“As long as Eva’s dead, everything she had will be mine! As long as I surpass her, even if I die, so what?!”
The night Laura was taken away, my parents’ hair turned white overnight.
In just a few months, our family had seen death and arrests.
My mother suffered a mental breakdown and could only sleep two or three hours a night with sleeping pills.
She repeated the same words every day. “I was an accomplice. I helped kill my daughter.‘
Cold winds blew, and everything withered. The world had lost all its color.
My parents pulled themselves together to get dressed in formal attire.
Today was my funeral.
Friends and family from the pack came to mourn, each laying flowers on my coffin.
David, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, also came.
He no longer had his former glow. He looked thinner, gloomy, and worn down, and his eye sockets sunk in.
He leaned against the doorframe, smoking one cigarette after another.
David never once dared look at the place where my urn was placed. His eyes were downcast, as tears silently streamed down his face.
He hated himself for agreeing to help Laura fulfill her so–called final wish. He should’ve cherished me, not cheated with other women.
His childish fantasy of saving a damsel in distress had ruined him, and he could no longer uphold a lifelong love, ending up separated from me by death.
People pointed and whispered behind him, but he remained silent.
To him, they were right. He was scum, unworthy even of going to hell.
Amid the crowd of guests, in a corner no one noticed, a shadowy figure darted past.
She quietly took the urn from the table.
Rain still poured outside, while my urn was cradled in her arms, careful not to disturb me.
It was Lucy.
She didn’t look well these days. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her chin was sharp, exhaustion radiating from every inch of her.
The once–warm and vibrant girl had lost her smile.
1/2
We walked quietly along the road, just like we used to stroll together.
“Eva, do you still remember?
“When we were in school, my dad got drunk and beat me nearly to death. He locked me upstairs without food or water to fend for myself.
“You didn’t see me at school that day. So, after class, you snuck out and slowly climbed that big tree just to find me. The house was so tall; you were so small and scared of heights, too.
“My mom knew I was locked up, and that I was beaten every day. But the one who saved me was you, Eva…
“After you got me out, you used the pocket money you’d saved up to buy me bread and ice cream. We sat and ate together. That ice cream was so sweet! I’ve never had ice cream that delicious again…”
Lucy laughed and laughed until she cried.
I wanted to wipe away her tears, but my hand passed right through her.
Love can overcome anything, but it can also make you lose everything.
If I had known it would end like this, I would have spent more time with Lucy.
She was the only one who loved me unconditionally with her whole heart and treated me well.
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