- 12 hours ago
Provoking A Billionaire Tyrant
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I was born a liar. That's the label my mom gave me. It all started because my mom, a firm
00:06believer in scientific parenting, put honesty necklaces on me and my twin sister the day we were born. Whenever you
00:12lied, the pendant on the necklace would glow red, and mom would press a remote to send an electric current
00:17as punishment. My sister's necklace was always green, even when she cut mom's dress and blamed it on the cat.
00:24The necklace just blinked gently with a green light. But me? Just saying-
00:29Mom, I'm hungry.
00:30Would make my necklace flash red instantly, followed by a jolt of electricity straight to my skin. At first, I
00:37tried to defend myself. But mom said,
00:40Machines don't lie. The pain will teach you a lesson. Mom's doing this for your own good.
00:45After thousands of electric shocks, I started to believe it too. Maybe I really was born a liar. On New
00:51Year's Eve, mom was taking my sister to see the fireworks. A sharp pain tore through my stomach. I curled
00:57up on the floor, begging.
00:59Mom, my stomach hurts so bad. Please help me.
01:03But my necklace flashed red like crazy. Mom looked down at me, drenched in sweat, and turned the current to
01:09Max.
01:09You're faking sick just to come with us to the fireworks? You're hopeless.
01:13She turned and walked out the door with my sister. I couldn't help but think, Mom must be right. The
01:19necklace is red, so I must not really be in pain.
01:21I'm just lying for attention again. I'm sorry, Mom. In my next life, I'll learn to be an honest kid.
01:28It hurts so much. It hurts so much.
01:35Mom was back. Mom's a doctor. She must have realized something was wrong. She came to save me.
01:41Are you done yet? The fireworks are about to start, and Jenny's getting impatient.
01:45Mom! Mom, it really hurts. It feels like my intestines are twisting.
01:52How long are you going to keep this up? You're such a liar. You can just stay home and reflect
01:59on yourself.
02:00Honey, come on. Hurry up. The fireworks show is about to start. If she don't want to go, fine. Should
02:05we save her some food?
02:06Save her food? She has a bunch of snacks in her closet, which she buy with the money she stole
02:10last time.
02:11She won't starve. Lock the door. We'll let her out. Only her necklace turns green.
02:15But what? Spare the rod and spoil the child. Look how honest Jenny is. Her necklace is always green.
02:23Stella's just a bad egg, and she needs to be corrected.
02:26But my closet was empty. That time, my sister took the money. She ate all the snacks, too.
02:33My sister just stood there, her necklace glowing soft green.
02:36I know one of you took the money. Who did it?
02:39It wasn't me.
02:41And mom believed her.
02:42When I tried to say I didn't take it either, my necklace turned red, and I got another shock.
02:47No, mommy! I did it!
02:56Bye-bye, sister. We're going to see the pretty fireworks.
03:17Tears streaming down my face. I hypnotized myself. I don't know how long passed. It didn't hurt quite as much
03:24anymore.
03:24With my last bit of strength, I crawled to my desk. I had to write a self-criticism. That was
03:30the rule.
03:31Whenever the red light came on, I had to write a thousand words of I am a liar.
03:35My hands shaking. I opened that crumpled, worn-out diary.
03:39It was filled with self-criticisms from before. But this time, I wanted to write the truth.
03:44Mom, I really love you. It really hurts so much. Why won't you believe me?
03:51Mom, please just believe me. Just once.
03:55Everything was getting blurry. Tears streaming. I used my last bit of strength to write.
04:00After I wrote the last word, the sharp pain in my stomach suddenly vanished.
04:04In its place was a lightness I'd never felt before. My body grew light.
04:08I floated up. I looked down and saw myself slumped over the desk.
04:12My hand hanging limply in the air. On my neck, the necklace was still blinking red like crazy.
04:17So this is what it's like to die? I still haven't learned to be an honest kid.
04:24I'm sorry, Mom.
04:26I was woken up by laughter. It was Mom, Dad, and my sister. Mom's voice held a tenderness I'd never
04:32heard before. I floated in midair, watching the front door open. Even though I was a soul now,
04:37I instinctively floated over to greet them, wanting to get their slippers like I always did.
04:42It was a habit carved into my bones, the need to please.
04:45Mom, I'm not in pain anymore. I'll be good. Please don't be mad.
04:53I opened my arms, wanting to hug the woman still carrying the winter chill.
04:57But my hands passed right through her, like wind through nothing.
05:00Why is it so cold in here? Is the heater off?
05:03I froze, staring at my own transparent hands.
05:06Yeah, I'm dead. Dead people can't hug the living.
05:12Go check on Stella. She hasn't come out to eat. Maybe she's really hungry.
05:16Good old Dad. I looked hopefully at Mom. If she found out I was dead, would she be sad? Would
05:22she
05:22regret it? Mom snorted and walked toward my room.
05:27She pushed my door open. She didn't turn on the light. In the glow from the living room,
05:32she saw me slumped over the desk, not moving, like I was asleep.
05:36Oh, still lying there? You think lying that will make me carry you to bed?
05:44Stella, you're ten years old, not five.
05:46Mom! I'm not pretending to sleep! I'm dead! Look at me! Touch me! I'm cold!
05:57But she couldn't hear me. She only believed what she could see.
06:03Sister's a big sleepyhead. Look, my necklace is green, but Sister's is still red.
06:09Sister's always lying. She's even lying in her dreams.
06:15Our Jenny's such a good girl. Don't mind this liar. Let her lie there. See how long she can keep
06:23it up.
06:23Maybe we should put her in bed. It's cold out.
06:26Put her in bed? The experts in scientific parenting say you have to be cold in moments like this.
06:31She has to realize her own mistake. Look at that red light. It means her mental state is still
06:37extreme resistance. She hasn't repented at all. All right, time for bed. We're going to Grandma's
06:42tomorrow for New Year's. Mom turned sharply and closed the door again. I floated beside my body,
06:49staring at that single point of red light in the darkness. The sadness in my heart was colder than
06:54death itself. Mom. If you had taken just one step closer. If you had just touched my hand you would
07:00have known I was dead. But you didn't. You only believed that cold, lifeless machine. Not the
07:06daughter you carried for ten months. Late at night, a mouse crept out of my empty closet.
07:11I used to be terrified of mice. I'd scream every time I saw one. But now, I could only float
07:18on the
07:18ceiling. Watching it crawl all over my body, I whispered weakly. But no sound came out. The mouse
07:23spit through my toe. A little blackish purple blood oozed out. I couldn't feel it anymore. Good. It
07:30finally didn't hurt. I said to the pitiful shell below me. It's okay. You can't feel it anymore.
07:37It'll be over soon. The next morning, sunlight fell on my body, but it brought no warmth. From the
07:44kitchen came the clatter of pots and pans. Mom was making breakfast. The smell of fried eggs drifted
07:49through the crack in my door. Usually, that was the smell I craved most. But all I ever got was
07:55boiled vegetables. Because mom said, liars didn't deserve meat. Today, she banged the spatula extra
08:02loud on purpose. I knew what she was doing. She was trying to tempt me. She wanted me to give
08:08in,
08:09come out, and admit I was wrong. If this were before, maybe I would have confessed to
08:14things I didn't do. Just for one fried egg. But now, I didn't need to eat anymore.
08:20Stella still hasn't come out? Nope. Stubborn as a mule. Spoiled brat. Fine. Don't eat. See if I care.
08:31My sister drank her milk, her eyes darting around. She ran up to my door on purpose and took a
08:36big sniff.
08:37Then, with a dramatic yell. Mom! What? Sister's room stinks. Did she poop in there?
08:45The heater was too strong. After just one night, I was starting to smell. Mom would hate me even more.
08:56Stella! The bathroom's right there! Did your legs break? You actually pooped in your room?
09:02Mom? You're hopeless! You'd rather lose all self-respect than admit you're wrong?
09:07I remembered once, when I was little. I had acute gastroenteritis. I couldn't make it to the bathroom
09:14and messed up my pants. Mom not only refused to wash me, she made me stand in the yard as
09:19a punishment.
09:20She pointed at me and told the neighbors I was as dirty as a pig. Now, she thought I was
09:24dirty again.
09:25Leave her alone! Let her sit in her own stink! Let it choke her!
09:29The smell's pretty strong. Let me check it out. Maybe there's a dead mouse or something.
09:34Dad stood up and walked toward my door. My heart leaped.
09:38Dad! Open the door! Look at me! I'm right here!
09:43Just turn the handle! And you'll see I'm not moving! You'll see my face! Already turning black!
09:52What? The server crashed?
09:55Okay, okay. I'm coming right now. Honey, emergency at work. I gotta go. Might not be back for a few
10:00days.
10:01But what about Stella?
10:03Mom didn't even finish before Dad slammed the door shut behind him. I was stunned. So close.
10:09Just one second. If that call had come a moment later, I'd have been found.
10:13Maybe then I wouldn't have to rot any longer.
10:15That afternoon, Mom took my sister out shopping. The house was empty except for my body. At night,
10:22they came back loaded with fancy seafood and gifts. The smell hit them the second they walked in.
10:27Mom covered her nose, even gagging.
10:31Stella! Does this place have to look like a lamb stilt?
10:34She wouldn't even open the door to yell at me, like looking at that room would somehow dirty her eyes.
10:39She grabbed wide packing tape, crouched down, and viciously sealed the bottom crack of my door.
10:44You like the smell so much? Fine! Rot in there by yourself! Just don't let it stink up the rest
10:50of us!
10:57Ah, peace and quiet.
10:59I stared at that sealed door. The last bit of hope in my heart suffocated along with the tape.
11:04Turns out, in Mom's heart, my life or death mattered less than a fancy seafood dinner.
11:09She'd rather seal me and then look to see if I'd died in there.
11:12Mom, you win.
11:18I'll never bother you again.
11:24The third morning, winter sunlight streamed into the living room,
11:28but it couldn't dispel the gloom hanging over the house.
11:30The underfloor heating was cranked up.
11:3226 degrees.
11:34The tape couldn't hold back the smell anymore.
11:36It was a nauseating, greasy stench of decay.
11:39Mom was trimming freshly bought flowers,
11:41but no amount of floral scent could cover the reek of death.
11:44Mom cut a rose viciously,
11:46the thorns piercing her hand.
11:48She'd finally had enough.
11:49In her mind, I hadn't bathed.
11:52I'd pooped in my room.
11:53I'd probably hidden a dead mouse in there,
11:55all just to spite her, to defy her authority.
11:58Stella, you've gone too far.
12:00If you don't repent, I won't let you off easily.
12:03It seems that gentle reminders don't work for you.
12:06I must use hard ARBAP to teach you Jelfitwin.
12:09I floated in front of Mom,
12:10watching her twisted face,
12:12waving my arms desperately.
12:14Even though she didn't love me,
12:15I didn't want her to see me like that.
12:17But she passed right through me.
12:19I'm ugly!
12:20I'm rotten!
12:22You'll be scared!
12:33Stella!
12:34What have you done?
12:38She looked up and saw me,
12:40still slumped over the desk just like three days ago,
12:43my back to her,
12:44not moving.
12:45To her, it was silent defiance.
12:47The ultimate disrespect.
12:49I'm talking to you!
12:50You hear me?
12:51Still playing dead?
12:53Blind with rage,
12:54Mom charged in,
12:55raising the rolling pin.
12:56But she didn't strike.
12:57She wanted to grab me first,
12:59to see my defiant face.
13:01Her hand grabbed the back of my collar,
13:02touched the skin of my neck.
13:04Then she froze.
13:05No warmth of life at all.
13:07She blinked.
13:08But inertia kept her pulling.
13:10My body fell backward.
13:11Chair and all crashed to the floor.
13:13The chair slammed against the ground.
13:15My body,
13:16stiff as a statue,
13:18toppled over.
13:19My face was finally visible.
13:22It wasn't the shy little girl she knew anymore.
13:25My face was purple black,
13:27my eyes bulging.
13:28My features twisted from the death throes.
13:31Dried white foam and black red blood caked at the corners of my mouth.
13:34And around my blackened neck,
13:36pressed against the rotting flesh.
13:38That honesty necklace Mom was so proud of.
13:41Hanging there,
13:42lifeless.
13:43The skin on my neck was burnt black by the constant current,
13:47hues with the metal pendant.
13:48No more red light.
13:50No more green light.
13:51Just dead silence.
13:53Thump.
13:54A soft sound.
13:55The diary that had been pinned under my arm slid out as my body fell.
13:59It landed at Mom's feet.
14:01Open.
14:02Facing her.
14:03On that page,
14:05crooked handwriting stabbed into her eyes like knives.
14:07Mom,
14:08my stomach really hurts.
14:10The necklace is broken.
14:11I'm not lying.
14:13Please don't shock me.
14:16Mom stumbled back,
14:18her lower back slamming into the bookshelf behind her.
14:21Faces shattered on the floor,
14:23but she didn't feel the pain.
14:25Her eyes were wide,
14:26fixed on me on the ground.
14:31No.
14:33It's a trick.
14:35Make up special effects.
14:36Stella,
14:37get up.
14:37Mom's not mad anymore.
14:39Don't scare me.
14:41That feeling,
14:43it was too real.
14:44It was the temperature of death.
14:48Aunt Shelly called the police.
14:50She'd come running at Mom's screams and collapsed at the door when she saw the scene.
14:54Sirens soon filled the neighborhood.
14:56Police came.
14:57Forensics came.
14:58Yellow tape went up.
15:00I watched them come and go,
15:01watched flashlights flicker over my body.
15:03Mom was pulled onto the living room sofa by a female officer.
15:07Officer,
15:07she was faking sick.
15:10She's lied since she was little.
15:12The necklace was red.
15:13Machines don't lie.
15:14I was just disciplining her.
15:16I did it for her own good.
15:18No one listened.
15:19Everyone looked at her like she was a monster.
15:22When the coroner moved my body,
15:24they ran into a problem.
15:25The necklace,
15:26because of the prolonged high voltage current,
15:28the heat had fused the metal to my skin,
15:31like it had grown into my flesh.
15:33Damn it.
15:34He had to get tools.
15:36Force the necklace off.
15:38Rip.
15:38The sound of skin tearing.
15:40An officer picked up the diary from the floor.
15:43Wearing gloves,
15:44he flipped through it.
15:46His face grew darker and darker.
15:48Mom stared at that diary,
15:50eyes locked on it.
15:51Suddenly,
15:52she lunged like a mad woman,
15:54trying to grab it.
15:54That's her self-criticism.
15:56She admitted it.
15:57She admitted.
15:57She lied.
15:58Look,
15:58she wrote it.
15:59We'll find out if she lie.
16:01That's when dad arrived.
16:02He saw the black body bag being carried out.
16:05That long zipper,
16:06sealing my whole life shut.
16:08Dad's legs gave out.
16:10He collapsed on the spot,
16:11wetting himself.
16:12My little sister was crying,
16:14terrified.
16:15She didn't understand what was happening.
16:17She just pointed at the blood-stained necklace on the table and asked,
16:21Mom,
16:22why is sister's necklace black?
16:24Mine's still green.
16:26She held up the pendant on her neck.
16:28The green light blinked innocently.
16:30Like a giant,
16:31cruel joke,
16:32the police started a temporary inquiry in the living room.
16:36Mom clutched at her last straw.
16:38She pointed at the bloody necklace,
16:40her voice shrill.
16:41Officers,
16:42check that necklace.
16:43That necklace proved she was lying.
16:46Red means lying.
16:47I only shocked her when it was red.
16:49I didn't abuse her.
16:51The machine showed it.
16:52I was just disciplining her.
16:54The officer frowned at her like she was insane.
16:56Ma'am,
16:57the deceased has multiple old electrical burns.
17:00That was discipline.
17:01Education.
17:02Mom screamed,
17:03cutting him off.
17:04To prove she was innocent.
17:06To prove she wasn't a murderer.
17:09She made a crazy demand.
17:11She lunged for the table,
17:12grabbing the necklace still covered in my flesh and blood.
17:15Ignoring the gore.
17:16Hands shaking,
17:17she forced it onto her own neck.
17:20I'll prove it.
17:22I'm innocent.
17:23As long as it's green,
17:25it means I'm telling the truth.
17:26She clicked the necklace around her own neck.
17:29Click.
17:30It locked.
17:31The cold metal touched her skin,
17:33sticky with my blood.
17:34Mom took a deep breath,
17:36trying to calm herself.
17:37She held up the pendant for the officers to see,
17:40her eyes wild with certainty.
17:42Watch closely.
17:43I'm Clara.
17:44I'm Stella's mother.
17:46That was the truth.
17:48Absolutely true.
17:50But...
17:54A piercing shriek erupted.
17:57The dormant red light blazed to life.
17:59Red as blood.
18:00Red as evil.
18:01In the dim living room,
18:02it was like a bloodshot eye snapping open.
18:04Mom froze.
18:06The confident expression on her face locked in place.
18:08She slapped the pendant,
18:10like fixing a glitching TV.
18:12What's wrong?
18:13It's broken?
18:15I told the truth!
18:16I'm Clara!
18:18Panic crept into her voice,
18:19her words tumbling out faster.
18:21It must be broken.
18:22That coroner broke it.
18:24Let me try again.
18:25One more time.
18:26It didn't abuse my child.
18:27I did it for her own good.
18:29I love her.
18:30The red light flashed even faster,
18:33a continuous strobe of red.
18:34Sensing her extreme heart rate,
18:36the necklace automatically released the leaf current.
18:39Mom jolted,
18:40her neck spasming,
18:41hands flying to her throat as she doubled over.
18:44It hurt.
18:45Even that tiny current made her neck cramp,
18:47goosebumps rising over her skin.
18:49And suddenly she remembered.
18:51Ten years old.
18:53Me.
18:53The current at maximum.
18:55Curled on the floor,
18:57biting through my lip,
18:58afraid to even cry out.
19:00So this is what it felt like.
19:02Mom completely lost it.
19:04She screamed at the necklace,
19:06spittle flying.
19:07Why is it red?
19:08Why?
19:09I'm telling the truth!
19:10Why?
19:11I'm telling the truth!
19:12Turn green!
19:13No matter how she screamed,
19:15the red light kept flashing.
19:17Mocking her silently,
19:18you're a liar.
19:20You're a liar.
19:21Enough.
19:22Stopping doesn't detect lies.
19:24He grabbed the instruction manual found during the search
19:27and slammed it on the coffee table.
19:29Just a simple galvanic skin response and heart rate monitor.
19:31It works like this.
19:33When you're nervous, anxious, scared, or in pain,
19:35your heart rate goes up,
19:37your galvanic skin response increases,
19:38and the light turns red.
19:40Right now, you're terrified, anxious, tachycardic.
19:42Of course it's all red.
19:44He stepped closer to Mom.
19:45Your daughter had a perforated appendix.
19:48She was writhling on the floor in agony,
19:51the pain of internal perforation.
19:54How fast do you think her heart was beating?
19:56How terrified was she?
19:57In your eyes, the more it hurt,
19:59the faster her heart raced,
20:01the brighter the red light.
20:03And you thought that meant she was lying harder,
20:05so you cranked up the current.
20:36Your younger daughter-less has been set to green
20:36afraid Mom would be mad,
20:38afraid of being misunderstood,
20:39afraid of the food I hated on the table.
20:42I was in pain.
20:43Pain made my heart race,
20:45made me sweat with fear.
20:46I was longing,
20:48longing for her hug,
20:49longing for her to hold me like she held my sister.
20:52Every signal of a beating heart,
20:54she'd read as evidence of a lie.
20:56A wail erupted from Mom.
20:58She clawed at the necklace around her neck.
21:03But the necklace's clasp,
21:05damaged by her violent struggle earlier,
21:07was jammed,
21:09stuck tight around her neck.
21:10She couldn't pry it off.
21:12Can't get it off.
21:13Can't get it off.
21:14Stella,
21:16take the necklace.
21:17Mommy was wrong.
21:18It hurts.
21:20Can't handle this little bit of pain, Mom?
21:22I took it for 10 years
21:24to confirm the details of the abuse
21:26and build the case.
21:28The police opened the diary,
21:30the key piece of evidence,
21:31in front of Mom and Dad.
21:33That diary I'd kept for 10 years,
21:35filled with humiliation and blood and tears.
21:37The female officer's voice was soft,
21:39but every word cut deep.
21:41February 14th,
21:42Sunny.
21:43Mom gave me celery.
21:44I'm allergic to celery.
21:46It makes my throat swell up.
21:48I can't breathe.
21:49I said I didn't want it,
21:51that it would make me sick.
21:52Because I was scared of making Mom mad.
21:55My heart was racing.
21:56The red light came on.
21:58Mom said I was a picky eater and a liar,
22:00and made me eat the whole plate.
22:02That night,
22:03I coughed up blood.
22:04My throat burned like fire.
22:06Mom saw it and said I drank tomato juice
22:09and was faking it.
22:10She shocked me for another 10 minutes.
22:11Mom covered her mouth,
22:13her whole body shaking violently.
22:15That night,
22:16she really had thought it was tomato juice.
22:18She hadn't even looked closely at my vomit
22:21before turning away to tell my sister a story.
22:23It was blood.
22:24Blood from a throat swollen and torn.
22:27The officer turned the page and continued.
22:29June 1st.
22:31Children's Day.
22:32Sister cut Mom's dress.
22:33Sister's heartbeat was slow.
22:35Her necklace was green.
22:36I tried to explain,
22:38because I was scared of getting hit.
22:40All red lights.
22:41Mom shocked me for 10 minutes.
22:43Current at level 5.
22:45It hurt so much,
22:46but I didn't dare cry.
22:47Because if I cried,
22:49my heart would race faster,
22:50and Mom would think I was defiant,
22:52and shock me harder.
22:53I had to hold my breath.
22:55Pretend it didn't hurt.
22:57Mom said,
22:58see,
22:58she's not even screaming.
23:00That means it doesn't hurt.
23:02She's faking.
23:04Dad couldn't take it anymore.
23:06This man,
23:06invisible in this family for so long,
23:09who turned a blind eye to my suffering,
23:11who just wanted peace and quiet.
23:12He lunged forward.
23:14Slap.
23:15You monster!
23:18You monster!
23:20Look what you've done!
23:22That was your own daughter!
23:24You raised her like an animal!
23:26Mom's mouth bled.
23:28She fell to the floor,
23:29but she didn't fight back.
23:31She didn't cry.
23:33She just stared blankly,
23:35muttering,
23:35not me.
23:36It wasn't my fault.
23:39Suddenly,
23:39she pointed at my sister,
23:41cowering in the corner.
23:43It was her!
23:44Jenny!
23:45Sister's necklace was always green!
23:47Sister was the honest one!
23:49She misled me!
23:50If it weren't for that green light,
23:52I wouldn't have trusted the red one so much!
23:55The little princess
23:56who'd always been cherished.
23:58An officer walked over.
24:00He unclasped the green necklace
24:02from my sister's neck.
24:03Got a screwdriver.
24:05Pride opened the pendant.
24:10There were no complex sensor chips.
24:13No heart rate monitor.
24:15Just two cheap LEDs
24:16and a few button batteries.
24:18The circuit was hardwired.
24:20Permanently set to green.
24:22This is a $2 plastic toy.
24:25The officer tossed the broken pieces
24:26onto the table with a clatter.
24:28Your younger daughter-less
24:29has been set to green
24:30since it left the factory.
24:32No matter what she says or does,
24:34even if she murders someone,
24:36it stays green.
24:37Your scientific parenting?
24:39It's a complete, biased joke.
24:42Mom stared at the plastic fragments.
24:44The truth she'd believed for 10 years.
24:47The evidence that had sentenced me to death.
24:49Just a toy.
24:51A toy controlled my fate for 10 years?
24:53A game where only I was in hell
24:55and my sister in heaven?
24:57So I wasn't a liar.
24:58I wasn't a bad kid.
25:00What were all those years of suffering for?
25:03I laughed.
25:04And as I laughed, I cried.
25:07Turns out, souls can cry too.
25:09The last page of the diary was opened.
25:12The female officer's voice cracked.
25:14The handwriting is shaky.
25:16Probably written right before she died.
25:18Mom, if I die, will the necklace stop glowing?
25:21Will you hold me then?
25:22I wasn't lying.
25:23My stomach hurts so bad
25:25like a knife twisting inside.
25:27Ma, in my next life,
25:29please don't make me wear a necklace.
25:31I'm begging you.
25:32I just want to be a normal kid.
25:33I want to eat the braid pork you make.
25:36Mom stared at the pile of plastic junk.
25:39The honest green light she trusted so blindly.
25:41Just a cheap toy.
25:43Because of it,
25:44she doted on my sister for 10 years.
25:46Because of that damned red light,
25:48she tortured me for 10 years.
25:52Fake.
25:53It's all fake.
25:55I killed my most honest child
25:57and raised a liar.
25:59My death became a city-wide sensation.
26:01Aunt Shelly, our neighbor,
26:03was a kind soul but a big mouth.
26:05She posted everything she'd seen online.
26:07The headline was shocking.
26:08Girl electrocuted by pseudoscience honesty necklace.
26:11The article detailed my corpse's condition
26:13and the necklace fused into my flesh.
26:15It exploded.
26:16Online fury ignited instantly.
26:19Mom's personal information was doxxed.
26:21Electrocution demon.
26:23Murderer.
26:24She doesn't deserve to be a mom.
26:26Insults rained down like snow.
26:28Our front door was splashed with red paint,
26:30scrawled with the word death.
26:32Dad was also taken in for investigation,
26:34failure to prevent abuse,
26:36neglect of parental duties.
26:37Though he wasn't heavily sentenced
26:39due to lack of direct involvement,
26:40he lost his job.
26:42His reputation was ruined.
26:43His company fired him immediately
26:45to avoid association.
26:47The family went bankrupt.
26:49Pay compensation and legal fees,
26:51the house and car were sold.
26:53Dad couldn't handle the madwoman anymore.
26:55He took what little money was left
26:57and left with my sister.
26:58Even if my sister was a bad seed,
27:00she was still his only remaining child.
27:03Before leaving,
27:04my sister tried to take the green necklace.
27:06Dad crushed it under his foot.
27:08What the hell do you need that piece of junk for?
27:11My sister left, crying.
27:13Mom was released on bail-pumping trial.
27:16Psychological evaluation showed
27:17severe schizophrenia and PTSD.
27:19She was left in that rented room,
27:21filled with the memory of my stench.
27:25Completely isolated,
27:26her mental state deteriorated.
27:29She always felt I was still in the house.
27:31That red necklace,
27:32she refused to take it off.
27:34In fact,
27:35she became dependent on it.
27:37Because she found that wearing it,
27:39feeling that faint stain,
27:40eased her guilt just a little.
27:42It was her own self-inflicted punishment.
27:44I floated in the room,
27:46watching her daily descent into madness.
27:48She'd cook a whole table of food,
27:50calling out to empty air.
27:51Stella, dinner's ready.
27:53No celery today.
27:54All braised pork, your favorite.
27:56Then she'd pick up a piece of meat,
27:58hands shaking.
27:59From anxiety,
28:00the necklace turned red.
28:02She'd laugh,
28:03a nervous laugh.
28:04I heard it's racing.
28:05Mommy's lying.
28:08Mommy doesn't deserve to eat.
28:11Liars must be punished.
28:13She'd put down her chopsticks,
28:15pick up the remote,
28:16point it at her own neck.
28:18Even though the battery was nearly dead,
28:21she'd found new ones somewhere.
28:22The strong current make her convulse,
28:24foam at the mouth,
28:25and it'll look at the remote across her face.
28:37It hurts.
28:38It hurts just like,
28:40was this how much it hurt for Stella?
28:42I'm sorry,
28:43Mommy,
28:44taste it now.
28:44She started punishing herself
28:46according to my diary entries.
28:48I was shocked for refusing celery,
28:50so she forced herself to eat rotten food.
28:52Until she vomited blood,
28:53she forced it down.
28:55I was locked in my room,
28:57so she locked herself in there without light.
28:59In the darkness,
29:00she cowed out to my memorial photo.
29:05Her forehead bled.
29:07Blood stains covered the floor.
29:08Late at night,
29:09she'd watch the red light
29:11from the necklace cast shadows on the wall.
29:13Like my bloody eyes staring at her.
29:15On the back page of my diary,
29:17she scribbled frantically in red pen.
29:19I'm sorry.
29:20Mommy was wrong.
29:21Red light is pain.
29:23Red light is love.
29:24Please come back.
29:26Just say it hurts one more time.
29:28Mommy will save you this time.
29:29I promise.
29:30Too bad.
29:31I'm already dead.
29:33Dead people can't say it hurts.
29:35Mom was eventually committed
29:36to a psychiatric hospital.
29:38Her self-harm had gotten so bad,
29:40she nearly electrocuted herself at home.
29:42Community services intervened and sent her in.
29:44She was the strangest patient there.
29:46She found some red plastic ring somewhere
29:48and wore it around her neck.
29:50A homemade necklace.
29:51If anyone tried to take it off,
29:53she'd bite like a rabid dog.
29:55Don't touch my light!
29:58Stella's walking!
29:59If you take it off, she'll get mad!
30:01She developed a terrible conditioned reflex.
30:04Whenever a nurse asked,
30:05Clara, have you eaten?
30:08She'd touch her neck first,
30:09then convulse and scream.
30:11Red light!
30:12Don't shock me!
30:13I'll eat!
30:13I'll eat!
30:14Even if the porridge was scalding hot,
30:16she'd gulp it down,
30:17burning her esophagus,
30:19too scared to spit it out.
30:20She was imitating me,
30:22right before I died.
30:23Reliving my hell,
30:25over and over.
30:26Years passed.
30:27My sister grew up.
30:29And she grew up twisted.
30:31With no discipline
30:31and that reputation hanging over her,
30:33she ended up at the bottom of society.
30:36Broke,
30:36she remembered the mom still in the psych ward.
30:39She went to visit.
30:40Not for family love.
30:42For money.
30:43Old crazy lady!
30:45Dad's dead!
30:46Give me the secret stash you hid!
30:48My sister wore heavy makeup,
30:49her face full of malice.
30:51She looked at mom's pathetic state
30:53and spat in disgust.
30:54Just like your dear Delda's daughter.
30:56If you don't give me money,
30:58I'll pull your plug and let you join her.
31:00At those words,
31:02mom,
31:02who'd been in a daze,
31:03suddenly looked up.
31:05Her clotted eyes focused on my sister for a moment,
31:07sharp and clear.
31:08She remembered the always green toy necklace.
31:11The green that had fooled her for ten years.
31:15You tricked me!
31:17Your green light was fake!
31:18You killed Stella!
31:20Give her back!
31:21Give her back!
31:25Die!
31:26You died!
31:27You're the one who should die!
31:30Help!
31:32Doctors rushed in,
31:34sedated mom,
31:35and pulled her off.
31:39My sister fled in panic.
31:43She ran blindly out of the hospital gate.
31:46Crazy!
31:47All of you are crazy!
31:48A speeding truck couldn't stop the time.
31:51My sister flew through the air.
31:53She survived,
31:54but her legs were crushed.
31:56She'd spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair,
31:59completely broken.
32:00And mom,
32:01strapped to a restraint bed,
32:03stared at the ceiling with tears in her eyes.
32:05In her dreams,
32:06she finally saw me.
32:08I was still ten years old.
32:09No necklace.
32:11Wearing a white dress.
32:13Smiling,
32:13I ran to her.
32:14She opened her arms joyfully.
32:18Then she saw her own hands,
32:20crackling with electricity.
32:21The moment she touched me,
32:23my body burned up like paper,
32:25turned to ashes.
32:27She woke screaming.
32:30No!
32:34Heart rate spiking.
32:38If she still wore that necklace,
32:40it would have been blazing red.
32:42The eternal pain.
32:43I stood in the void,
32:45watching it all.
32:46Watching mom suffer in the psych ward.
32:48Watching my sister begging with broken legs.
32:50Watching dad,
32:51broken,
32:51drunk,
32:52dying young.
32:53In my heart,
32:53there was no satisfaction in revenge.
32:55Just stillness.
32:57Still as death.
32:58Beside me stood an old dog.
33:00Shao Bai.
33:00The dog I raised as a child,
33:02until mom threw him out.
33:03He'd been waiting for me in the spirit world.
33:06Shao Bai rubbed against my leg and barked softly.
33:08Like he was saying,
33:09come on,
33:10stop watching.
33:11Yeah,
33:12time to go.
33:13This life was too bitter.
33:14Nothing worth holding on to.
33:16I floated to the window of mom's room.
33:18One last goodbye.
33:19Mom lay in bed,
33:20withered,
33:21hair completely white.
33:22She seemed to sense something.
33:24Stella?
33:25Is that you?
33:27Mom smashed the necklace.
33:29Mom doesn't believe in it anymore.
33:31Please come back.
33:33Mom will cook for you.
33:34No celery.
33:35Mom will buy you new dresses.
33:37Not for your sister.
33:38Tears slipped down her cheeks,
33:40falling on the pillow.
33:42Sighed softly.
33:43I reached out.
33:44My cold finger touched her forehead.
33:46The last mercy I could give her.
33:48Let her sleep.
33:49Sleep.
33:49And it won't hurt anymore.
33:51She calmed instantly.
33:53Her eyelids grew heavy.
33:54She fell into a deep sleep.
33:56A breeze blew through.
33:57The worn diary on her bedside table flipped open.
34:00The police had returned it to her as a personal effect.
34:03On the last page,
34:04below my dying words,
34:06were a few shaky new lines,
34:07written by Mom in her lucid moments.
34:10In the next life,
34:12let Mommy wear the necklace.
34:15Let Mommy be the liar.
34:18You punish me.
34:20Just don't leave me.
34:23Mommy will do anything.
34:24I looked at those words.
34:26Felt nothing.
34:27Too late.
34:28All the regret in the world,
34:30in the face of death,
34:31is pale and meaningless.
34:32Mom,
34:33I don't hate you anymore.
34:35But I don't love you either.
34:37Mom,
34:38let's don't meet again the next life.
34:40I turned away.
34:41Took Xiao Bai's leash.
34:43In the distance,
34:44a door of light appeared.
34:45The entrance to the next cycle.
34:47I raised my hand to my neck.
34:49The necklace that had always been there in spirit form.
34:51The nightmare that had bound me my whole life.
34:53I grabbed it.
34:54Pulled.
34:55Snap.
34:56It shattered.
34:57Dissolved into specks of light.
34:58Vanished into the air.
35:00I felt lighter than I'd ever felt.
35:02No red light.
35:03No electricity.
35:04No lies.
35:05Just freedom.
35:06I walked toward the door of light.
35:08Didn't look back.
35:09Morning sunlight streamed in.
35:11A nurse opened the door for rounds.
35:13Clara.
35:14Time for your meds.
35:15No answer.
35:16The figure on the bed didn't move.
35:18The nurse stepped closer.
35:19Clara clutched the tattered diary tightly in her hand.
35:22At the corner of her eye,
35:24one last crystalline tear.
35:25On the heart monitor beside her,
35:27the line that represented life,
35:29had gone perfectly flat.
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