My Last Birthday: I Died While Mommy Said She Was Done With Me Chapter 02
When I opened my eyes again, I saw my little body floating in the bathtub.
My face was pale and still.
So I really was dead.
Then I heard the front door open.
A second later, my little sister came running in, her voice bright and happy.
“Emily! I’m home!”
I hurried outside.
Mommy and Daddy had brought Lily home, holding her hands as they walked in. Daddy was carrying a strawberry cake.
The moment he saw the mess in the living room, he stopped.
“What happened here?”
Mommy frowned.
“She was throwing a fit at lunchtime.”
“She saw me getting ready to take Lily to school, so she lied and said she didn’t feel good.”
Daddy’s face darkened.
“She’s getting more and more spoiled.”
I wanted to explain. I waved my hands as hard as I could in front of them.
“No! I wasn’t trying to make Mommy mad!”
But my hands went right through Daddy’s shoulder.
They didn’t see me.
They couldn’t hear me.
Lily slipped her hand out of Mommy’s and ran to my bedroom door.
She knocked softly.
“Em, come out! We have your favorite strawberry cake!”
There was no answer.
Lily tilted her head back.
“Is she sleeping?”
Yes, I was. Forever.
I wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you, Lily.”
Mommy’s voice came from behind her, cold and impatient.
“Sleeping? She’s just ignoring us on purpose.”
“Just leave her alone. Let’s eat.”
Daddy put the cake on the dining table.
Lily stared at it with wide eyes. “But I wanted to wait and eat it with Emily…”
Daddy opened the box and exchanged a look with Mommy. They sighed.
“If Emily were even half as well behaved as her sister, maybe we could actually relax once in a while.”
The candles were placed on the cake. Then they were lit.
Mommy lifted Lily onto a chair. Mommy and Daddy watched her blow out five candles.
It was Lily’s fifth birthday too.
Mommy smiled gently at her. “Did you make a wish, sweetie?”
Lily’s eyes sparkled.
“I did! I wished that Emily…”
Daddy laughed and gently patted her head.
“Hey, you can’t tell us. Wishes don’t come true if you say them out loud.”
I stood nearby and watched quietly, smiling.
Every birthday back then, the house had always smelled like medicine.
The number on my birthday cake had always felt like a countdown.
For Lily this day, it finally looked like a real birthday.
When it was time to cut the cake, Lily insisted on taking the biggest piece.
“This one’s for Emily!”
She carefully carried the plate to my bedroom and knocked on the door again.
“Emily, come have strawberry cake with me!”
Still no answer.
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
Her shoulders dropped. She carried the plate back to the table.
“Emily doesn’t want to talk to me.”
Daddy suddenly reached over and snatched the plate from her hands. He threw the whole thing in the trash.
The sweet strawberry smell just… vanished. It got eaten by the sour, stinky-scent of the trash can.
BOOM.
Daddy slammed his hand on the table. The spoons rattled on the table
“Fine. If she doesn’t want it, she doesn’t get any.”
“Nobody goes to find her. A hungry tummy will finally teach her how to be a big girl.”
Daddy’s voice was all scratchy and mean, like a big, angry dog.
Lily was terrified. Her eyes turned into leaky faucets, spilling big, wet tears.
Then Mommy moved.
She pulled Lily into that soft, warm hug. The one that used to be mine.
“Why are you yelling at her?” She shot Daddy an angry look.
But then her voice turned into warm, sweet honey, flowing only for Lily.
“Eat up, sweetheart. When your sister is done acting like a baby, she’ll come out all by herself.”
I crouched beside the trash can and stared at the piece of cake inside.
The strawberries on top still looked so fresh.
That’s was my favorite. But now they were mixed in with dirty napkins and crumpled trash.
What a waste.
Lily ate her piece in tiny bites, glancing at my bedroom door every now and then.
Mommy and Daddy stopped talking.
They just sat there and ate in silence.
There should have been four people at the table.
Now there was an empty seat.
I sat down in it.
Then I looked at my little sister and whispered,
“Happy birthday, Lily.”