Chapter 5
They stepped inside, holding up their torchlights, only to be met with a room filled with garbage. The stench was unbearable, thick and suffocating.
Amidst the filth lay a worn–out, grimy mat–it had been my bed. The only possession I had was a tattered doll I’d brought from home.
The doll stood out in the squalor. Its age was apparent; the fabric was faded and patched in several places. Yet, it was clear the doll had once been cherished, lovingly repaired by its
owner.
The mat was stained with blood, a haunting reminder of my final moments.
My parents stared at the scene in disbelief, their faces pale and stricken. Outside the door, Yolana called to them, refusing to step inside. It’s too dirty!” she complained, her voice sharp with disgust.
“Stop yelling,” my father snapped, his patience worn thin. “Do you think your whining works now? We don’t have time for you. Get out!”
Yolana froze, stunned by their anger. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to sob, her cries loud and grating. But instead of softening their hearts, it only enraged them further.
“Why are you crying? It’s not like Grace is dead! Get out of here! I don’t want to see you!”
Overcome with guilt and grief, my parents called in a forensic expert to determine where I had lived.
The examination confirmed that the dilapidated room had indeed been my residence. However, the bloodstains revealed a chilling truth–I had been dead for over a year.
Hearing this, my parents collapsed on the spot, overcome by the weight of the revelation.
Even as my mother lay unconscious, she kept murmuring my name.
“Grace, come back. I’ll never be harsh with you again… Grace, please… I’m begging you. Come back…”
She finally opened her eyes after five days.
The moment the nurse saw her awake, she rushed over. My mother, however, clung to her desperately.
“Please, tell me where my daughter is. Please, I’m begging you!”
In her desperation, my mother groveled at the nurse’s feet.
She had mistaken this nurse for the one who had once looked after me.
The nurse quickly tried to pull her up, but she refused to budge. Instead, she stayed on the
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Chapter 5
floor, crying my name over and over.
At that moment, my father walked in. His voice trembled as he said, “I know where Grace is now. Let me take you to the last person who saw her.
The person was a janitor from my school. She had found me discarded by the trash, wrapped carelessly in a tattered mat. At first, she thought it was garbage. Then she realized it was a body.
She had called the police, but after a cursory lock, they had left without taking any action. Unable to bear the sight, she used her own money to have me cremated. My ashes were still in her home.
“That poor child,” the janitor said softly. “I used to see her all the time at school… I never imagined the last time I’d see her would be in that manner.‘
She took out her phone and showed my parents the photo of how I had been found.
The image crushed them completely. It was as if they had aged twenty years in an instant, their bodies bent under the weight of their grief.
The pain was indescribable, a sharp, all–consuming agony that coursed through them.
My mother trembled as she buried her face in her hands, her sobs breaking through the silence. My father sat slumped in a chair, weeping uncontrollably.
It wasn’t until they saw the photo that they finally understood–I was truly gone.
The person in the photo was undeniably me. They begged to take my urn home, desperate to reclaim what little of me was left.
They also demanded to speak to the police who had handled the case, furious that they had never been informed.
In the interrogation room, the officer explained, “At the time, a girl named Yolana claimed the deceased was her family’s maid. She said the maid had stolen a large sum of money and committed suicide out of guilt. She didn’t want to pursue the theft so that her parents wouldn’t find out, so she told us to keep it quiet.”
My mother’s voice rose in anguish, raw and broken. “It was you… It was you all along! How could you be so cruel? You knew Grace was gone a year ago, and you didn’t tell us!”
Her cries echoed through the room, piercing and unrelenting, until the officer urged her to calm down.
Determined to uncover the truth, my parents demanded the hospital’s surveillance footage.
The video showed me standing in the biting cold, wearing nothing but a tattered short- sleeve shirt, holding a phone to my ear.
2/3
Chapter 5
They stepped inside, holding up their torchlights, only to be met with a room filled with garbage. The stench was unbearable, thick and suffocating.
Amidst the filth lay a worn–out, grimy mat–it had been my bed. The only possession I had was a tattered doll I’d brought from home.
The doll stood out in the squalor. Its age was apparent; the fabric was faded and patched in several places. Yet, it was clear the doll had once been cherished, lovingly repaired by its
owner.
The mat was stained with blood, a haunting reminder of my final moments.
My parents stared at the scene in disbelief, their faces pale and stricken. Outside the door, Yolana called to them, refusing to step inside. It’s too dirty!” she complained, her voice sharp with disgust.
“Stop yelling,” my father snapped, his patience worn thin. “Do you think your whining works now? We don’t have time for you. Get out!”
Yolana froze, stunned by their anger. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to sob, her cries loud and grating. But instead of softening their hearts, it only enraged them further.
“Why are you crying? It’s not like Grace is dead! Get out of here! I don’t want to see you!”
Overcome with guilt and grief, my parents called in a forensic expert to determine where I had lived.
The examination confirmed that the dilapidated room had indeed been my residence. However, the bloodstains revealed a chilling truth–I had been dead for over a year.
Hearing this, my parents collapsed on the spot, overcome by the weight of the revelation.
Even as my mother lay unconscious, she kept murmuring my name.
“Grace, come back. I’ll never be harsh with you again… Grace, please… I’m begging you. Come back…”
She finally opened her eyes after five days.
The moment the nurse saw her awake, she rushed over. My mother, however, clung to her desperately.
“Please, tell me where my daughter is. Please, I’m begging you!”
In her desperation, my mother groveled at the nurse’s feet.
She had mistaken this nurse for the one who had once looked after me.
The nurse quickly tried to pull her up, but she refused to budge. Instead, she stayed on the
1/3
+25 BONUS
Chapter 5
floor, crying my name over and over.
At that moment, my father walked in. His voice trembled as he said, “I know where Grace is now. Let me take you to the last person who saw her.
The person was a janitor from my school. She had found me discarded by the trash, wrapped carelessly in a tattered mat. At first, she thought it was garbage. Then she realized it was a body.
She had called the police, but after a cursory lock, they had left without taking any action. Unable to bear the sight, she used her own money to have me cremated. My ashes were still in her home.
“That poor child,” the janitor said softly. “I used to see her all the time at school… I never imagined the last time I’d see her would be in that manner.‘
She took out her phone and showed my parents the photo of how I had been found.
The image crushed them completely. It was as if they had aged twenty years in an instant, their bodies bent under the weight of their grief.
The pain was indescribable, a sharp, all–consuming agony that coursed through them.
My mother trembled as she buried her face in her hands, her sobs breaking through the silence. My father sat slumped in a chair, weeping uncontrollably.
It wasn’t until they saw the photo that they finally understood–I was truly gone.
The person in the photo was undeniably me. They begged to take my urn home, desperate to reclaim what little of me was left.
They also demanded to speak to the police who had handled the case, furious that they had never been informed.
In the interrogation room, the officer explained, “At the time, a girl named Yolana claimed the deceased was her family’s maid. She said the maid had stolen a large sum of money and committed suicide out of guilt. She didn’t want to pursue the theft so that her parents wouldn’t find out, so she told us to keep it quiet.”
My mother’s voice rose in anguish, raw and broken. “It was you… It was you all along! How could you be so cruel? You knew Grace was gone a year ago, and you didn’t tell us!”
Her cries echoed through the room, piercing and unrelenting, until the officer urged her to calm down.
Determined to uncover the truth, my parents demanded the hospital’s surveillance footage.
The video showed me standing in the biting cold, wearing nothing but a tattered short- sleeve shirt, holding a phone to my ear.
2/3
Chapter 5
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“Zoom in,” my mother urged, her voice trembling. “Find out who she was calling.”
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Chapter 5
Chapter 5
