I Paid for Mom’s Mistake Chapter 02
Author: Syrupy Lemons
I was suddenly in free fall, and the wind whipped past my ears.
I met Death himself.
Death said he was just passing by, and he could make a deal with me. “According to your original fate, some branches will break your fall, and the bones in your right leg will shatter. You’ll survive.
“But that’s too boring, so why don’t you make a deal with me? I’ll move those annoying branches away so you’ll be smashed into pieces. Then, you’ll trade your life to bring your sister back.”
I nodded almost immediately. “I’ll do it.”
If Bernette were still alive, Mom wouldn’t have a reason to hate me anymore.
So, even if I died, I would be happy as long as Mom loved me.
My lips curved into a faint smile.
Suddenly, a white light flashed before my eyes.
I was sent back in time to when I was five years old.
This time, I was the one lying on the hospital bed, getting my stomach pumped instead.
Meanwhile, Bernette was running and jumping around in the hospital corridor outside.
I still remembered that when the doctor pronounced Bernette dead, Mom had broken down in tears outside the ward.
She crouched down until she was at eye level with me, then screamed hysterically, “Why would you put disinfectant in a juice bottle?”
I was shocked out of my wits, and even though it happened just moments ago, I couldn’t remember the exact details of the incident.
I only remembered Bernette suddenly foaming at the mouth right in front of me, her face pale.
I didn’t say anything. Then, Mom began pulling at her own hair. “Why did I even bother going out? Why didn’t I stay home to keep an eye on the kids?”
Dad tried to comfort her, but she immediately snapped at him, “You were driving too slow! If you had gone faster, our daughter wouldn’t have died!”
Later on, Mom would even divorce Dad for that very reason.
The light above the operating room went out. The doctor came out and took off his mask. “I’m sorry for your loss. We did everything we could.”
I turned around a little nervously, looking at Mom with a hint of expectation.
But Mom seemed extremely calm, and she just let out a faint sigh. “Thank you for your hard work, doctor.”
I was still holding out hope.
I remembered my teacher saying that when some people experienced extreme sorrow, sometimes, they wouldn’t be able to cry. Instead, they would stay unusually calm.
However, Mom turned to look at Dad. “Say, why would Dahlia drink that out of the blue? What a glutton! Bernette is just a year younger than Dahlia, but she’s so much better behaved.
“Well, at least Dahlia didn’t make it. If she got into the ICU, she’d be dragging us all down with her. I heard that even a day in the ICU costs a fortune. We just saved up some cash to get Bernette a piano, so we can’t have that money spent on Dahlia instead.”
Dad patted Mom on the shoulder. He didn’t agree or go along with it. He simply said, “Come on, let’s make preparations for the funeral.”
For a long time, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Pain tore through me as I thought, “This can’t be happening. It shouldn’t play out like this! Mom should’ve been in utter agony! Wait, is this because I was the one who died instead of Bernette?”
I suddenly realized a truth I didn’t want to admit.
Mom only cared about Bernette.
Suddenly, Bernette came pattering over. She wrapped her arms around Mom’s leg and looked up at her. “Mom, what’s Dahlia doing in there? Why isn’t she coming out? I’m hungry!”
Mom bent over and picked Bernette up.
Her annoyance from just now had disappeared, and she said in an extremely gentle tone, “What would you like to eat, Bernette? Let’s have that for dinner, alright?”
She was heading outside with Bernette in her arms when she suddenly turned around and glanced at the operating room. She looked like she had suddenly remembered something.
She said, “Well, I guess I’m partly to blame for this. I filled a juice bottle with disinfectant, but I forgot to warn the kids about it. I’m so glad Bernette wasn’t the one who drank it. If not, I would’ve never forgiven myself.”
