Mga Maiikling Kuwento at Nobelang After Death Family Emotions

My sister, Laura Ward, died the year we were ten, the year we snuck out of school to play. From that day forward, my mother’s grief turned into a burning hatred for me, convinced that I was the reason my sister was gone. She treated me like a servant, like an unwanted burden, and filled the void by adopting a perfect, obedient daughter to replace my sister. She took everything from me without a second thought — my rights, my freedom, my very existence — and even demanded that I give up a kidney for her precious adopted girl. Alright, Mother, if you want a life, I’ll give you mine! But it was only when my body lay cold, my breath long gone, that she finally turned and looked at me.

My CEO husband, Clayton Lockwood, was convinced I was a gold digger. Every time he went to comfort his first love during her depressive episodes, he would buy me a limited-edition bag. After half a year of marriage, my walk-in closet was filled with them. After giving ninety-nine bags, he noticed I had changed. I no longer cried my heart out or argued until I was hoarse when he visited his first love. I also did not brave the storm and cross the city anymore just because he said he wanted to see me. I only asked him for a rosary for our unborn child. When I mentioned our child, Clayton’s gaze softened. “Once Ruby’s condition improves, we’ll go to the hospital for a checkup first, then get a rosary.” I obediently agreed. Little did he know that I had a miscarriage ten days earlier. I had also prepared a divorce agreement that was ready for his signature.

Two years ago, my mother forced me to break up with my boyfriend so I could take my sister's place and marry her blind fiancé. Two years later, my blind husband regains his vision. Then, my mother demands I return him to my sister. My father glares at me. "Don't forget that Ethan was Rosie's fiancé from the start! Do you think you're worthy of being his wife?" I'm about to die, anyway. Rosalie can have the position of being Mrs. Sadler if she wants! I'll wait to see karma after my death!

There's a special rule in my family. No matter what I do, I have to get permission from my younger sister, Bernette Emerson, first. However, Bernette dies the year I turn five. So, every time I ask Mom for something, she lights a candle and tells me, "If the candle goes out within one minute, that means Bernette has agreed to it." But the candle never goes out on its own. So, over the years, I've never worn pretty dresses or gone to amusement parks. I have no idea what cake tastes like, either. Sometimes, when I get sick, I can't even go to the hospital because Bernette hasn't given me permission. Now that I'm older, my vision is impaired, and I have a severe gastric problem. Every time I show even a hint of dissatisfaction, Mom will scream at me. "If it weren't for you, Bernette wouldn't have died back then! You owe her this much, so you have no right to complain. At least you're still getting fed, aren't you? But what about her? She's already buried six feet under!" Eventually, I believe I'm the reason Bernette died, and that thought has haunted me for most of my life. Later on, I make a deal with Death, trading my life for hers. I will return to the past and die in Bernette's place. After death, my soul drifts back home. I see Mom hugging Bernette with joyful tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's all my fault for putting disinfectant in a juice bottle. Still, it's a good thing Dahlia got to it first. If you'd been the one who drank it instead, I wouldn't know how to live with that!"

When I'm seven years old, my sister, Ellie Corwin, and I are playing hide-and-seek when an earthquake hits. My parents pull me out first, but rescue teams search for three days and nights without finding where my sister is hiding. My parents confront me with bloodshot eyes, demanding answers, and all I can do is stammer, "I don't know… I don't know where she hid." From that day on, my parents, who once adored me, never smile at me again. This time, they're heading to visit my sister's grave. I mention that I want to come, and my mother breaks down all over again. "Get lost! Your sister died because you just had to play hide-and-seek! You wanted to hide? Then get in there!" She screams herself hoarse and shoves me into a suitcase. But she forgets the suitcase has a combination lock. Once it clicks shut, I can't push it open no matter how hard I try.

To force me to hand over my adopted sister Cecilia Lovelace's lost diamond bracelet, my older brother, Callum Lovelace, locks me in the underground wine cellar. I have severe claustrophobia and heart failure. The moment the iron door clicks shut and locks from the outside, my chest tightens. I throw myself against the door and pound on it frantically. My fingernails scrape against the metal, producing an ear-splitting screech. Cecilia's plaintive voice crackles through the surveillance intercom in the corner. "Forget it, Callum. I won't look for my bracelet anymore. The way Carol was banging on the door earlier was terrifying… Let's not push her too far." Callum's voice is as cold as ice. "She slept in a windowless basement in the countryside until she was 13, and now she expects me to believe she's developed claustrophobia after returning home? She had plenty of strength to pound on the door a moment ago. "Now, she's gone silent because she knows she can't get anywhere with brute force, so she's putting on an act to make me feel sorry for her. Ignore her. Let her keep up the act in there!" I claw at the door until my fingernails split. Then, I slide down until my body hits the floor. My heart finally stops beating. When I open my eyes again, I'm floating in midair inside the surveillance room. Callum leans back in his leather chair, staring coldly at the monitor. "I know her all too well. Caroline will be begging me to let her out before half an hour's up!" he scoffs. I lie motionless behind the wine cellar door on the screen. He's still waiting for me to swallow my pride and beg for mercy, but I'm already standing right behind him. I'm dead, Callum. How am I supposed to beg for mercy now?

On Mom's death anniversary, drug dealers break into the cemetery and take me away. To get revenge on my brother, Zack Smith—a forensic pathologist—they torture me until there isn't even a single uninjured spot left on my body. I hold on for almost three days, barely surviving, until I finally get a chance to call him for help. However, Zack replied, "Why didn't they kill you for good? A jinx like you who killed your own mother shouldn't be allowed to live!" When the drug dealers notice my action, they shatter all of my bones. The next day, a janitor discovers several large bags of human remains in the trash can. Zack painstakingly reassembles my body back together with his own hands—yet he fails to recognize that it's me, his younger sister he always claims to hate. When the drug dealers are finally arrested, he descends into madness.

The daughter of my father's first love suffered from heatstroke because she was left in the car, so he tied me up in a fit of anger and locked me in the car boot. He looked at me with utter disgust and said, "I don't have a vicious daughter like you. Stay here and reflect on yourself." I begged him, apologized to him, and pleaded for him to let me out, but all I got in return was his ruthless order. "Unless she dies, no one is allowed to let her out." The car was parked in the garage. No one could hear me no matter how much I screamed for help. Seven days later, he finally remembered me and decided to let me out. However, he had no idea that I had already died in that trunk and could never wake up again.

It was New Year's Eve. We were streaming live when my brother called. I spoke first, "I wish you peace and a happy, long life." He gave a cold laugh. "Yeah, well, I don't want you to have any of that. I hope you spend the rest of your life in misery." I'd cut him off the year he was flat broke. Now that he was successful, this was the first thing he did—get back at me. I kept my tone calm. "I wish you peace and a happy, long life." He sounded annoyed. "Cut it out. There's no way I'm wishing you well. If I have to say something, then I hope you stay miserable forever." The host hesitated, then chimed in, "Ben, that was just a recording of Hailey's message. And yes, when she left… she was in a lot of pain and quite miserable, just like you hoped for."

On the day the SAT scores are released, the reporters track me down, the top scorer of the entire nation, in order to get an interview with me. That's when they find me fishing for a corpse by the river. When the reporters ask me who I'm thankful to the most, my mom, who's allegedly been dead for ten years, makes an appearance. She gets out of the Maybach, looking very high and mighty. "Your dad didn't remarry for ten years, and you've become the top scorer of the nation. As expected, both of you have passed my test." I can only grip my pole while staring at her in confusion. It turns out that ten years ago, Mom's adopted younger brother, Donald Ferguson, suggested to her, "Why don't you fake your death and test your husband's mettle? You should pretend to go bankrupt and jump off a building. If he can stay single for your sake for the next ten years, that should prove that he didn't marry you just for your money." Mom had laughed back then. "When we were still dating, I pretended to be poor for three years. Walter could take five jobs just to put food on the table for me. It's so evident that he loves me to the moon and back. Ten years isn't a problem; heck, he'll definitely remain unmarried for 20 years, or even for the rest of his life!" The fact that I, the top scorer of the nation, am actually the wealthiest woman, Eloise Ferguson's son, gives a huge boost to the shares of her company. The entire nation looks forward to seeing Mom and me hugging each other while bawling at the top of our lungs. Mom looks around her surroundings. "Where's Walter? I'm here to take both of you home with me." "He's dead." The pole in my hands slowly cracks into splinters as I look up at Mom and spit out the answer word by word. "Three years ago, Dad kept working his ass off day and night just to buy the best burial plot for you. That was when he died in this very river."

After I'm forced to climb to an altitude of 15 thousand feet, my parents, Brian Parson and Mona Holcomb, abandon me halfway up the mountain while I suffer from altitude sickness. "Sunrise is only an hour away. Your sister has been looking forward to seeing the sunrise illuminate the mountains for two months. We can't let you ruin it for her." The moment the car door shuts, Mom's voice cuts off. By the time I reach the hospital at the foot of the mountain, an hour has already passed. The doctor says I'm barely conscious and could deteriorate at any moment, but they need a family member to sign the consent form before they can administer oxygen therapy. My vision goes black, and it takes me several tries before I finally manage to dial my parents' numbers. Five minutes pass. As the phone continues to ring without an answer, I gradually struggle to breathe. Perhaps Mom and Dad can't answer while driving, so I try calling my older brother, Jared Parson, who has left before them. "Jared, I'm at the hospital. I have altitude sickness—" Before I can finish, he cuts me off impatiently. "You're already at the hospital, so why are you telling me this? I'm busy taking photos of Ida. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up now." Just before the call ends, I hear Mom shouting in the background. "Change to the side angle. Ida says the background needs to look a little more interesting." My ears goes numb from the incessant beeping. As the call screen disappears, a new message pops up in the "Forever Family" group chat. It's a group photo of my parents, Jared, and Ida standing with the mountains glowing golden in the sunlight behind them. The message before that is my own message about being unable to reach them while suffering from altitude sickness. An hour passes, and not a single person responds.

Through ten lifetimes, I've died miserably because people kept forgetting I existed. So in this life, I decide not to struggle anymore and just wait for death. When I was kidnapped at five years old, I lay down on the spot and held my breath, covering myself with white powder. The kidnappers thought they had killed me and were so frightened that they surrendered on the spot. When the police found me, I was lying on a cart near the morgue entrance. I waved to the morgue staff and said, "Could you push a little faster? I've got another life to get to." At seventeen, I'm found by my biological parents. On the way back to my wealthy family, I refuse to sit in the backseat of the car and instead get into the trunk. My mother, Sally Jensen, looks through the gap beneath the open trunk lid, crying her heart out. "This child must have suffered a lot. How can he just lie in that kind of place?" I close my eyes and say in a flat voice, "It doesn't matter. This life is going to end anyway. I like this narrow place. It's just the right place to wait for death." My dad, Edward Cortez, slams the steering wheel and exclaims, "Nonsense, Kenneth Cortez! Now that you've returned to the Cortez household. Whatever happens, we'll protect you! So, how can you possibly die?" However, as soon as I get home and go up to the second floor, the boy who took my place, Kevin Cortez, fakes losing his balance just so he can seize the chance to push me down the stairs.

My parents forced me to drop out of school and work eight jobs just to support my cousin Lola. I was only allowed to keep twenty bucks a month. One day, while working on a construction site, I got buried in a collapse. Dying, I called them—but they were busy throwing a lavish birthday party for Lola. Turns out they'd faked bankruptcy. Every penny went to her. After I died, they spread rumors that I'd run off with some guy. When the truth came out, my parents lost their minds. Their company went under. Later, I found out Lola was actually my twin sister—she'd been sent away as a baby to avoid some legal trouble. In the end, my mother poisoned Lola, then killed herself. Only then could my soul rest. My aunt came to my grave and whispered, "Next life, come to me."

I'm at a job interview at a major company. One of the interviewers is my father, Edgar Booker, whom I haven't seen in ten years. He wears a sharp suit and carries himself with an imposing presence. When he sweeps his indifferent gaze over me, he pauses for a rare moment. After the interview ends, the HR manager, Jesse Dorsey, pulls me aside. "You're Mr. Booker's son, right? He says you can start next week." I smile faintly and slowly tear up the offer letter. "No, thanks. I don't want to work with a murderer."

When my body is engulfed in flames, my firefighter father is watching a new movie with my sister. My mother is baking them a cake. I hear laughter in the living room, and I can smell the caramel popcorn in the kitchen. Today is my family's weekly family day—it's a day for my sister and parents to be with each other. The doorbell rings, and the perpetrator gives me a chance to ask for help. My limbs are bound, and stones fill my mouth. I stand at the door and desperately wait for my parents to open it. They don't get up. Instead, they sit on either side of my sister and hug her. "We promised you we'll only be with you on our family days. No one can disturb us." "What if it's Danica?" Ravenna Sutton, my sister, asks. "Her? She hasn't answered her phone in days—who knows where she's off being wild? I'll think of her as dead if she still doesn't return tomorrow!" Ravenna giggles. Mom feeds her some popcorn, and Dad discusses the movie's plot with her. The perpetrator drags me back upstairs and laughs mockingly in my ear. "Looks like I did something unnecessary. They genuinely don't care about you." Smoke permeates every corner upstairs, and the flames start to lick at my body. Mom and Dad protect Ravenna as they run downstairs. They have no idea their birth daughter is screaming in pain amid the blazing fire.

I was born with a genetic disorder. My father left as soon as he found out, and my illness quickly drained all my mother’s savings. To afford my treatment, she moved me from one stranger’s home to another, until she chose to have a child for money. After giving birth to a baby boy and receiving twelve thousand dollars, she was about to leave, but the man asked her to stay. He promised to raise me as his own and cover my medical expenses. She agreed. They married soon after. She told me I would always be the one she loved most. To prove it, she rarely held my brother and almost never smiled at him. Until the day he accidentally swallowed my medicine. As she frantically tried to save him, she broke down and screamed at me, “Why are you still alive?” I watched them rush to the hospital. Then I went back to my room, picked up the scattered pills, and swallowed them all. Mom, I wouldn't be a burden to you anymore.

My father, Henry Carlton, is a genius painter. My mother, Candace Mills, is a world-class dancer. Dad says Mom is his muse. To marry her, he gives up a family fortune worth hundreds of millions. Everyone is moved to tears by their beautiful love story. But on the day I am born, Mom is left paralyzed from childbirth and can never dance again. While taking care of me as I cry day and night, Dad does everything he can to help Mom recover. One day, he disappears. All he leaves behind is one letter accusing Mom and me of destroying his inspiration. He says we are the ones to blame. My helpless Mom holds me in her arms as I do nothing but cry. She becomes convinced that if I can become Dad's new muse, he will come back. So, she pushes herself through grueling rehabilitation and devotes everything she has to training me. When I win the silver medal at a national dance championship, Mom finally sees Dad again. Dressed in an impeccable suit, he carries himself with the confidence and air of a wealthy man. He has one arm wrapped around one of the competition judges, and the two of them are openly affectionate with each other. Unable to take the sight of him with another woman, Mom runs out. While chasing after her, I tumble down a flight of stairs. When I finally limp back home, Mom is waiting for me. She grips a stick tightly with a dark look in her eyes. "If you can't become a muse, then what good are you?"

My sense of direction has always been terrible since young. Getting lost is a norm for me. When I was eight years old, I had to face the worst consequences of getting lost. That time, I almost got kidnapped by human traffickers. So, my older sister, Aubrey Cochran, gifts me a GPS watch and repeatedly teaches me how to use it. "As long as you follow the GPS, you can find your way home. Have you remembered it yet?" I nod heavily. Since then, the watch stays strapped onto my wrist. But later on, my adoptive mom has found her actual son. That's when the entire family's attitude toward me begins shifting. They no longer panic even when I don't return for the day. This year's Thanksgiving holidays are coming soon. Aubrey decides to take me on a trip out of the blue. Our trip lasts for more than a dozen days. Our last stop is a remote village. There, Aubrey takes my watch from me and fiddles with it for a long time. At the start of the next day, I can't get in touch with her no matter how hard I try. As I stare at the unfamiliar GPS coordinates on my watch, I feel realization dawning on me immediately. When I'm about to leave, a villager looks at me in confusion. "You're leaving too, eh? Where are you headed to?" I smile at her. "I'm going home." Since Aubrey doesn't want me anymore, I shall grant her wish.

The rogue wolf Beck had kidnapped me and stabbed me ten times with a silver dagger. Now he was forcing me to call my brother, the Alpha of Sterling Pack, and trade the entire northern border for my life. I knew Cain wouldn't care. But I dialed anyway. The line rang for a long time before he picked up. His voice came through, raw with irritation. "What stunt are you pulling now?" "Cain, help me. I've been taken—" I didn't get to finish before he cut me off, cold and clipped. "You'd really stoop to faking a kidnapping to ruin Selene's Chief Healer ceremony tonight? Iris, I swear to god, if you don't show up, you're out of this pack for good." Click. The line went dead. Beck let out a low laugh. Then he drew the silver blade across my throat. Pain swallowed everything. My heart stopped. But my soul drifted up, light as smoke, out of my body. You don't have to throw me out anymore, Cain. I'm never coming back.

My parents suddenly told me that we were living in a novel. I was the frail and favored younger brother destined to get into college, marry my childhood sweetheart, and live an easy life. My older brother, Daniel Luther, on the other hand, was the expendable one. He was destined to fail his SAT and be beaten to death. My parents said that if they wanted to save him, they had to make sure he got into college. They did everything they could to help him, but he still failed his SAT. Meanwhile, I got into the same college as my childhood sweetheart, Priscilla Grimmie, through my own hard work. That night, my parents snatched my college acceptance letter and locked me in a cellar under the backyard. "Let your brother take your place and go to college first. You can retake your exams next year." My foot slipped, and I hit my head hard against a canning jar. Warm blood trickled down my neck. I shouted, "Mom, it hurts!" She didn't even turn around. "Caleb, stop it! Your brother is one step away from his dreams!" Their footsteps gradually faded. I slowly closed my eyes. The next time I opened my eyes, I was already floating in midair.