Cerita Pendek After Death & Novel Substitute Family Emotions

My mate's adoptive sister asked me to go for a walk in the mountain forest and we encountered a sudden flash flood. My mate Nathan, the Alpha of Snow Peak pack, rushed to save us. But because we were both trapped on a breaking tree branch above the raging flood, he could only save one person at a time. To save his physically weak adoptive sister, my mate abandoned me - his Luna who was five months pregnant. I begged him desperately to save me. He watched as the flood waters dragged me under. "Sarah has always been weak since childhood. If we leave her here, she'll die." "Your wolf is strong enough to swim, but Sarah can't swim." But after my death, he went mad.

The day before my stomach cancer surgery, I receive news that my brother, Darnell Huff, has been kidnapped. The kidnappers demand a ransom of 500 thousand dollars. They threaten to dismember him and feed him to the dogs if I don't pay. Remembering how he once risked his life to save me from human traffickers, I ignore my doctor's warnings and cancel the surgery. Clutching the money, I rush to the entrance of an abandoned factory. But before I can go inside, I hear a conversation coming from within. "Even if you like Amber as your sister, she's still the fake heiress. Erin is your real sister. She just came back, and you're deceiving her so callously. Isn't this a bit much?" Darnell spins a lighter in his hand. His eyes are dark and full of disdain. He says, "She made Amber feel insecure. Amber is the most important person to our family. Even if she isn't biologically related to us, she'll always be the only sister I acknowledge." The other voice interjects, "Then why did you save Erin in the first place? You gave her hope only to disappoint her. She's been going to the hospital constantly lately. Aren't you worried that—" "Enough!" Darnell cuts him off without hesitation. "She survived more than ten years living a hard life in the countryside. She's tough as nails. What could possibly happen to her? Even if she's not well, she won't die from it. "I only brought her back to fulfill our parents' dying wish. Once Amber calms down, I'll give Erin some money and send her back to the countryside. Whether she lives or dies after that has nothing to do with me." Every word pierces me like a knife. So the kidnapping is nothing but a lie. Darnell only brought me back because of our parents' last wish. But what he doesn't know is that I have given up my only chance of survival to come and save him...

The day I was finally welcomed back into the Salazar family, Nathaniel Salazar—the frail adopted son they'd raised in my place—died from heart failure. My sister, Alyssa, shaved her head and withdrew from the world, claiming she wanted to soothe Nathaniel's restless soul. My parents had lost two children in a single night, and they blamed me for both. To make amends, they decided my heart would one day be donated to a distant young relative suffering from the same condition. After all, that little boy had been Nathaniel's favorite person in the world. From that day on, I was forbidden from drinking, smoking, staying up late, or doing anything that might damage my health. They called it redemption for my brother. For ten years, I lived like a spare part, a replacement waiting for the day I would finally be needed. Then, three days before the transplant surgery, I saw Nathaniel in the hospital. He was alive. He was curled up against Alyssa's shoulder, acting spoiled while our parents watched with indulgent smiles. Alyssa gently stroked his hair. "Don't be scared, Nathaniel. Jordan's healthy heart will be yours soon. After this, you'll never be sick again." I lowered my eyes to the results of my pre-surgery examination: stage IV stomach cancer with multiple organ failure. Not a single organ was suitable for transplantation.

For as long as I can remember, I know I'm nothing more than a stand-in for my deceased older sister, Jenna Lockwood. The day before starting elementary school, Mom and Dad take me to buy a backpack. With a wide smile, Mom asks me, "Blue or red—which one do you want?" When I choose blue, Mom's expression changes instantly. She clamps her hands onto my shoulders and screams hysterically at me, "Why didn't you choose red? Jenna would only ever choose red!" Dad slaps me right across the face when he sees that Mom is having another episode. The blood running from my nose is a glaring, bright red. From then on, I don't dare to pick anything except the red items Jenna would have liked. Once, while playing with my classmates, some glue gets stuck in my braid, so my teacher kindly cuts it off for me. But when Mom comes to pick me up, she completely loses it. "Jenna has long hair. You're not my daughter!" She shoves me off the back of the bike, and I run after her, crying. It takes me half an hour to get home. To avoid triggering Mom any further, I begin imitating Jenna in every way. It's not until after the SATs, and I get named top scorer, that Mom demands I apply to a vocational college near our home. "Jenna was accepted to this same college back then. You have to go!" My teacher calls to reason with her, but Mom shuts her down with a few sentences. "If Jenna hadn't died, Jennifer would never have even been born. She wouldn't have had the chance to be the top scorer at all!" As I watch her spiral into hysterics, I suddenly feel that everything is meaningless. Since I have to imitate Jenna in every way, then I have to ensure I meet the same ending she had at 18—death by drowning.