Chapter 4

In the afternoon, Chloe, my friend from kindergarten, came looking for me.

Chloe held up a doll and said shyly,

“Aunt Brenda, is Willow home? This is a gift my mom and I bought for her!”

Mom’s face instantly twisted, looking incredibly sour.

She blocked the doorway, not letting them in, her tone stiff:

“She’s fine, just throwing a tantrum because she doesn’t want to go to kindergarten. Faking sick, as usual!”

Chloe’s mom, Sarah, looked a bit embarrassed and whispered,

“I always thought Willow was such a good girl.”

“My daughter was being bullied at kindergarten, and Willow even got hurt trying to protect her!”

Mom reacted like she'd been stung, her voice rising to a frantic shriek,

“What do *you* know? She wants to destroy this entire family!”

“Willow is a demon! She hurt her sister!”

“If she were even half as considerate as *your* daughter, do you think I’d be this exhausted?”

Chloe was scared and started crying. Sarah, with a displeased look, picked her up and left.

Mom closed the door, her chest still heaving, muttering continuously:

“She’s not well-behaved at all! You’ve all been fooled by her!”

I floated beside Mom, looking at her distorted face, feeling a little sad.

Mom, I really wanted to be a good child, one you didn't have to worry about.

Dad came into the bedroom once. He stood by my bed for a long time.

He sighed and whispered,

“Willow, Dad knows you’ve been hurting.”

“But your mom... with everything that happened to Holly, she’s on the verge of a breakdown. She’s hurting inside, too.”

He tried to reach out and touch me, but his hand stopped in mid-air and then he pulled it back.

Dad pulled up the corner of my blanket.

“Sleeping will make the sadness go away. Tomorrow, I’ll make you your favorite fried eggs.”

He turned and left, his back looked so bent, like he was carrying the world.

Dad, I’m asleep now, and I’m not sad anymore.

But tomorrow’s fried eggs, I don’t think I’ll be able to wait for them.

Before going to bed, Mom came in and glanced at me, complaining:

“I must owe you from another life; you were born to be my torment.”

“All day long, all you do is sleep. Even a pet cat or dog would bring more joy.”

She walked to the bed.

How I wished she would frantically feel my forehead, like when Holly had a fever, and pick me up.

But she just poked my shoulder hard through the blanket.

“Willow, stop faking it, get up now!”

I didn’t react at all.

Mom’s eyebrows furrowed tightly,

“So stubborn, huh? Fine, then. See if you can sleep forever.”

Holly was startled by the sound of her forcefully closing the door and cried, saying she was scared.

Mom carried Holly past my room, gently humming a song.

“Moon so bright, winds so still, leaves dancing on the sill... close your eyes, my sweet, sweet child…”

She used to hum that song to me too.

Back when Holly wasn’t born yet.

She would hold me and rock me, telling me I was her little treasure.

But that was a long, long time ago, so long it felt like another lifetime.

The next day at noon, I still hadn't woken up.

Mom started to get anxious.

“This stubborn girl, she can’t really be sick, can she? She won’t wake up no matter what I do.”

Dad was also a bit nervous.

“I’ll go check on her.”

But Mom changed her mind again and stopped him.

“Check what? She’s faking it. If you go now, she’ll be thrilled!”

They thought I was silently throwing a tantrum.

But Mom and Dad, I wasn’t throwing a tantrum with you.

I just couldn’t wake up anymore.