The Hide and Seek Game That Lasted a Lifetime novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

My awareness began to blur more and more with each passing moment.

All I could sense was a flurry of movement around me—people walking back and forth, whispering softly about things I couldn’t quite catch.

Mom never left my side. She would sit quietly, tears streaming down her face for what felt like hours on end.

Dad had stopped going to work altogether. He stayed with me day and night, his gentle presence unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

“Do you like dolls? When you get out of the hospital, Dad will buy you one,” he whispered softly.

“I’ve already picked out so many beautiful dresses for you. From now on, you’ll be our little princess. No more dirty clothes for you.”

“What would you like to eat? Tell Dad, and I’ll get it for you.”

“Please say something to Dad… just one word,” he pleaded quietly.

Liam came too. The usual pride in his eyes was gone, replaced by a tightness around his lips, as though he was holding back a storm inside.

I caught him wiping away tears furtively in the corner of the room.

That wasn’t right.

From now on, no one would ever make him angry again. No grimy little hands would ever touch his toys.

He should be happy.

Slowly, I felt the warmth inside me begin to slip away. The world before my eyes grew dimmer and darker with every breath.

It was probably time for me to say goodbye.

Before I realized it, I was surrounded by my entire family.

The sound of Mom and Dad’s heart-wrenching sobs filled the air, echoing painfully in my ears.

In these last few days, the love Mom and Dad showered on me was more than I had ever known in my entire eight years.

I felt at peace.

When the machine emitted a rapid series of beeps, I no longer heard anything at all.

With the last flicker of light fading from my eyes, I drifted farther and farther away.

After death, my soul didn’t vanish immediately. Instead, it clung close to Mom’s side.

I watched as Mom carefully carried my lifeless body, step by slow step, making the long journey home.

The road stretched endlessly before her. Her feet were blistered, stained red from the pain and effort.

Our family was missing one person—the very one they had once wished to be rid of.

But there was no happiness in their eyes. Instead, they looked hollow, as if their souls had been drained away.

Dad gathered all my remaining belongings.

Mom glanced at them and immediately broke down, unable to find words through her tears.

An old poster, three yellowed and tattered clothes riddled with holes, a stuffed toy Liam had once thrown away—this was all I had left behind.

Mom knelt beside my few possessions, her body trembling as she clutched them tightly to her chest. Two streaks of bloody tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, Mom…” I whispered in my heart.

Dad sniffled, fighting hard to hold back his own tears.

In the blink of an eye, Liam had truly become a man.

He approached with a gentle smile, placing flowers beside me.

“Sis, tomorrow… is my wedding.”

“Remember when we were kids? I said I’d let you be at my wedding.”

“I haven’t gone back on my word yet. How could you break our agreement first?”

He smiled softly, but tears began to fall down his cheeks.

“You know what?”

“I never really hated you.”

“I just didn’t understand back then. All my friends had these perfect, cool older sisters, and mine was… a mess. I resented you for that.”

He sat down in front of my tombstone, gazing up at the sky.

“Looking back, I was so foolish.”

“The sister I looked down on as a child is the one I can never have again.”

“Sis, I miss you…”

I took a quiet step forward and moved closer to Liam’s side.

In my final fleeting moment, I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

“Don’t be afraid. Your big sister is here.”