Chapter 12
Kathy’s face was smeared with blood as she staggered after me, clutching a knife. Her wild eyes darted around, searching for a way out. The neighbors, seeing her in such a frenzied state, immediately understood–she had lost all sense of reason. Fear kept their doors shut. No one dared to open them.
Fortunately, the blow I had delivered to her leg slowed her down. A neighbor, hidden behind a locked door, made a call to the police while I ran as fast as I could, finally escaping the community.
Kathy was caught soon after.
With no one left to protect her, she was subdued with an anesthetic dart and forcibly returned to the psychiatric hospital. This time, she was classified as a high–risk patient, her wrists and ankles restrained tightly to the hospital bed.
When I went to see her, she was undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. Her frail body convulsed, foam and liquid food dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back, vacant–until she saw me.
For a brief moment, recognition flickered in her dilated pupils. Her lips trembled as she tried to form words. Fury twisted her expression, but she was powerless, tied to the bed like a caged animal.
I leaned in slightly, voice cold and final.
“Kathy, this time, you will atone for your sins.”
She let out a muffled, enraged sound, but I turned my back on her.
There was no redemption. No second chances.
With my parents gone, their inheritance now belonged to me. I sold the house and moved to another city, erasing my past and assuming a new identity. I re–enrolled in high school, determined to start fresh.
Before the school year began, I took a taxi to Willow Creek.
Since Willie and his family were gone, only Simon remained. The once–lively boy had become a ghost of himself, spending his days sitting silently in the yard, clutching the flowered jacket I had once worn. He gazed toward the empty space where he and my sister had once worshipped the heavens, his eyes hollow.
The villagers, pitying him, occasionally left bowls of rice at his doorstep. But others whispered, pointing fingers–reminding him that his family’s sins had tainted him forever.
When I stepped into the yard, he turned slowly, eyes filled with hope–then disappointment.
I forced a smile. “I’m Amber’s sister.”
His expression flickered. A spark of life returned to his gaze.
“Is Amber… okav?” he asked hesitantly. His voice cracked. “She hates me… My parents
Chapter 11
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“Is Amber… okay?” he asked hesitantly. His voice cracked. “She hates me… My parents hurt her…”
Swallowing my emotions, I reached out and gently ruffled his hair.
“She doesn’t hate you,” I said softly. “She sent me to check on you.”
His eyes welled up. “She’s afraid of being taken away again, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “She’s safe now. But she worries about you.”
Tears slipped down his face, and he murmured an apology to no one in particular.
After unloading the supplies I had brought for him, I turned to the villagers and bowed deeply.
“Please look after Devin. If he ever needs anything, let me know–I’ll send help.”
The village chief, an old man with kind eyes, stepped forward.
“Don’t worry, child. We will take care of him. The sins of his family were not his own.”
I nodded gratefully. “Yes. He knew nothing of their crimes.”
All he had ever known was Amber–his young wife–whom he had loved with all his heart. As I left, he clutched the jacket tighter. He ran after the car, waving.
“Sister… tell Amber I miss her!”
I rolled down the window, my voice cracking. “I will, Devin. Take care of yourself!*
Tears blurred my vision as the car pulled away.
Years passed. I entered a prestigious university, then prepared to study abroad. Before I left, the village chief called with unexpected news.
Someone had agreed to marry Devin.
Over the years, he had lived quietly, farming and tending sheep in the mountains. Then, one rainy evening, he rescued a girl with a broken leg. She had been abandoned by her family, left with no one to care for her. Devin carried her across the mountains, his shoes wearing thin, and begged the village chief to help.
I sent money for her treatment. Slowly, she recovered. Though she still walked with a limp, she chose to stay with Devin. Over time, her warmth softened his grief, and he finally agreed to marry her.
Hearing this, a warmth spread through my heart.
I sent him a gift, transferring money to his account.
From now on, with her by his side, he would no longer be alone.
And I, too, would embrace my future.
