Death of a Fool

Beyond the gasps and audible comments of pity, an inconsolable weeping can be heard.

A young lady, looking at most in her early adulthood, stood within her mother's embrace, listening to her coaxing words. Her eyes were already swollen but her tears continued to flow.

"Sister. Sister "

She wept pitifully. Even the bystanders felt distressed when seeing such a heartbreaking scene. The young lady's family was even more so.

" Min Min, my pitiful baby." said the middle-aged woman as she tried to console her child.

The middle-aged man on the other side just sighed, looked at the center of the commotion, and shook his head in regret.

" She's gone. No need to break your heart over it, my child."

He then looked at the pair of young men standing side by side, near his daughter.

Perceiving the signal given by his father, Myun simply nodded, looked at the man beside him, and uttered

" Let's go."

The young man didn't even lift his head but continued to look at Min, feeling distressed in his heart. He followed Myun to the center of the street and dealt with the aftermath of the accident.

Lying in the center is a young woman. She has exquisite facial features and her snow-white skin is accentuated by her fairy-type black dress. If it weren't for the blood around her, one would feel like she has only fallen asleep or currently in the middle of scene recording.

Such a shame that she is already dead.

" She suddenly ran during a green light and was obviously distracted." Witness one said.

" I actually saw her stop in the middle then looked somewhere. I thought she was going to the center aisle and wait but no, she just stood there like a lunatic." Witness 2 uttered.

" If she wanted to die, she shouldn't drag innocent people in it. Just look at the driver! He looked traumatized!" Witness 3 said in indignation. Clearly pissed at how inconsiderate this suicidal woman was.

Words of pity and criticism continued to brew as they wait for the arrival of the ambulance. The corpse of the lady was left there for everyone to see and became a topic for gossip mongers. The two young men didn't even bat an eye at her, just simply stood on each side. They only warned the crowd not to take pictures. Deep inside, they felt annoyed as to how such a joyous day leads to such a cumbersome moment.

The annoyance that flashed in their eyes didn't escape from someone's eyes. She stood within the crowd, witnessing every single thing that is happening. The annoyed older brother, the apathetic fiance, the not-so-caring parents, and the sly smile the weeping girl hid within the embrace of her biological parents.

The young lady stood there unmoving and gave a wry smile.

" I was a fool. "

Looking at her bloody self lying on the road, she couldn't help but reminisce about the 5 years she spent in her new home. Her supposedly real home.

Five years ago, they found her. It turned out that Min and she have been switched at birth. Min lived in a well-off manner, bathe in affection all year long while she was in a sorry state. Her adopted parents may not be rich but they treated her as their own daughter. Pity that when she was 6 years old, her parents met in an accident and left her forever. Her custody was then transferred to her aunt, her mother's sister, and also the remaining relative she has. Living with a single mother of 3 children was still all right at the beginning but as time went on, financial problems strained the once harmonious relationship.

It was then that they looked for her whereabouts.

Myun inherited a liver disorder that prompted a liver transplant and the best candidate for that is his sibling, Min. However, during cross-matching, they found out that they are not related at all. That leads them to investigate the real daughter, found her, and returned her to their family.

The naive her was ecstatic that day. She thought that she could finally feel the warmth of a family again. She actually has a mom, dad, an older brother, and a sister of the same age. She felt so happy, so excited that she failed to see the subtle signs that she was actually unwanted. That she was just a necessity to save their son. She couldn't see beyond the facade of warm affection they showered her nor did she realize that the sweet sister she adored was so sinister.

Suddenly, the sound of a siren woke her from her reverie.

Her body was taken and the crowd finally dispersed. However, she stood there unmoving, watching the responsible personnel in cleaning the aftermath.

" Sis, please don't cry anymore."

Myun's voice caught her attention.

She raised her head and gazed at her family.

" I just can't believe that sister is gone. Today is our 18th birthday. How can she leave us? I don't understand how this could happen." Min's weak voice trembled and her red puffy eyes continue to shed tears. If a beautiful lady clad in a white fairy-like dress, weeps so pitifully like that, it can really tug anyone's heartstrings.

[Sister is really an amazing actress. ] she thought.

Within the efforts of everyone trying to cheer Min, her fiancé suddenly leaned toward her and whispered something. She was distracted by the glint of happiness in Min's eyes she couldn't even catch what her fiancé said. Her fists clenched unknowingly.

Then Min finally stopped weeping and a small, pure smile bloomed on her face. Her family seemed to be relieved that their treasure was finally coaxed. They were all smiling.

[Why?]

[Are they so happy that I am finally dead?]

She closed her eyes feeling exhausted.

She is already dead anyway. What's the use of feeling angry? Feeling wronged? Feeling so unfair?

They are so happy as they live, should she continue to grieve even in death?

She walked to the spot where she died. Though the concrete road is wet, it is already devoid of blood. She lay there not knowing what to do. Finally, she decided to close her eyes to pray that she reincarnated earlier and rid her of her pain but to her disappointment, the smiling faces of her so-called- family kept showing in her head. Those happy faces they showed earlier were the same as what they welcomed her 5 years ago.

(drip)

(drip)

Realizing that she has been crying, she can't help but laugh.

[ I am already dead so how come I can still shed tears?]

She sighed.

[ Well at least they tolerated my existence for 5 years. It must be hard for them to keep it all in. Mom and Dad definitely did their best, I should understa- ] then she stopped, placed her arm on her forehead.

[ I'm doing it again huh. Habits really die hard. ]

She then smiled wryly.

[She was right.] She thought.

[My kindness is just stupidity and such stupidity really killed me. ]