved my life, I agreed. Then our engagement trip to Sicily became her recovery trip with Adrian. She moved into the lakefront safe house Adrian and I had chosen for our marriage. My fingerprint access was erased, our bedroom was redecorated for her, and my clothes disappeared from the closet. Everyone made the same promise: once Bianca’s memory returned, they would give back everything that belonged to me. Nine months later, she walked down the aisle at the Blackstone Hotel in the ivory wedding gown made for me. Adrian stood waiting at the altar, and the De Luca family crest bracelet he had given me was fastened around her wrist. My mother leaned close. “It’s only a wedding staged for her treatment. Don’t make a scene.” I looked at the bracelet. Someone had resized it to fit Bianca perfectly. That was when I understood. No one intended to give me my life back. I didn’t argue or cry. I opened the London partnership offer I had rejected nine times and accepted it. My flight left in four days. This time, they would learn how to live without me.