My mother said I was a starving ghost reincarnated, so she forced me to wear an anti-gluttony shock collar. On my sister's birthday, my mother bought her a cake, and I said I wanted a piece too. My mother grabbed the remote and activated the collar, sending a jolt of electricity through me. "You even want to steal your sister's cake? Have you no shame?!" My sister hated the fatty parts of meat, so she threw them on the floor. When I secretly picked a piece up to eat, I was caught. My mother activated the collar again. "Trying to steal your sister's meat? You really are a starving ghost reincarnated!" When my stomach ulcer flared up from hunger and I tried to grab a piece of chocolate, my mother shoved me away violently. "This is your sister's New Year's gift, and you're trying to steal this too?!" She gently picked up my sister, saying she was taking her out to celebrate the New Year. When she shoved me, my head slammed against the table. Suddenly, my stomach didn't seem to hurt as much anymore. It felt like I would never have to feel hungry again. 1 I hunched over, clutching my stomach, dense beads of cold sweat breaking out across my forehead. The burning agony in my stomach made it impossible to sit or stand still. It felt as if a pair of invisible hands were squeezing my insides, making even breathing difficult. I stumbled out of my room, my vision blurred as I searched for food. Anything would do, as long as it filled my stomach. That's when I saw a beautifully wrapped box sitting on the dining table. I rushed toward it. It was a box of exquisite chocolates, the kind I had never tasted before. My mouth watered instantly. I swallowed hard and reached out a trembling hand. Just one piece. If I just eat one piece, no one will notice, right? But the moment my fingers brushed the packaging, a hand violently shoved me away. I didn't have time to react, nor did I have the strength to. I crashed to the floor. Losing my footing, the side of my head slammed heavily against the sharp corner of the table. Something warm began flowing down the side of my face. I touched it with trembling fingers. It was blood. Bright red blood, dripping down, drop by drop. My mother didn't care at all. She frowned, looking at me with pure disgust. "This is a New Year's gift for your sister, and you're trying to steal it from her?! You selfish little brat!" The burning in my stomach seemed to intensify. My lips pale, I clutched my abdomen, completely devoid of the strength to argue back. And I knew deep down that even if I did argue, she wouldn't listen. "Mom... I'm so hungry..." I used the last ounce of my strength to force those words out. Instead of answering, my mother pulled the collar's remote from her pocket and slammed her thumb onto the activation button. Before I could even brace myself, a powerful surge of electricity ripped through my entire body. I writhed on the floor, howling in agony. Every inch of me was screaming in pain. "Try stealing food again, I dare you! Hungry? You stole all your sister's nutrients when you were in my womb, and now you want to steal her chocolate?! You make me sick!" My lips moved silently, trying to say, No, that's not true. It wasn't like that. But my jaw was locked tight; I couldn't even open my mouth. Hearing the commotion, my sister walked out of her bedroom. She was wearing a delicate, beautiful little dress and bright, shiny boots. Anyone could see she was a hothouse flower, pampered and protected. Like a porcelain doll. I was so jealous... That's what I thought to myself. But my sister didn't even spare me a passing glance. She smiled sweetly and took my mother's hand. "Mommy, I'm all ready." My mother's furious demeanor vanished instantly. She stroked my sister's hair with absolute adoration. "Okay. My daughter looks so pretty. Come on, Mommy's taking you out to see the New Year's fireworks." With that, my mother took my sister's little hand and picked her up. Only then did my sister act as if she had just noticed me, gasping in feigned surprise: "Mommy, look! Chloe's head is bleeding! It looks really bad." My mother didn't even turn around. "She's faking it. Ignore her. Serves her right for trying to steal your chocolate." 2 Mom... I'm not faking... I wanted so desperately to say it out loud, but the violent dizziness from the blow to my head rendered me mute. My sister stuck her tongue out at me, looking playful and mischievous. "It's your own fault, Chloe! Why did you try to steal my chocolate? Mommy bought that just for me, and I haven't even had a piece yet!" I looked at my sister, whose face was a mirror image of my own, feeling a desolate chill wash over my heart. Why? Why did we look exactly the same, yet our lives were worlds apart? I had wanted to ask my mother that question countless times, but I never dared. Now, I didn't even have the strength to ask. Suddenly, my mother seemed to remember something and looked back at me. My eyes lit up instantly. She must have noticed something was wrong. She must still love me. But before the joy could even fully form in my chest, reality slapped me hard in the face. My mother yanked me up off the floor and violently shoved me into the cramped, windowless storage closet. "Disgusting. You got blood all over the floor!" My head hurt so much, my neck hurt, my whole body hurt... But all I could do was watch helplessly as my mother carried my sister out the front door. And then, she locked the closet door from the outside. I was sealed in total darkness. I blinked, and blood seeped into my eyes. It stung sharply, and liquid kept streaming out, feeling like tears. But I couldn't even cry out loud anymore. My parents divorced when my sister and I were very young. My dad originally wanted to take me with him, but my mom argued that my sister and I were a unit. She claimed that without me, my sister's childhood would be incomplete. She insisted that biological sisters needed to stay together. My dad couldn't fight her on it and eventually had to give up. I was so happy back then. I thought my mom had finally truly seen me. But it was all just a fantasy. Every ounce of suffering in my life came from her. My mom constantly drilled it into my head that because I stole all the nutrients in the womb, my sister was born weak and sickly. She told me I owed my sister. From then on, I gave up every good thing I ever had to my sister. But my sister was like an insatiable black hole. If she was even slightly unhappy, I would either be screamed at by my mom or beaten black and blue. And every time, my sister would flash that harmless, innocent smile and tell me not to make Mom angry. The collar around my neck still sent sporadic jolts of residual electricity through me. I could only lie on the floor, groaning in pain. When did I start wearing this collar? It was on our birthday. My mom had bought a beautiful, expensive cake. It sat quietly on the dining table, and both my sister and I were drooling over it. But I didn't dare sneak a bite. My sister, however, blatantly walked up and scooped out a massive chunk with her bare hand. She smacked her lips right in front of me, her eyes full of satisfaction. My mouth watered constantly. I wanted a piece so badly. After she finished, she washed her hands and acted like nothing happened. When my mom finished cleaning up in the kitchen and walked out... The first thing she saw was the mangled, half-eaten cake. Her piercing gaze shot straight to me. She didn't even ask a single question. She just walked into her bedroom, brought out something that looked like a dog collar, and without a word of explanation, locked it around my neck. 3 I stared at her in terror, but I didn't dare resist. The next second, she hit the activation button, and a brutal shock of electricity tore through my neck. Caught completely off guard, I burst into hysterical sobs. But my mom just slapped me hard across the mouth. "I bought this cake for your sister! And you dare steal it?! Why are you such a glutton?! Have you no shame?!" And my sister just stood behind her the entire time, watching it happen quietly. Not saying a word in my defense. I prayed so hard in that moment that she would tell the truth. So that I wouldn't have to hurt this much anymore... But she didn't. She just blinked at me, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. Tears smeared across my face, my voice shaking as I told my mom, "It wasn't me." Hearing that only made my mom angrier. She cranked the intensity setting even higher. I thrashed wildly on the floor, convulsing, unable to form a complete sentence. The electricity pulsed for a long time. By the end, I was on the verge of losing consciousness. "You still dare to lie?! If it wasn't you, who else could it be?! Are you trying to blame your sister?! I didn't realize you were such a liar! You're both my children, why are you so rotten?! From now on, you keep this anti-gluttony collar on. If you ever try to steal food again, I'll shock you to death!" Right before I passed out, all I saw was my mother's face, contorted with rage. Since that day, I had a collar around my neck. I wore it like a dog for years. But why? Why were we both her children... Yet she loved my sister so much more? My heart ached. I just wanted my mother's love, too. Every memory from the past few years flashed through my mind. Sensing the creeping approach of death, I scrambled up in a panic. No, I don't want to die yet. I haven't even celebrated the New Year with Mom yet. No, I can't. I used every last ounce of my strength to drag myself to the door. But no matter how hard I pushed or pulled, the locked door wouldn't budge. By the end, my hands were covered in blood. Several of my fingernails had snapped off, leaving long, bloody streaks across the hard wood of the door. Mom is going to be so mad when she sees this... I collapsed weakly onto the floor. Suddenly, I remembered something. I looked up at the ceiling, at the small device emitting a faint, dark red glow. A tiny spark of hope flared in my chest. I stumbled over to stand directly beneath the security camera and looked up. Speaking into the lens, I said, "Mom, can you see me? I hurt so much... my stomach hurts so badly... I'm so hungry. I really wasn't lying... I haven't eaten in days..." "Please, believe me... Chloe didn't lie to you... I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so tired. Am I going to die? It's such a shame... I never got to become your favorite, perfect little girl... If there's a next life, Mom, could you please love me a little bit more?" As I spoke, the tears started falling again. The sheer injustice of it all overshadowed the physical pain. "I really didn't want to steal my sister's things. That time on our birthday... I really wasn't the one who ate the cake... But you didn't believe me... It must be because I'm usually bad and don't listen to you. I'm sorry, Mom..." My head grew heavier and heavier, my consciousness slipping away. But the physical pain was slowly fading. Memories of the past flickered through my mind like a movie reel. All those painful moments. My body didn't seem to hurt anymore. 4 I floated in mid-air, quietly looking down at the lifeless corpse below. So, I was dead? I actually died. I wished I could say a few more words to my mom. I wondered when she would remember to check the camera footage. Would she see it? See my final words. How would she react? Would she feel even a little bit sad that I died? I couldn't feel the pain anymore. Watching the brilliant fireworks bursting outside the tiny, high window, and hearing the distant, overlapping shouts of "Happy New Year!" from the streets below... I couldn't help but drift outside. I never expected that regaining my freedom would happen like this. I floated high above the city, watching all the different fireworks—things I had never been allowed to see before. Even I felt a little bit of the holiday spirit. Eventually, the crowds dispersed, and I started to feel a little tired. Suddenly, a thought struck me: I just wandered off. Will Mom be mad when she gets back and realizes I'm not there? Startled by the thought, I immediately floated back. Sure enough, my mom and sister were already home. My sister was cradled in my mom's arms, laughing joyfully. I reached out to grab my mom's hand, only to watch my fingers pass right through hers. Right. I'm dead. I can never hold my mom's hand again. I can never touch her again. At that realization, the tears started falling again. "Mommy, I want sweet and sour ribs!" my sister's sweet voice rang out. My mom affectionately tapped her nose. "Okay. Mommy will make you whatever you want." Listening to my sister list off a whole menu of dishes, my mouth actually started to water. But I would never feel hunger again. My mom went to the kitchen to cook, and my sister sat quietly on the sofa, eating the box of chocolates I never even got to touch before I died. Soon, my mom brought the food out to the dining table. "Mommy, shouldn't we call Chloe?" my sister asked innocently, looking up. I looked at my mom expectantly too. My mom rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about her. She loves stealing food so much, who knows what kind of feast she sneaked while we were gone." My heart instantly turned to ice. But I really didn't steal anything. I didn't have a single penny to my name. I hadn't eaten a single bite of food in three days. Hearing that, my sister just smiled innocently and started eating with my mom. After they finished dinner, I still hadn't made a sound. My mom finally frowned and decided to open the closet door to check. My heart leapt into my throat again. She pulled the door open, her angry gaze landing on me. "You're old enough to know better, and you're still sleeping on the floor? Are you waiting for me to coddle you? Keep dreaming!" She spat on me without an ounce of pity. But I didn't react. I just lay face down on the floor. The blood on my head had dried into a grotesque, dark crust. "You think a little blood is a big deal?! You think leaving it uncleaned will make me feel sorry for you?! Do you think I don't know you fell on purpose just to put on a show for me?! If you ask me, you're just being dramatic! You're a teenager, not a toddler. I have no obligation to humor you!" Listening to her icy words, it felt like someone was taking a sharp knife to the softest part of my heart, slicing it over and over again. Why? Why won't you just step a little closer and look at me, Mom? If you did, you'd realize I stopped breathing a long time ago. When I still didn't respond, her anger boiled over. She grabbed a ceramic teapot off the nearby table and hurled it at me. It shattered into pieces against my body. "If you want to play dead, then you can play dead forever! You think you're so tough now! You don't even listen when I talk to you. Fine, then you can starve! And to think I was actually going to let you eat something! Ungrateful brat!" With that, she slammed the door shut and locked it again. That was the closest she came to realizing I was dead. I was clearly dead, yet my heart ached so terribly. Even if she did realize I was dead, she probably wouldn't care, right? After all, she hated me so much. Why was I always such a burden? "Mommy, why isn't Chloe coming out?" my sister's innocent voice echoed from outside.
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