Goodbye, My Dear Sister

Synopsis

I grew up in a funeral home. My father was a funeral director while my mother was a professional mourner. From a young age, I had already mastered the ropes of my parents' careers. I could shed tears on cue with such authenticity that no one could hold a candle to me. While other girls sang and danced on stage, I was in charge of weeping at various funerals. In between tears, I could tell at a glance who the truly filial descendants were. When other girls were grieving for their departed ones, I was laughing all the way to the bank due to the big bonus I received from the bereaved family. I had yet to encounter any occasion that I could truly cry my lungs out until I turned 16. That was when my biological parents showed up in their gleaming Bentley. The attractive, stylish mother held me and wept piteously, but her other arm was still wrapped around that frail-looking impostor daughter. "Yvy, this is your younger sister, Lili. She has a delicate constitution, so you have to be more accommodating toward her, alright?" That very night at the dinner table, this sister suddenly clutched her chest and collapsed squarely on the bowl of soup I was about to hand to her. As the whole family screamed in shock and panic, I fell on my knees and wailed so loudly that my cries drowned out the sirens of the ambulance. "Oh, Liliane! Why did you leave us so soon? It's all my fault! I shouldn't have returned to this home. I must have jinxed you!" As I wept, I took out three white candles and set them up with practiced ease. "Dad, Mom, don't just stand there. Pick a burial plot quickly. Liliane passed away so suddenly. We need to give her a grand send-off!"