The Shadow from His Past

The driver who worked for the hospital was unable to bear the scene any longer.

“This is not right, Mr. Rotterdam…” he said gently.

Consumed by anger Chandler coldly replied, “I don’t care what you think! Take these two coffins and get lost!

“Do whatever you need to! I don’t want to have anything to do with her anymore!”

He tossed the napkin he used to wipe the cake off Pauline’s face into the other coffin.

Inside lay a set of baby clothes that I had bought for my unborn child.

Unfortunately, the child would never have the chance to wear them.

The dirty soil and cake smeared the baby's clothes, while Chandler turned a blind eye to my mom’s desperate pleas.

My mom’s frail body was curled in pain within that dark, narrow coffin.

The driver, unable to bear it any longer, opened the coffin to let her out.

When my mom saw the sunlight, her wide eyes registered shock, and tears streamed down her flushed cheeks.

“Is that you, Mariah?

“I came to find you… Is that okay?”

That night, Chandler returned home very late.

Pauline, already tipsy, rushed in while Chandler took care of parking the car.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air from inside the villa.

Chandler was terrified.

He didn’t even lock the car door before rushing into the villa.

He immediately spotted the figure swaying beneath the locust tree.

My mom had committed suicide.

No matter how I pleaded with her, it was futile.

She couldn’t feel my presence at all.

Chandler turned pale with fear and sprinted toward her, scooping my mom up in his arms.

He laid her on the ground and ran his fingers across her face, his eyes widening in realization.

“She’s still breathing!”

He then yelled at Pauline to call for an ambulance.

Then he began dialing my number.

I failed to answer all of them.

While they waited for the ambulance, Pauline stood in the corner.

“Chandler? Why would Mrs. Corey suddenly think about committing suicide?” she asked quietly.

“Was it because of what happened this afternoon?

“It’s all my fault. I should have handled myself better.”

At her words, Chandler furiously dialed my number again.

As he waited for me to pick up, he turned to Pauline. “You did nothing wrong! Her mother’s very fragile with everything going on.”

I continued to ignore his phone calls, prompting Chandler to frantically spam me with voice messages.

[God, Mariah, does your whole family have a mental illness or something? If you're sick, get treatment! Why create so much chaos?

[Your mother tried to hang herself in my house! If she wanted to die, couldn’t she have chosen a spot far away? Was it her intention to come here and disgust me?

[Was it because I had her stuffed into that coffin earlier? Is her temper really that volatile? Or did you instigate her out of your own frustration?]

Every word cut me deeply.

I tried my best but was unable to suppress a laugh.

I was surprised that I didn’t feel sad at all.

You must have forgotten, Chandler.

When I first married you, I playfully mentioned that my mom was especially afraid of the dark.

You had hung up star-shaped lights all over this locust tree for her.

You said that this way, she wouldn’t be afraid anymore.

How about now?

You had left her alone in that dark, claustrophobic coffin for so long.

[Get to the hospital and take care of your mom!] Chandler spat.

[I’m not getting involved. Her decision to commit suicide was her own, it has nothing to do with me!

[And don’t even think about using this against me! She bullied Pauline so she brought this on herself!]

The ambulance arrived and the medical officers rushed in.

My mom was lifted onto a stretcher, while Chandler and Pauline followed closely behind.

Behind the locust tree, not far off in the corner, lay a handwritten letter.

When Pauline entered and saw my mom, her first reaction wasn’t to scream.

Instead, she clutched the letter tightly in her hand and hid it away.