9
I watched Caleb lose his strength and collapse to the ground, quietly wiping away the tears from my eyes.
Victoria said Caleb fell in love with me at first sight, and I, too, chose him at first sight.
I always believed in his illness, seeking doctors everywhere, spending all my savings to buy him exorbitant targeted drugs.
My mother, who should have been enjoying her retirement, ended up suffering such a fate because of me, all to keep me from working too hard.
“I deserve to die!”
Caleb slapped himself, his cheeks visibly swelling.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but his hand didn’t stop.
“Even if you do this, Mom and Chloe won’t come back.”
My eyes stared blankly into the distance.
Caleb slowly stopped. His eyes red, he clutched the hem of my clothes.
“Harper, I won’t be weak like before! Can you please give me one more chance? We can still have more children! Please, let me make
it up to you!”
“Don’t leave me alone! I can’t live without you!”
He pressed his head against my legs, his body trembling.
“Actually, the one who truly deserves to die is me.”
“I’m the one who killed Mom and Chloe”
<
I lightly curled my lips, placing my suitcase down.
Under Caleb’s confused gaze, I slowly opened the suitcase.
Inside were Chloe’s drawing books and my mom’s unfinished embroidery.
I took the embroidered cloth from the bag. Looking at the familiar stitches and the dried, blackened bloodstains on it, my tears fell like broken pearls.
I placed the embroidered cloth, which smelled of Mom, close to my heart.
I opened Chloe’s drawing book.
Every page showed our family of four.
Looking at the childish drawings, Chloe’s innocent, adorable little face reappeared before my eyes.
Right in front of Caleb, I tore off every drawing that depicted him.
Caleb frantically grabbed my hand, sobbing,
“Don’t do this, Harper, I know I was wrong, please don’t.”
But I acted as if I hadn’t heard him. I pried Caleb’s hand away and slowly walked towards the rooftop.
Caleb realized what I intended to do and scrambled towards me on all fours.
“Harper! Don’t jump!”
“Don’t come any closer.”
I had never felt so calm. Since Mom and Chloe died, I hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.
“I was the one who made a mistake. I brought misfortune into our home. If it weren’t for me, my mom and Chloe wouldn’t have
died.”
I stepped onto the rooftop, slowly giving Caleb a smile.
The moment my body became airborne, I felt a sense of liberation.
No!”
Caleb rushed forward and grabbed my hand, his tears falling on my face.
“Harper! No! Don’t leave me!”
I looked at the hand tightly clutching my arm, suddenly remembering my first meeting with Caleb.
It was also this hand that pulled my arm, preventing me from hitting a power pole ahead.
Such a cliché scene from a cheesy romance movie.
But my
heart had still fluttered.
Caleb, let’s not meet in
our next lives.”
I closed my eyes with a sense of peace, slipping free from Caleb’s grasp.
My body plummeted rapidly, yet I felt no fear.
Because I would soon see my beloved mom and daughter.
My pupils constricted. Caleb had jumped down after me.
“Harper! I won’t let you be alone again!”
They say the last sense to fade after death is hearing.
And indeed, I heard Caleb’s heart-wrenching screams.
But nothing mattered anymore.
I slowly closed my eyes.
Yesterday
