The Replacement Daughter

Mom had promised to buy the crib for Beau's birthday, but he never lived to see that day. The crib was finally here, and its little owner was about to return in another form.

Mom suddenly looked up as if sensing something and glanced in my direction. I quickly floated up to the ceiling as her eyes swept across the empty living room. She frowned briefly before lowering her head to rock the crib again.

She whispered, "Beau, I'm waiting for you to come back. I'll never let you leave again."

I looked at her profile and felt nothing. I did not feel sad at all. She was finally getting Beau back, and I, the replacement, could disappear for good. This way, everyone could be happy.

On the third morning, someone pounded on the door downstairs so hard as if they wanted to break it down.

I floated to the living room and watched Mom irritably open the door to find Sofea standing there.

"Mrs. Campbell," Sofea said, her expression serious. "Lily hasn't been to school for three days, and no one's answering my calls. I came by to check on her."

She craned her neck to peek inside. "Is Lily home?"

Mom's face darkened instantly as she blocked the doorway. "She's home. She's just throwing a tantrum and refusing to go to school. Don't worry about her. I'll handle it."

"This isn't about the tantrums. Last week, some students reported that Lily was being bullied at school. The kids stripped her clothes off and poured cold water on her. I wanted to discuss how to handle it with you, but I couldn't reach you," Sofea replied, frowning.

Mom bristled and snapped, "Don't listen to those kids' nonsense! Lily must've done something to provoke them! She's been vicious since birth. She killed her own brother, and now she's playing the victim at school for sympathy!"

Sofea's expression grew even grimmer. "Mrs. Campbell, I've seen the injuries on Lily's body. They're all recent. From what I understand, Lily was bullied because she was protecting another student. She's a well-behaved and hardworking student. You can't talk about her like that."

"Well-behaved? Hardworking?" Mom shrieked so loudly that the entire hallway could hear. "If she were good, Beau wouldn't be dead! She's a curse! I should've never had her!"

Sofea flinched at her outburst and sighed heavily. "If this is how you're going to be, I'll have to contact the school board. Lily is a good child, and you can't treat her this way."

She turned to leave while Mom cursed behind her, and only when Sofea disappeared down the stairs did Mom stop.

After slamming the door shut, Mom trembled with rage. She marched to my bedroom door and kicked it hard.

"Look at the trouble you caused, Lily Campbell! Even Ms. Parker came! Why don't you just die?"

I floated beside her, watching her twisted face. I suddenly remembered the drowning incident when I was four.

Beau and I had fallen into the river, and I had desperately held onto his hand. However, the current was too strong and ripped us apart.

When I was pulled out, I saw Mom clutching Beau's body and sobbing. The first words she said to me were, "Why didn't you die instead?"

Dad emerged from his study and blocked Mom's path. "Stop yelling. The neighbors can hear everything."

His voice was quiet. "Lily hasn't eaten in three days. We need to check on her."

Mom shook off his hand. "Why? She's not going to die!"

This time, Dad did not listen to her. He pushed open the door and walked into the room. After a moment's hesitation, Mom followed.

He walked over and pulled back the blanket, letting sunlight fall across my body. My face was pale, my lips tinged blue-purple, with dried blood crusted at the corners of my mouth.