My parents were renowned music professors.
After having my twin sister and me, they poured all their hopes into nurturing us.
I was a prodigy, picking up anything instantly. My sister, Seraphina, on the other hand, struggled with everything.
The day I won the National Youth Cello Competition, Seraphina couldn’t handle it. She left a diary and jumped into the sea, supposedly taking her own life.
Every single word in that diary was a chilling accusation of my supposed sins.
Dad lost it. He smashed my trophy into my mouth. Shards cut deep as he forced me to kneel.
Mom, her eyes blazing red, stomped on my hands, breaking all ten of my fingers. Then she shoved me into a cello case, demanding I atone for Seraphina.
My throat burned. I couldn’t breathe between sobs, as blood seeped out of the case, staining the floor.
But all I got in return was:
“If it weren’t for you, you wicked child, always trying to steal the spotlight, your sister wouldn’t have died! Your selfishness pushed her to her death. Now you’ll stay in there and truly repent, apologize to her!”
Seven days later, Seraphina returned, lively and well, at her own funeral.
Mom and Dad were overjoyed, embracing her, crying and laughing.
They decided to end my punishment.
But when they opened the case, they went completely insane.
“Bang!”
Dad kicked open the door, grabbed my hair, and threw me to the floor.
“You murderer! You killed your sister! How could I have raised something so cruel?”
Mom, her hair disheveled, clutched Seraphina’s diary, sobbing hysterically.
That’s when I learned that Seraphina had filled the diary with accusations against me, from childhood up.
She wrote that I, her gifted younger sister, always loved to show off in front of her, subtly mocking her as worthless.
She claimed I humiliated her, saying she didn’t deserve to be a sister, and cursed her for not getting Mom and Dad’s love.
So, she didn’t want to compete anymore. She wanted to leave.
I froze on the spot.
Why would she lie?
All my life, Mom and Dad had clearly favored her, cared more for her, simply because she knew how to read their moods and charm them.
I, on the other hand, could only gain a little more attention by constantly practicing my cello.
Fearing she’d be sad due to her lack of talent, Mom and Dad would practically move mountains to give her the best of everything.
To spare her feelings, they missed every one of my competitions, always staying with Seraphina.
Today’s finals were crucial for my future, and after much pleading, they finally agreed to attend.
But after I won, they went crazy upon hearing Seraphina had jumped into the sea, abandoning me and rushing out.
Now, their eyes held nothing but disgust and hatred for me.
“Last night, Seraphina told me, ‘Mom, I might never catch up to Elara. My life is a joke’… How did I not realize what she meant!”
Mom suddenly crouched down, her nails digging deep into my chin.
“She’s your own sister! Is this how you belittled her, drove her to her death?!”
Pain made tears well in my eyes. I struggled to speak, “Mom, no, I didn’t…”
Before I could finish, Dad, his face a storm cloud, snatched up my crystal trophy and slammed it hard into my mouth.
“Still trying to argue after all this?! You used this mouth to force Seraphina to suicide, didn’t you?!”
Blow after blow, the heavy trophy slammed into me. My vision blurred, a warm gush erupted from my nose.
Bang! The trophy finally shattered against my lips.
Several sharp fragments pierced my mouth, and I nearly passed out from the pain.
Blood dripped onto my white dress, blooming red where it touched.
As if that wasn’t enough, Dad pressed me down, forcing me to kneel on the shards.
My knees screamed in agony, the fragments felt like they were piercing my bones. I wailed.
The next second, Dad stormed into my room, dragged out all my awards and certificates, and tore them to shreds in front of me.
Even the clay sculpture of our family of four that I’d handmade for his birthday was smashed at his feet.
No! Dad, why don’t you believe me…?
Tears streaming down my face, I lunged to pick up the pieces, but Mom’s foot came down hard on my hand.
“You murderer, give me back my Seraphina! Why wasn’t it you who died instead?!”
She was hysterical, her high heel slamming down onto my fingers, one by one.
“Ah!”
The excruciating pain of breaking bones was too much. I couldn’t hold on, and everything went black.
When I woke again, I found myself lying on a soft bed.
My face and hands were bandaged. Mom came in, holding a bowl of chicken soup.
She blew on each spoonful, then fed it to me. This was the first time in eighteen years she’d been so gentle with me.
My nose stung, and tears fell.
“Mom, I really didn’t say those things to Seraphina. Please, believe me?”
She mumbled a distracted “Mmm,” told me to rest, and left.
I quickly drifted into a hazy sleep, but dimly heard someone talking to Mom and Dad:
“Time’s almost up. Lock her away now!”
My body was lifted and placed into a confined space.
The familiar scent of pine wood brought me back to awareness.
I struggled to open my eyes and discovered that Mom and Dad had crammed me into my cello case!
Behind them stood a man dressed in flowing robes, looking like some kind of spiritual medium.
Seeing the fear in my eyes as I tried to struggle, Dad shoved me back into the case with a vicious glare.
“Stay there and atone for your sister! The Seer said Seraphina’s spirit can’t find its way back because you drove it away!”
Mom, her hands pressed together, murmured, “Don’t be afraid, Seraphina. Your mom and dad have locked this wicked child away to pay for what she did. Please calm down, come back to us soon, just a visit. Tell us where your body drifted off to…”
Julian, the medium, waved a hand, signaling them to seal the lid.
“The deceased’s spirit will definitely visit in a dream within seven days. After that, you can let her out!”
“No, Mom! I hurt so much, please don’t lock me in!”
I struggled in terror, but Mom held me down tightly. Dad, with a grim look, snapped the latches shut.
The world plunged into darkness. I desperately heard the cello case being locked.
“If it weren’t for you—always showing off, always stealing her light—she’d still be alive.”
Mom’s cold voice filtered in. Dad’s voice was full of disgust, “It’s just a few days in the cello case as punishment. Is that really more painful than Seraphina being lost to the sea?”
My throat burned. I couldn’t breathe between sobs. The wounds on my fingers tore open again, and blood seeped out of the case, soaking the floor.
“No… please, I’ll really die in here…”
“Hmph! There are air holes in the cello case, and we gave you enough nutrients to last seven days. Don’t you dare try to threaten us with death!”
“If only your death, you evil spawn, could bring Seraphina back, how wonderful that would be!”
Hearing those last words, I completely gave up struggling.
Tears streamed out, stinging the injuries on my face.
I started to develop a high fever, my consciousness gradually blurring.
I don’t know how much time passed, but then the door to the room where they’d set up Seraphina’s memorial opened. Instantly, my will to survive reignited.
Mom, Dad, please save me, I feel terrible…
Mom’s anxious voice reached my ears.
“The Seer said, as long as we fulfill Seraphina’s wishes from her diary, she’ll definitely visit us in a dream!”
“Right, let’s start doing them one by one now!”
Dad urged her, and they left again.
The door to the memorial room slammed shut with a *bang*.
My only hope shattered once more.
My body grew colder and colder. My vision began to blur.
In the darkness, I seemed to return to my childhood, to a birthday celebration Mom and Dad threw for us.
Mom carried a cake glittering with candles, and Dad smiled, clapping his hands.
“Happy Birthday to our two adorable little birthday girls!”
He smiled, holding out two gifts. “Elara, this is your new sheet music. Seraphina, this is the Barbie doll you wanted…”
I smiled, reaching out to take the gift, but their faces instantly twisted.
Mom slammed the cake onto the floor. Dad tore the sheet music in his hand to shreds.
“You deliberately mocked your sister, forced her to suicide, didn’t you? You murderer!”
I cried, shaking my head, “No! I just wanted to tell her, even if she couldn’t follow the path of music, there were so many other possibilities for her future…”
“Liar! You killed her! You’ll pay for her life!”
I cried, struggled, as if trapped in a long nightmare.
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself no longer in that cramped, locked cello case.
Instead, I was floating in the air above the memorial room.
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