Chapter 1
The suitcase lid slammed shut with a loud bang, and everything went dark.
Huddled inside, I could hear my mother screaming outside, her voice frantic, "Burn them. Burn all her things. I never want to see them again!"
Then I heard my father's heavy footsteps, followed by the sharp smell of gasoline.
I knew they were about to burn the suitcase full of my sister's things, and I was still inside.
When the match struck and flared, I didn't struggle. Instead, I just smiled.
Mom, Dad, this time, you would never find me.
*****
Five years ago, the ground shook violently.
Noelle and I were trapped beneath the same concrete slab, each at opposite ends.
When the rescue team's light cut through the darkness, I felt a spark of hope, and Noelle saw me.
She was two years younger and much weaker. Her voice was barely a whisper, like the buzz of a mosquito.
"Save Luciana first," she whispered.
"Luciana, don't be scared," she added.
The rescue leader glanced up at the unstable beam above us and shouted orders to his team.
"The structure is unstable here. Get the one closest to the edge out first. Hurry!" he ordered.
As soon as I was pulled out, a second collapse hit.
Rubble and dust filled the space underneath, swallowing Noelle's last desperate cry. "Luciana!"
*****
The sharp, sterile smell of the hospital was where my five-year nightmare began.
When I woke up, my parents were sitting by my bed. But there wasn't any relief on their faces after I was saved.
My mom's eyes were swollen and red. She glared at me.
"Why was it you who survived?" she asked.
My dad stood behind her silently. He just stared at me like I was an enemy.
My throat was so dry that I couldn't talk. I could only shake my head over and over.
No, I never wanted this. I never wanted her to die.
But my mom wouldn't care. She just kept repeating the questions.
"Why didn't you die? Why didn't you take Noelle's place?" she asked.
My dad grabbed her arm as she lost control.
"Don't waste your breath. From now on, let's pretend we never had such a daughter as her," he said, his voice husky.
Just like that, they made me a sinner.
*****
From that day on, it felt like my name disappeared from the world.
In that house, they referred to me as that thing and blamed me as the one responsible for Noelle's death.
They kept every single one of Noelle's belongings.
They kept her room, her clothes, her books, and even her favorite cup just the way she left them. They cleaned it every day, making sure it gleamed.
However, my things were thrown out one by one.
First, my backpack was thrown out, and then my clothes. Finally, the room I had lived in for more than ten years was turned into Noelle's memorial.
Her photos covered the walls. Her plush toys filled every corner.
I had no choice but to sleep on the couch in the living room.
At night, I often heard my mom in Noelle's room, talking to the empty air.
"Noelle, my precious girl, I miss you so much," she whispered.
"Noelle, don't worry. Mom will make that sinner pay for what she did," she added.
Her voice was so gentle, but it was never for me.
I worked myself to the bone studying. I was always first in the whole school. I put my awards where everyone could see them.
When my dad walked by, he didn't even look at them. He just tore them down and tossed them straight into the trash.
"Noelle could beat you without even trying. You're nothing but bad luck," he said.
I tried learning how to cook, hoping they'd like me.
But my mom took one bite and spat it right onto the floor.
"Disgusting. Just like you," she said.
Then I got sick, burning with a fever of 103.6°F.
I curled up on the couch, shaking all over and calling out to them.
"Dad... Mom... I feel awful," I croaked.
My mom was in Noelle's room, humming as if she hadn't heard me.
My dad looked at me coldly from the dining table.
"Stop acting. You're not dying," he sneered.
That night, I leaned against the wall and dragged myself to the community hospital. I registered myself and went to get the injection on my own.
The cold IV drip ran through my veins, and I didn't even cry.
My heart had already gone numb. I was out of tears.
I didn't understand it. They used to love me.
When I was little, my dad would toss me in the air. My mom used to kiss my forehead.
How could an earthquake rip all of that apart?
Why did they choose to love one daughter and hate the other?
I curled up in that freezing hospital chair, staring out at the city lights. Not a single one felt like it was shining for me.
From that night on, I stopped fighting.
I stopped wishing for their love. I stopped hoping they'd remember who I used to be.
I turned into a quiet shadow drifting through that house.
They couldn't see me, and I couldn't see them.
We were three strangers living under the same roof, and the only thing tying us together was Noelle.