Leap into the sea, I will return this life to you
After my twin brother’s accidental drowning,
Mom and my sister, Olivia, treated me like
dirt.
Olivia relentlessly blamed me: “Why weren’t
you holding his hand?!”
But I was only nine.
On my eighteenth birthday, she smashed my
cake in my face: “You don’t deserve a
birthday. You should be dead.”
On my nineteenth, I walked into the ocean.
She screamed my name, but I couldn’t hear
her anymore.
<
- 1.
I came home clutching my acceptance letter to Stanford. It was everyone’s dream school,
and I yearned for my family’s praise.
Instead, Olivia snatched the letter, scoffed,
“You think you deserve this?” and crumpled
it, tossing it into the trash. Mom, pretending
to wash vegetables, casually swept discarded
lettuce leaves over it.
I feigned composure, retrieved the damp
letter, skipped dinner, and went upstairs. I
smoothed the letter, slipped it back into its
envelope, and tucked it into my backpack. A
crumpled hospital report fell out. Staring at it,
despair choked me.
く
- 2.
My name is Ethan Miller. My brother was
Evan, and my sister is Olivia. We were twins.
When we were nine, our family went on a
beach vacation. Then, the accident happened.
A wave crashed over us. Evan grabbed my
hand, Mom held Olivia’s. And then… Evan was
gone, swept away by the current. He was
lifeless when they found him.
Olivia accused me of not protecting him, of
robbing her of her brother. No one celebrated
my survival. I only received endless blame.
Later, Dad couldn’t handle the grief and the
constant fighting with Mom, so they divorced.
Mom called me a jinx, saying if I’d held onto
Evan, they’d still be together. Olivia.
<
devastated by Dad leaving, doubled down on
her bitterness, her words like daggers.
Over time, the love between us curdled into
hate.
- 3.
For my eighteenth birthday, I invited friends over. Happy, surrounded by them, I made a wish: for my family to be safe and healthy. I
took the first slice of cake upstairs for Olivia.
I knocked three times, no answer. I knew she
was inside. As I turned to leave, disappointed,
she flung the door open.
Her face was a mask of fury, like she wanted
to kill me. She took the cake. Then, she
slammed it into my face.
<
I froze, covered in frosting. Olivia hissed,
“Ethan, tomorrow’s Evan’s anniversary. You
have no right to celebrate.”
Her glare pierced me, leaving me speechless.
I could almost see her cruel smirk, her eyes
burning with hatred. I stood paralyzed,
frosting dripping down my face, terrified any
movement would enrage her further.
Then, she slammed the door.
The pain… It wasn’t the frosting. I clutched
the wall, trying to stifle a cough, something
clawing at my throat. A metallic taste flooded
my mouth. Blood trickled down my chin,
staining my white shirt crimson.
