Chapter 3

My scream brought the neighbors running. Natalie pretended she knew nothing and rushed me to the hospital, sobbing that she hadn't watched her son carefully enough.

By the time my parents arrived, I was barely hanging on, my fingers twitching as I kept pointing at Ethan. But my mom turned her face away and signed the DNR form without hesitation.

Ethan wasn't even fourteen, so he faced no charges.

Thinking about all this now, I hid behind the courtyard wall and watched Ethan stuffing firecrackers into the manhole again.

The explosion went off like thunder. Winters in the north put tremendous pressure on the heating pipes, and the blast ripped a huge hole in the ground.

Boiling water burst up like a fountain, flooding the crater and turning it into a steaming pool.

The steam hit the freezing air and turned instantly into thick fog. People rushed out to see what was going on.

No one noticed the round, chubby figure that had shot into the air with the blast and then dropped straight into the boiling water.

"Whoa, what happened? Did the ground just cave in?" someone shouted.

"Holy crap, the hot water pipes exploded! This is nuts. Damn, my windows got blown out," another person yelled.

"Call it in! If the heat stops in winter we'll freeze. Don't get close, the water's way too hot. If you fall in, you're done. Wait… is that a kid in there?"

Gabriel ran out with a pole and started pulling something out from the fog.

A shape bloated by a soaked down jacket gradually surfaced, face-down in the steaming water, not moving. Gabriel nearly jumped out of his skin.

He slapped his thigh and shouted, "Good lord, whose kid fell in and got boiled alive?!"

Gabriel's voice was loud, and the explosion had already drawn half the street out of their homes.

My parents, professional gossip-lovers, joined the crowd too. The fog was too thick for them to see what was going on.

"Is there really a kid in there?" my mom perked up instantly, leaning in for details.

My mom was always the first to dive into any commotion, and she loved bragging about the juiciest gossip to friends and family. She grabbed a neighbor and excitedly asked what happened.

I stood in the back courtyard of the café, watching her play curious bystander, and shook my head. Keep asking, Mom. In a moment, the answer was going to land right on you.

The neighbors were all talking at once. "No idea. Gabriel swears a kid really fell in. Right before New Year too. The parents are gonna cry their eyes out."

My mom clicked her tongue. "Where were the parents? I swear, young people today don't watch their kids. Always glued to their phones. Something happens and then they start regretting it."

Hazel Avery jumped in, "Totally. Just a few days ago, someone wasn't watching their kid and the kid got pulled into the ocean.

"I swear, parents these days are nothing like we were. Back then I watched kids with the belt tied right to my waist. I didn't dare look away for a second."

My dad edged over to them, clicking his tongue. "So sad. A kid that age, gone just like that, boiled to death. Hard to enjoy the New Year now. And a boy, too. Bet they tried forever to have him.

"Whole family must've been blind not to watch one kid. And if you ask me, that child must've had bad luck. Born with a short life. I mean, what kind of death is that anyway? By the way, where's our grandson?"

My mom jerked her chin toward the shop. "Over there. Getting a drink."

My dad caught a glimpse of a kid in a puffy coat squatting inside the shop, butt sticking out, and didn't think much of it. He kept craning his neck toward the crowd again.

Hazel, who always liked sticking her nose in everything, suddenly put on this smug tone. "You two still let your kid drink that stuff?

"My oldest granddaughter never touches junk food. I don't even let her try fast food. Food these days is full of additives. Nothing out there is as safe as homemade. And your grandson is already chubby enough."

My dad snapped right away. "Who are you calling chubby? My grandson's round and healthy. That's a blessing, okay?

"Your granddaughter looks like a skinny monkey and you call that healthy? You're just jealous we have a grandson.

"Everyone knows your daughter-in-law won't have a second kid no matter what. Your family's about to end the bloodline."