My cousin’s scream cut through the noise. My mom still hadn’t turned around.
“Leo, what are you screaming about? You’re startling everyone.”
My cousin pointed toward the balcony. His lips trembled. He couldn’t get the words out.
“Florence… she’s… she’s frozen… she’s…”
Everyone turned to look at the balcony. Through the frosted glass, they could see a figure kneeling in the snow, perfectly
still.
Snow covered my hair and shoulders. Frost had formed on my lashes.
My lips were set in a faint smile. My eyes were half–closed. I looked asleep.
The wind swept in. It had to be below ten out there. Snow swirled into the living room and the warmth vanished
My mom shivered. Her voice was quiet. “Florence?”
I didn’t answer. The only sound was the wind.
“Florence!” Her voice sharpened. “Get up. Stop pretending.”
My body didn’t move. My mom’s hands started shaking. She took a step forward. Snow crunched under her feet.
She reached out with trembling fingers and touched my shoulder. My skin was ice cold, stiff.
“No… that’s impossible…”
My mom shook her head. Her eyes were wide with terror.
“Florence… Florence, get up… I’m telling you, get up!”
The relatives finally snapped out of it and crowded the door. “Oh my God…”
“Is she… she’s not moving!”
‘Call 911!*
Someone called for an ambulance. The living room erupted. People were crying People were shouting
My cousin buried himself in my aunt’s arms, shaking. The Christmas dinner sat halt eaten on the table Cheerful music
still played on the TV
My mom knelt in the snow and pulled my body against her. She kept saying my name “Florence Horence Floreban
I hovered above them and watched. She clutched my frozen body and made a sound I’d never heard before it didn’t even
sound human.
Chapter 5
“Florence… my Florence… wake up… I was wrong… I was so wrong…”
It should’ve been heartbreaking. All I felt was bitter irony.
Wrong? What was she sorry for?
Locking me outside tonight? Or using me for all those years?
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t ask her now.
The ambulance pulled up. The paramedics rushed over and knelt beside my body. They checked my pulse. My pupils.
They started CPR, their movements frantic, but stopped after a few minutes. Then they looked at each other and shook
their heads.
“Airway frozen. No cardiac activity. No response.”
The words crushed whatever hope she’d been clinging to. “Check again! She’s just sleeping. She’s just tired!”
My mom grabbed the paramedic’s arm. Tears and snot ran down her face.
“Please save her. Do something! Take my life instead. Please!”
The paramedics tried to pull her back, but she wouldn’t let go of me. “Don’t be afraid, Florence… I’m here… I’ll take you
to the hospital… they’ll warm you up…”
The paramedic’s voice was calm but firm. “Please let go. There’s nothing more we can do. I’m sorry for your loss.”
My mom’s head snapped up. Her eyes were bloodshot. “Accept what? My daughter isn’t dead! She’s just mad at me. She’s
punishing me!”
She turned to the relatives, desperate for someone to back her up. “Right? Florence is such a good girl. She wouldn’t leave
me… she’s just… she’s just…”
Her voice trailed off. She was whimpering now.
No one would meet her eyes. My uncle lit a cigarette and looked away. My aunt was crying My other uncle sighed and
shook his head
Even my cousin had gone quiet. He was shaking in his mother’s arms.
Look what you raised, Mom. This is the respect you wanted
My mom flinched under their stares. She let go of me, staggered back, and fell into the snow.
She stared at her empty hands. The paramedics were lowering my body and covering it with a white sheel
Snow fell on the sheet, already starting to pile up.
“No… this isn’t this isn’t how it was supposed to go…
She was muttering to herself. Her eyes looked unfocused
Chapter 5
“I just wanted her to succeed… to make something of herself… I wanted people to take us seriously… just the two of us…
was I wrong? Was I wrong?”
She looked up at the sky and screamed, her voice cutting through the night.
“God. Give her back to me! Give my daughter back!”
No one answered. There was only the wind and the falling snow.
I froze to death outside my own home on Christmas Eve. My whole family had been inside.
I died in the middle of one last performance. What a perfect ending.
I drifted closer. I tried to touch her face. My fingers passed straight through her hair.
Who are you crying for, Mom? You never cried for me when I was alive.
Now that I’m dead, what are your tears worth?
