Blamed, Framed, and Frozen

"She's only eight years old, and she's already spreading rumors about her sister!"

"She even stole our neighbor's emergency money!"

"Worst of all, she conspired with human traffickers to sell her own brother!"

In the underworld courtroom, Mom and Dad rushed to accuse me of my "crimes," talking over each other in a frenzy. They thought this was just a dream, and in the middle of it all, they did not forget to warn my sister and brother standing nearby.

"You two better watch carefully. This is what happens to disobedient kids after they die!"

I instantly understood.

As the middle child, I had once again become the "example," the one sacrificed in their lesson.

'Mom... Dad... this isn't a dream. You locked me in the freezer, then took Grace and Tommy on vacation. I was locked in there for three days. I was so cold, my whole body frozen stiff...'

I was dragged forward by iron chains.

"Quit dragging your feet, you little brat," one of the demon guards rumbled in a deep voice.

I quickly picked up the pace, walking toward the center of Hell's trial platform under the hostile stares of the crowd.

Standing on the other side were my family.

In that moment, it suddenly hit me that I was the middle child, the one always dragged out and placed in front of my sister and brother, Grace and Tommy Lawson, as a living warning of what happened to disobedient kids.

I was the example made to warn everyone else.

The Grim Reaper saw me arrive and immediately spoke in a booming voice. "Silence, everyone! The trial is about to begin."

He continued, "You're accusing your daughter, Joy Lawson, of slander, theft of emergency money, and conspiring with traffickers to sell her own siblings. If the charges are proven, she'll be executed on the spot, her soul destroyed, never to reincarnate! If the charges fail, you will bear the consequences. Do you wish to proceed?"

"Mom, Dad!" I was pressed down on the trial platform, tears streaming down my face in fear.

Dad turned his face away.

Mom looked at me, her eyes frighteningly bright. "Yes, of course! Grim Reaper, please don't go soft on her! She has been trouble since she was little! We've been worried sick about how to discipline her! This is perfect. We'll let Grace and Tommy see for themselves what happens to bad kids who misbehave! They go to Hell!"

Dad nodded repeatedly. "That's right! Grim Reaper, judge her however you see fit! Don't hold back just because we're family! This is for her own good, and even more so for Grace and Tommy's sake!"

My crying caught in my throat, turning into desperate gasps.

The demon guards lifted me up again.

"Dad, Mom! Joy's face is so pale, she looks like a-" Tommy suddenly spoke up quietly.

Dad cut him off. "Shut up! Watch closely! This is your lesson! If either of you two misbehaves in the future, after you die, you'll end up just like Joy, judged by the Grim Reaper, dragged away by demons, and suffer horribly!"

Mom pushed Grace and Tommy forward, making sure they had a clear view. "Look! Open your eyes wide and see clearly! This is karma!"

Grace and Tommy cried and begged for forgiveness.

Mom's face grew even more triumphant. "Now you're scared? Too late! You have to watch. If you don't, how'll you ever learn? This lesson from the Grim Reaper today is worth more than 1000 lectures from your dad and me! Look! Watch Joy carefully!"

She turned her head toward the Grim Reaper: "Grim Reaper, please, continue the trial. Make sure these two get a good, thorough look!"

I stood in the middle, small and wearing the same tank top from three days ago, just standing there in a daze.