- 4 minutes ago
The Red Light Curse
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:02Ever's the day we were trapped in the snow-covered mountains, mom has called me a liar.
00:00:08Not because I actually lied, but because of this thing on my wrist, the thermal monitoring bracelet.
00:00:17My mother Grace is obsessed with technology.
00:00:20The one belief she holds above all else is that data never lies.
00:00:31In an environment like this, every single calorie must be used where it matters most.
00:00:36Anyone showing a red light gets no food for the day.
00:00:43Mine is green.
00:00:46Your bracelet is red! You're recklessly consuming the last remaining calories in this house!
00:00:52Mom, I only had a cup of water this morning. I really don't know why it's red.
00:00:57Shut up!
00:00:59Your body has excess heat. You don't deserve any rations today.
00:01:05Mom, I'm really cold and hungry.
00:01:08The machine doesn't lie, Chloe.
00:01:12From that day on, those words became the most unquestionable truth in that cabin.
00:01:16The red light on my bracelet became like a curse.
00:01:19It declared me over-consuming heat every single day.
00:01:22At noon that day, mom distributed the food.
00:01:25Anna got a larger portion because her bracelet was green.
00:01:27She needs to replenish energy.
00:01:29Mine was pitifully small because my bracelet was flashing red.
00:01:33Mom, I haven't eaten anything. I'm really hungry.
00:01:38Chloe, machines don't lie. Just to get an extra bite, you're actually trying to deceive me.
00:01:42Look at your sister Anna. Her bracelet is always green.
00:01:45She'd rather stay hungry than steal even a script of food.
00:01:47And you, you're a thief.
00:01:49I didn't take any food. I really didn't.
00:01:52If you didn't steal anything, then why did I find the last piece of missing from the storage room this
00:01:58morning?
00:01:58I didn't take it.
00:02:10I ate it.
00:02:13She ate it. It's totally Anna. She just told me.
00:02:17Mom, I didn't. Sister, why are you accusing me?
00:02:22Mom, my bracelet is green. How could I have stolen the chocolate?
00:02:31Not only are you selfish enough to steal food, you even viciously frame your own sister.
00:02:38How did I end up with such a cruel daughter?
00:02:52Mom, I didn't lie. It really wasn't me. Please, just believe me this once. Just once.
00:03:00No.
00:03:02Even just a fraction of the tenderness she showed when she looked at Anna.
00:03:08Mom, I really didn't lie to you. Please believe me this time. I'm your daughter.
00:03:15Look at it yourself. Red. Chloe, it's red. It shows excess calories. If you didn't steal food, then who did?
00:03:21Your sister's bracelet is green. She can barely even stand. How could she possibly steal anything?
00:03:27I have to punish a lying child like you.
00:03:38I was wrong. I won't lie again. Mom, please.
00:04:01Mom, will my sister freeze lying there? Her? She won't freeze. Her bracelet is red. She's got excess heat. Anna,
00:04:09don't be like her. Be an honest child.
00:04:14My heart felt like it was being clenched by an icy hand. The pain so intense I could barely breathe.
00:04:21I didn't even have the strength to struggle anymore. My forehead began to burn with heat. Even my breath carried
00:04:28an abnormal warmth.
00:04:30Grace, Chloe, Chloe doesn't look well. Her face is too red. Could she have a fever? Maybe we should give
00:04:36her some hot water?
00:04:38David. David, her bracelet is red. This isn't a fever. She secretly ate chocolate and her body temperature rose because
00:04:45of excess calories.
00:04:47She fooled you. She fooled you. You're still lying. Pretending to be sick to gain my sympathy? Looks like you
00:04:56need a real lesson.
00:04:57You're going to the attic right now to reflect on your mistakes.
00:05:09Mom, I really didn't steal the chocolate. I didn't lie.
00:05:24Mom, don't lock me in here. I'll die.
00:05:30When you figure it out, when you admit you stole the chocolate and your bracelet turns green, I'll let you
00:05:36out. Otherwise, you can stay here forever and reflect.
00:05:55Chloe, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was wrong. I shouldn't have doubted you.
00:06:02Back then, she loved me too, didn't she?
00:06:14Grace, maybe we should let Chloe out. She hasn't eaten anything today.
00:06:18I had Anna bring her some bread.
00:06:20I wanted to say no one had brought me anything, but the words got stuck in my throat because I
00:06:26knew he wouldn't believe me.
00:06:40Big sister, are you cold? Are you hungry? Don't you really want some hot water and a biscuit?
00:06:47Anna, I'm so cold and hungry. Please give me the water and the biscuit.
00:06:52Give it to you?
00:06:57Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you. That chocolate? I was the one who ate it. So sweet. So
00:07:02delicious.
00:07:03Too bad you didn't get any. But what can you do? Your core shack is red. Mom only believes me,
00:07:08not you.
00:07:09Want a drink? Then beg me. Say you're a liar that you stole the chocolate. Say it and I'll let
00:07:15you drink.
00:07:16Oops. My hand slipped. Sorry, big sister.
00:07:22I looked at the board beneath me as it frozen solid. Suddenly, I couldn't feel my feet anymore.
00:07:26The dizziness from the fever grew stronger and stronger. My vision blurred.
00:07:29I could clearly feel it, my body heat slipping away little by little, my life draining out of me.
00:07:33But I still couldn't accept it. I still hadn't lived to see the day Mom believed me.
00:07:38Mom, I'm so cold. I'm so hungry. I really didn't lie. Please believe me. Just once. Please.
00:07:46Dad, save me. I'm going to die. Dad!
00:07:50Music started playing downstairs. It was the deafening Symphony No. 5.
00:07:55The intense, surging music instantly drowned out my faint cries for help.
00:07:59The sound of me pounding on the floor completely swallowed them.
00:08:02She knew I was calling for help. She heard me. She just didn't want to listen.
00:08:07With that thunderous music, she blocked her own ears and completely cut off my last path to survival.
00:08:13My hands stopped pounding. In that moment, all my strength, all my hope, all my unwillingness vanished.
00:08:20I was so hungry. So cold. But Mom would never believe me. She would only believe the bracelet.
00:08:28The machine doesn't lie. What a ridiculous sentence.
00:08:33I don't know how much time passed. My body stopped trembling.
00:08:36Instead, a strange warmth began to spread across my skin.
00:08:40A false, burning sensation, as if I were no longer cold.
00:08:43I raised my hand and looked at my little finger, frozen to a purplish blue.
00:08:47Without a single ripple in my heart, I bent it forcily. Crack. A faint snapping sound.
00:08:51My little finger broke, but I felt no pain at all. So this is what it's like when a person
00:08:55is freezing to death.
00:08:56You really feel nothing. Mom. I thought again of when I was very young.
00:09:00Venster. Her embrace was so her warm. Her smile was so gentle.
00:09:04I want to go back to that time. I want Mom to hug me just once more.
00:09:08February 14th. 7th day of the blizzard. Mom found the chocolate missing.
00:09:11She said I stole it. It wasn't me, Anna ate it. My bracelet turned red.
00:09:15Mom hit me, shocked me with the bracelet, took my blanket and gave it to Anna. I'm so cold.
00:09:23Chloe, come here. Let Mom hug you.
00:09:31I felt weightless. I looked down. I was floating. And there, below me, I saw myself lying on that frozen
00:09:37pile of cardboard.
00:09:38My right hand was missing a little finger. The dead girl's wrist was still flashing red.
00:09:42Oh. Oh. I'm dead.
00:09:45I looked down. My body was still curled up on the freezing wooden floor.
00:09:48The thermal monitoring bracelet was still tightly fastened around my lifeless, purplish wrist.
00:09:53The red light continued flashing tirelessly, reflecting on my pale, expressionless face. Eerie and ironic.
00:09:59I was dead. I died at the age of 10 in a blizzard in the Alps, locked in a freezing
00:10:04attic by my mom I loved most, frozen to death.
00:10:06I hovered there, looking at my own corpse. I didn't cry. I wasn't afraid.
00:10:10There was only a vast, lifeless calm inside me, like a nightmare that had lasted 10 years, finally ending.
00:10:15My soul passed through the attic door like a gust of wind, without the slightest resistance.
00:10:20I drifted down the stairs, into the living room. Mom, Dad, and Anna were gathered around the table by the
00:10:27fire.
00:10:27Smiles on their faces. Smiles I hadn't seen in a long time.
00:10:31The satellite phone on the table was lit.
00:10:34I heard it.
00:10:35Just moments ago, Mom had gotten phone to the rescue team.
00:10:39They said the blizzard had weakened.
00:10:41In two days, they would be able to fly up in a helicopter and take us down the mountain.
00:10:45We were saved, except me.
00:10:48I died three days before the rescue arrived.
00:10:51I died just as the storm was about to end.
00:10:53That's great! We can finally leave this awful place!
00:10:56Mom, I want cake! Don't we still have that emergency cream cake in storage?
00:11:01I want to eat it now!
00:11:03Alright.
00:11:08That cake Dad had bought it for me before we came to the mountains.
00:11:11I couldn't bear to eat it, so I hid it deep in the storage room.
00:11:14I wanted to wait until the blizzard ended, then take it out and share it with Mom, Dad, and my
00:11:19sister.
00:11:20I had even drawn a picture of our family on the box and written the words,
00:11:24I love Mom.
00:11:27Eat slowly. No one's gonna take it from you.
00:11:31Hmm...
00:11:32When we get down the mountain, I'll buy you a bigger, even better cake.
00:11:37I floated in front of them, watching this warm, joyful scene.
00:11:41And somewhere where my heart should have been, there was pain.
00:11:45Oh, right.
00:11:46Chloe is still locked in the attic.
00:11:49Since rescue is coming soon, maybe we should let her out.
00:11:52Let her have something to eat.
00:11:54She's been locked up for two days.
00:11:56She should have learned her lesson.
00:12:10My breath stopped instantly.
00:12:13Was she going to the attic?
00:12:14Was she going to see me?
00:12:16Was she finally going to discover that I was dead?
00:12:22Chloe...
00:12:26Chloe, come out and eat.
00:12:28No response.
00:12:30I'm inside.
00:12:31I can't answer you.
00:12:33I'm already dead.
00:12:35If you open the door, you'll see my body.
00:12:37I'm already dead!
00:12:39I looked at Mom with sorrow.
00:12:40If she found out I was dead, would she be sad?
00:12:43Would she regret it?
00:12:45Still sulking?
00:12:46You're already ten, not five.
00:12:48Trying to get my attention this way?
00:12:50Then don't come out.
00:12:51Mom!
00:12:52I'm not sulking!
00:12:53I'm dead!
00:12:53I'm already dead!
00:12:54Look at me!
00:12:55I froze to death!
00:12:56Right there in the attic!
00:12:58I'm not lying!
00:12:59The bracelet is broken!
00:13:00Anna ate it!
00:13:00Look at me!
00:13:02Why did it suddenly get so cold?
00:13:04Is the fireplace not burning strong enough?
00:13:06David, go add some more wood.
00:13:08Mom couldn't hear my voice.
00:13:09She couldn't feel my presence.
00:13:12I was a ghost.
00:13:13A ghost who died at her hands.
00:13:15Ignored and forgotten.
00:13:16Sound the cold room on her.
00:13:17See us, babe.
00:13:19Shouldn't we turn on the heating?
00:13:21The rescue team will be here soon anyway?
00:13:24You're right.
00:13:24Let them see that even in this kind of environment,
00:13:26we can still maintain a scientific standard of living.
00:13:30She went downstairs and turned on the central heating
00:13:33and the floor heating throughout the house.
00:13:36The temperature in the attic rose as well.
00:13:39My body began to decompose faster.
00:13:45The water spread outward, soaking through the cardboard,
00:13:48seeping into the floor.
00:13:50I watched my body grow colder and stiffer,
00:13:53little by little, until signs of decay began to appear.
00:13:57That was my smell.
00:13:59The smell of death.
00:14:00They were going to leave after being rescued.
00:14:03They were going to leave this cabin that had trapped me.
00:14:06They were going to leave my body here,
00:14:08forever in this cold attic.
00:14:11I'll take something to Chloe.
00:14:12She's been in the attic for two days.
00:14:14She hasn't even had a sip of water.
00:14:15Take what?
00:14:16Her red light is on like that.
00:14:18She's got more than enough energy.
00:14:19She won't starve.
00:14:25Dad!
00:14:26Open the door!
00:14:27Hurry!
00:14:28Open it!
00:14:29If you just turn the handle,
00:14:30you'll see that I'm not moving anymore.
00:14:32You'll see my darkened face.
00:14:39Hello?
00:14:40Rescue team?
00:14:41Yes, this is David.
00:14:42What?
00:14:43You can come up the mountain in two days?
00:14:45That's great!
00:14:46The rescue team said the blizzard will completely stop in two days.
00:14:49They'll be able to come up.
00:14:53It was that close, just that tiny bit.
00:14:55Just one second.
00:14:56I could have been found.
00:14:58Maybe then,
00:14:59I wouldn't have to keep decaying.
00:15:11Mom was the first to notice.
00:15:15What is that smell?
00:15:17It's disgusting!
00:15:19Oh my god!
00:15:19It stinks!
00:15:21It's coming from the attic!
00:15:22Did my sister go on the floor?
00:15:24Did she do it on purpose?
00:15:25Is she trying to stink us to death?
00:15:32Chloe!
00:15:33What are you doing in there?
00:15:35It stinks!
00:15:36Chloe!
00:15:37What are you doing in there?
00:15:37It stinks!
00:15:51Chloe, didn't you want to disgust us?
00:15:53Fine.
00:15:54Then stay in there with your stink.
00:15:55Don't even think about coming out to pollute our air.
00:16:00The last trace of my attachment to her snapped completely,
00:16:03just like that strip of tape.
00:16:05She would rather seal the cracks of the door with tape
00:16:07and endure the increasingly unbearable stench
00:16:10than push the door open and look at her own daughter.
00:16:13I'm right here.
00:16:16Can't you see me?
00:16:22The tape in the end couldn't block the overwhelming stench of a rotting body.
00:16:26Another day passed.
00:16:27It was the day the rescue team had promised to come up the mountain.
00:16:45Chloe!
00:16:46I've had enough of you, you disgusting little brat!
00:16:49What exactly are you trying to do?
00:16:51Making the whole house stink on purpose?
00:16:52Are you trying to torment us?
00:16:54I'm gonna teach you a lesson today!
00:17:10Chloe?
00:17:12Chloe?
00:17:14Chloe?
00:17:23I'm talking to you, Chloe!
00:17:55You're pretending, aren't you, Chloe?
00:17:57You're lying to mum again, aren't you?
00:17:59get up mom's not angry anymore i won't scold you again get up don't scare me please her hand
00:18:08trembled as she reached beneath my nose no breath then she reached for my neck feeling for a pulse
00:18:13nothing only coldness only silence i was truly dead dead in the attic she had locked with her
00:18:20own hands dead in the cold and hunger she had caused dead under the gaze she never once chose
00:18:26to believe impossible the machine doesn't know they had followed the sound of the screams the team
00:18:43leader pushed open the attic door and froze the moment he saw what was inside the body of a 10
00:18:49year old girl lay curled up on the cold floor a bracelet flashing red on her wrist a woman sat
00:18:54collapsed on the ground screaming like a mad woman her eyes unfocused completely deranged david and
00:19:00anna who had followed behind turned deathly pale the moment they saw my body david's legs gave out
00:19:07and he collapsed at the doorway his whole body trembling violently how did this happen how did
00:19:14this happen he finally understood behind the door he had almost opened that day lay his daughter's
00:19:20cold corpse he finally understood that his repeated hesitation and retreat had ultimately pushed me
00:19:27to my death anna hid behind david staring at my bluish swollen face and fear finally showed on her face
00:19:35she burst into tears clinging tightly to david's arm her body shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind
00:19:41barely able to stand she was finally afraid she finally understood that her prank her lies her framing
00:19:49had cost a life had killed her own sister
00:19:56quick call a doctor seal off the scene the rescue team leader quickly snapped out of it and shouted
00:20:03sharply at the others unable to suppress the anger in his voice the team set up a cordon the doctor
00:20:09pushed
00:20:09through the crowd and entered the attic crouching beside my body for a long time examining carefully
00:20:15his movements gentle as if afraid of damaging my already fragile skin severe hypothermia organ failure
00:20:24this child was starved for at least a month and in temperatures well below freezing she froze to death
00:20:30time of death was two to three days ago it's not my fault she was lying she stole food look
00:20:39the bracelet
00:20:40is red the red light it says she has excess calories i follow the data machines don't lie the doctor
00:20:48frowned
00:20:48crouched down and carefully tried to remove the bracelet from my wrist but the strap had fused tightly with my
00:20:55frozen purplish skin almost as if it had grown into the flesh breeding his teeth the doctor took out
00:21:01specialized tools and carefully pried the bracelet off little by little i floated in mid-air watching
00:21:07the bracelet that had been on me for ten whole days finally leave my wrist this cold shackle that had
00:21:12trapped me for ten days that had caused my death finally fell away the doctor held the bracelet
00:21:19turning it over and over then opened the casing on the back after just one glance he let out a
00:21:25cold
00:21:25laugh looking up at mom ma'am your so-called infuelable machine has been broken for a long time
00:21:33the temperature sensor and calorie monitoring module have completely failed the circuit shorted out which
00:21:39is why the red light stays on from the very first day it was worn it was already broken it
00:21:44couldn't measure
00:21:45anything at all it could only keep flashing red the truth she had trusted above all else the thing she
00:21:52relied on to judge my life and death had been a joke from the very beginning you are lying
00:22:05i hadn't lied not once the bracelet was broken she was wrong no no that's impossible
00:22:20no impossible machines don't lie
00:22:26look anna's bracelet is still green this proves the system works this is scientific
00:22:33at that moment a female rescue worker walked over to anna bent down and took something out of the
00:22:38pocket it had been hidden there for days crumpled beyond recognition still smeared with traces of
00:22:45chocolate holding the wrapper the rescue worker walked up to mom and said coldly ma'am is this the
00:22:52chocolate you said was stolen we found it in your younger daughter's pocket all eyes turned
00:22:59instantly toward anna anna's face went pale in an instant
00:23:08it wasn't me my sister told me to hide it she ate it not me
00:23:22little girl take off your bracelet and show it to me anna froze instantly
00:23:32no mom gave it to me i won't take it off but the doctor gave her no chance to argue
00:23:37he pulled
00:23:38out a screwdriver and pried the bracelet open on the spot what was inside made everyone gasp no sensors
00:23:45no chip no heat monitoring module nothing at all only two cheap green led lights and a button battery
00:23:53the circuit was hardwired once powered it is just a two yuan toy he doctor slammed the shattered bracelet
00:24:00onto the ground in front of mom his voice trembled with barely contained rage this bracelet of your
00:24:06younger daughter was designed to always show green from the very beginning no matter what she said
00:24:11what she did or how much she lied it would always stay green ma'am your so-called scientific survival
00:24:16system your so-called infuelable data from beginning to end was nothing but a complete joke a sick biased
00:24:22joke you personally froze your honest daughter to death in that attic while treating a compulsive liar like
00:24:28treasure mom looked at the shattered plastic pieces on the ground at the toy still glowing green and
00:24:35and suddenly she laughed
00:24:38she laughed loudly so loudly that tears came out of her eyes
00:24:43she doubled over collapsing onto the floor her whole body curling up with laughter
00:24:52fake it's all fake mom suddenly screamed and then she did something insane
00:24:58no way the bracelet can't be wrong i didn't eat anything today my calories couldn't possibly be
00:25:05over it'll turn green she grabbed the bracelet still stained with my blood and fragments of skin
00:25:11and snapped it onto her own wrist she took a deep breath trying to calm herself she raised her wrist
00:25:17her
00:25:17eyes wild look it'll turn green the red light flared bright violent mom's confident expression shattered
00:25:25instantly she slapped at the bracelet like it was a broken television panic rising in her voice
00:25:31what no my calories can't be over i didn't exceed anything why is it red i didn't lie she started
00:25:40speaking faster and faster it's broken the doctor broke it i'll try again i've never abused her i was
00:25:46doing it for her good i love why is it red i'm telling the truth turn green you piece of
00:25:53junk you're framing
00:25:54me suddenly she remembered me 10 year old me punished so severely curled up on the floor biting my lip
00:26:01to
00:26:01stop myself from screaming but the red light kept flashing as if it was speaking to her again and again
00:26:07you are a liar you are a liar no mom suddenly screamed clawing frantically at the bracelet trying
00:26:16to rip it off her wrist take it off it's red i'm not a liar i'm not but the clasp
00:26:23had locked due to her
00:26:24violent struggle like a shackle tightly bound to her wrist just as it had once been tightly bound to mine
00:26:31a doctor picked up the diary from the floor he flipped through it page by page his expression
00:26:38growing darker and darker february 14th day seven of the blizzard mom found the chocolate missing she
00:26:46said i stole it i didn't it was anna who ate it my bracelet turned red mom hit me shocked
00:26:51me with the
00:26:51brazier mom locked me in the acne dad took my bring me food but anna stopped him anna poured hot
00:26:57water
00:26:57onto my cardboard bed i hit the floor and called for mom but she turned up the music so loud
00:27:01she
00:27:01couldn't hear me when i was nine anna broke mom's most precious tech robot and cried saying i did it
00:27:09without even asking mom locked me in the storage room for a full day and night with no food or
00:27:14water
00:27:15i banged on the door crying that it wasn't me but she wouldn't listen and anna she was curled up
00:27:21in
00:27:22mom's arms eating sweet strawberries watching me be locked away with a happy smile countless days
00:27:28and nights anna stole my toys tore my drawings ruined my homework and then cried to mom saying i
00:27:35didn't every single time mom believed anna without question then scolded me punished me and made me stand
00:27:42in a cold corner without food machines don't lie anna's wristband is green you're just a liar mom i really
00:27:53didn't lie i've never lied to you i know you don't like me but i still love you if i
00:27:58die will you regret
00:28:00it will you miss me even a little if there's a next life can you believe me once can you
00:28:07please stop
00:28:08calling me a liar every word struck like a heavy hammer crashing down on on my mom's heart she
00:28:16covered her face and let out a heart wrenching cry like a wounded beast she remembered the fourth
00:28:21day of the blizzard the slap she gave me across the face and the electric shock that coursed through my
00:28:28entire body she remembered pulling the only blanket off me and wrapping it around anna instead
00:28:35and the despair in my eyes she remembered me banging on the floor screaming for her help
00:28:43while she deliberately turned up symphony of fate to the maximum volume to block out her own ears
00:28:49she remembered sealing the cracks of the attic door with tape and the disgust and impatience she felt
00:28:55at the time she had personally little by little pushed her daughter toward death she had personally
00:29:03killed the little girl who loved her most and trusted her most mom let out a piercing scream and
00:29:13suddenly raised her head looking toward anna curled up in the corner it's you it's all you
00:29:20she lunged forward like a mad woman tightly gripping anna's throat screaming hysterically you're the one who
00:29:28lied you're the one who stole the chocolate you tricked me you killed chloe i'm going to kill you
00:29:37you'll pay for my daughter's life
00:29:42the rescue staff and doctors rushed in and pulled mom away pinning her firmly down on the sofa
00:29:50my dad watched everything the crazed mother the terrified anna and the bloodstained note in the evidence
00:29:57bag and finally snapped
00:30:02you monster
00:30:06that was your daughter our daughter you froze her to death with your own hands how dare you how could
00:30:12you
00:30:15it's not my fault it was the wristband it was anna it's not my fault my body was placed into
00:30:26a black body bag
00:30:27the zipper slowly closed sealing away my short 10 years of life filled with pain and despair
00:30:32don't take her away give her back to me she ran across the snow field her bare feet stepping onto
00:30:39sharp ice shards instantly cutting her skin blood trailed across the white snow leaving a shocking red
00:30:45path behind her chloe mom will give you all the food rations please open your eyes and look at me
00:30:52she reached the landing gear area desperately jumping upward trying to grab hold of the edge of the body bag
00:30:59but she only grasped empty freezing air and swirling snowflakes this incident quickly spread across the
00:31:08world the rescue team's camera had recorded everything one of the crew members accidentally
00:31:14uploaded the footage online and from there it spread like an unstoppable avalanche
00:31:28the entire internet exploded netizens were in full outrage
00:31:41and that father too he did nothing the entire time just watched his daughter being abused
00:31:46he deserves to die as well a flood of insults poured in like an avalanche crashing down on my mom
00:31:52my dad
00:31:53and this shattered family on the second day after the incident escalated our villa at the foot of the
00:31:59mountain was completely surrounded by an enraged crowd the front gate had been splashed with bright red
00:32:05paint in thick black marker the words murderers get out of this city and justice for chloe were written
00:32:12everywhere the villa windows had been smashed with bricks red paint and abusive slogans covered the
00:32:19walls and floors at the entrance reporters and furious protesters packed tightly together behind them the
00:32:27crowd held signs filled with insults chanting loudly until the noise shook the air grace the murderer get
00:32:33out you don't deserve to be a mother pay for chloe's life evil family get out of switzerland
00:32:40neighbors had already moved out one after another the property management even came with legal notices
00:32:46demanding we leave immediately saying our presence had severely damaged neighborhood safety and property
00:32:51values and caused extreme disturbance to other residents inside the villa everything was in chaos
00:32:57the curtains were tightly drawn the lights stayed off only the glow of the television illuminated the
00:33:02pale faces of my dad and my mom the house phone had been completely overwhelmed every call that came
00:33:07through brought waves of insults and curses even the mobile phones couldn't be turned on the moment
00:33:12they were switched on countless abusive messages and non-stop harassing calls flooded in
00:33:30it's all your fault all of it if it weren't for that damn bracelet of yours if you hadn't trusted
00:33:35those
00:33:35useless data readings chloe wouldn't be dead we wouldn't have ended up like this you're a mad woman a murderer
00:33:45what right do you have to blame me you were there to save her you're an accomplice you deserve to
00:33:50die too
00:34:21mom and dad had no choice but to sell the house the car and everything valuable in the home to
00:34:26cover legal fees
00:34:27you're an accomplice and compensation
00:34:42how dare you
00:34:47stop
00:34:57don't touch my things those are mine
00:35:00these items have been seized and auctioned by the court they no longer belong to you
00:35:23if you fail to repay the debt we will file for court enforcement and have you imprisoned it
00:35:27some of the money is
00:36:06Anna, look at Anna.
00:36:09It's not fair.
00:36:45Didn't you love lying?
00:36:46It wasn't me.
00:36:47I didn't kill my sister.
00:36:49Didn't you have that bracelet with the always green signal?
00:36:51Why doesn't anyone believe you now?
00:36:53You deserve it.
00:36:54This is what you get for what you did to your sister.
00:36:56Liar.
00:36:56Thief.
00:36:57Murderer.
00:36:58Why don't they bully anyone else?
00:36:59Just you.
00:37:01Maybe you should reflect on yourself.
00:37:03When you harmed your sister, when you harmed your...
00:37:05Did you ever think this day would come?
00:37:14Let me out.
00:37:15Please let me out.
00:37:16I didn't steal it.
00:37:17I really didn't.
00:37:18Go get it.
00:37:21Why don't they tell you?
00:37:24Let me out.
00:37:28Say it.
00:37:34I'm scared.
00:37:35I'm afraid to stay.
00:37:43And give it to an adult.
00:37:45Please let me out.
00:37:46I love you.
00:37:46Let me out.
00:37:47When you fath.
00:37:57this was her rightful punishment
00:38:03as for mom her fate was even more tragic than anyone else's
00:38:07the defendant should undergo a forensic psychiatric evaluation
00:38:14i'm not crazy everything i do is based on the data from the scientific wristband i didn't do
00:38:19anything wrong
00:38:29can you explain the behavior at that time i didn't do anything wrong the bracelet is broken
00:38:37anna lied to me
00:38:45chloe sorry it's all my fault
00:38:52machines don't lie red light chloe i'm sorry
00:39:00she had lost the capacity for civil conduct and was unfit to serve a prison sentence
00:39:07she would be forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital for lifelong isolated treatment
00:39:15i'm not crazy you're the ones who are crazy the bracelet was broken it's not my fault i'm not
00:39:22insane i was right the data doesn't lie chloe lied to me anna lied to me i'm not crazy let
00:39:31me out
00:39:33just like no one had believed me back then police officers and caretakers walked in carrying
00:39:39restraint straps the moment mom saw them she reacted like a startled beast she kept retreating
00:39:46then suddenly tried to run toward dad's direction as if hoping he would save her but dad had long
00:39:53since disappeared in the courtroom there was not a single person on her side
00:40:01in that moment she was truly alone just like i once was trapped in the attic with no one to
00:40:09turn to
00:40:12before being sent to the psychiatric hospital she did something insane that was the day my body was sent to
00:40:18before being sent to the funeral home i was wrong come back i'm sorry chloe wait for me
00:40:50her feet suffered severe frostbite and the tissue completely necrated the doctors had no choice but to
00:40:58perform an amputation cutting everything below the knees she became a woman without legs
00:41:06completely broken and completely insane
00:41:13in the psychiatric hospital she became the strangest patient no one knew where she got it from but she
00:41:20found a red plastic ring and wore it around her neck like a collar it was her self-made calorie
00:41:25monitoring
00:41:26bracelet bracelet don't touch my light chloe is watching if you take it away she'll get angry
00:41:42i'm sorry she was reliving my final moments before death she locked herself inside the same cold attic
00:41:50where i had once where i had once been trapped reliving my personal hell over and over again chloe i'm
00:41:55sorry
00:41:55mom was wrong please come back okay mom will never trust the bracelet again mom will bake you cake
00:42:01cover you with blankets i confess i confess
00:42:06red light red light chloe mom was wrong mom shouldn't have trusted the red light
00:42:23chloe are you there mom threw the bracelet away mom doesn't believe in it anymore please come back
00:42:29please come back mom will cook for you mom will buy you new dresses there was no ripple in my
00:42:35heart
00:42:35only a dead silence regret means nothing to the dead it was too late mom it's all too late
00:42:44when i was locked in the attic and frozen to death where was your remorse when i used my last
00:42:49strength
00:42:49to write a blood-written plea begging you to believe me just once where was your remorse mom i don't
00:42:56hate
00:42:56you anymore but i don't love you anymore either in the next life let's not meet again
00:43:07i drifted through the snow storm of the alps snow fell onto my body yet i felt no cold at
00:43:13all i was
00:43:14finally free no red lights no hunger no cold no lies no mom's hatred no anna's framing no dad's
00:43:21inaction only boundless freedom just then i heard a familiar bark i looked down a golden sled dog was
00:43:28sitting in the snow wagging its tail looking up at me with bright eyes it was buddy buddy was the
00:43:34dog i
00:43:34once raised a gift from dad on my eighth birthday a gentle golden retriever sled dog my only warmth in
00:43:42childhood when my mom called me a liar and anna bullied me only buddy would run over lie down by
00:43:51my
00:43:51feet and rub its head against my hand staying with me but mom didn't like it she said dogs carry
00:44:00germs
00:44:00and would affect her research before we came to the snowy mountains for vacation she took advantage of
00:44:06a moment when i wasn't paying attention and abandoned bunny in the mountains i cried for days and searched
00:44:17for days but i never found him it turns out he had always been here waiting for me at the
00:44:23border
00:44:30let's go don't look back i could feel his soft warm fur feel his body temperature feel his heartbeat
00:44:38this was the living breathing connection i had longed for most when i was alive
00:44:47in the distance a door of light appeared it was the entrance to the next cycle of reincarnation
00:44:54i turned back and took one last look at this world that had tormented me for 10 years
00:44:58one look in the direction of the psychiatric hospital and one look at the wooden cabin that had trapped me
00:45:04then i turned around holding buddy's paw and walked step by step toward that door of light
00:45:11everything behind me became like a faded photograph slowly blurring and dissolving my mother's final
00:45:17tears the bracelet's red glow the blood written message on the floor the freezing attic all of it
00:45:23vanished i did not look back the nightmare that had lasted wood for 10 years had finally come to a
00:45:30true end passing through that light there was no spinning no chaos only endless warmth as if i were
00:45:36sinking into a spring stream even the pain deep within my soul those lingering aches and phantom pains
00:45:42gradually faded away buddy's paw in my hand was warm and gentle when i opened my eyes again i was
00:45:49small
00:45:50wrapped in a soft blanket someone was humming it was a woman's voice gentle slightly off key yet filled with
00:45:59love her fingers lightly brushed across my cheek carrying the scent of gardenias not the cold
00:46:05disinfectant smell from my mother in my previous life not that clinical distant feeling you're awake
00:46:13honey come quickly our daughter just blinked he was tall with healthy wheel colored skin weathered features
00:46:21but his eyes were exceptionally gentle he was my father in this sweet life martin
00:46:26he was the same rescue captain from my previous life the first person to rush into the attic and find
00:46:33my body
00:46:36hey charlotte i'm your dad charlotte not chloe no burden no shackles no lies no label of liar just
00:46:48charlotte a name that meant warmth being cherished and being loved unconditionally i grew up in a home
00:46:55filled with love our house wasn't big but it was clean and warm in the living room there was a
00:47:00large
00:47:00fireplace that burned brightly every winter filling everything with cozy heat there were no heat
00:47:06monitoring bracelets no red or green lights no strict food rationing no cold attic only endless love
00:47:14and unconditional trust when i was three years old my mother made hot cocoa the aroma drifted from the
00:47:20kitchen into the kitchen into the living room
00:47:31baby i'm here
00:47:36charlotte you're safe now i'm here dad is here no one will hurt you
00:47:48not like the hot water in the attic thermos that anna once poured out
00:47:52not something that had been held up to my mouth before being taken away when i was four years old
00:47:58the kindergarten organized a health checkup that included a blood test
00:48:09charlotte it's just a tiny poke it won't hurt look at the other children they're all very brave
00:48:13don't punish me i didn't lie don't shock me
00:48:19sorry my child's experienced trauma we're going to skip the physical exam for now
00:48:23we'll take her to a child psychologist and we'll come back when she's ready
00:48:31charlotte did someone hurt you before
00:48:35bracelet red light so cold my baby you must have suffered so much didn't you
00:48:42it's okay now you're home mom and dad are here no one can hurt you anymore
00:48:49from that day on they regularly took me to see a child psychologist
00:48:54the doctor said i had severe post-traumatic stress disorder
00:48:59my parents never complained once they never made me feel like a burden they stayed with me
00:49:06played games with me did therapy exercises with me slowly healing the wounds in my heart
00:49:13they bought me many many colorful beautiful bracelets but they never forced me to wear any of them
00:49:22these are just accessories charlotte wear them if you like if you don't just take them off no
00:49:26matter what your dad and i will always love you i looked at the sparkling bracelet on my wrist there
00:49:31was no red light no electric shock no accusation only my mother's gentle smile it took me two lifetimes
00:49:36to finally hear those words when i was five years old i once had a fever i started crying uncontrollably
00:49:44i feel hot it wasn't because i felt unwell it was because what i said mom immediately took a thermometer
00:50:20and checked my temperature
00:50:21feelings are your own they don't need any machine to prove them i held on to those words in my
00:50:27heart
00:50:27for a long long time the afternoon i had a fever it started snowing outside dad wrapped me in a
00:50:35blanket
00:50:35and held me by the window as we watched the snow mom loved snowy days the most when i was
00:50:41a child
00:50:42building snowmen with my brother once i had placed the snowman's nose where its eyes should be
00:50:51why it was so the snowman could look down at its own feet otherwise it would never know what it
00:50:56was
00:50:56wearing i was wrapped in that blanket simply because they wanted me to feel warm so they wrapped me up
00:51:03in
00:51:04it it was soft thick and warm i buried my face in it and took a breath it smelled like
00:51:09fabric softener
00:51:10clean dry and unmistakably the scent of home when i was seven i started elementary school there was a girl
00:51:18in my class named lena she looked exactly like anna from my previous life the same eyes the same face
00:51:24shape
00:51:29sister you're so pitiful
00:51:36i'm my name is lena you do you want to be my friend her tone was so cautious so eager
00:51:44to please
00:51:46just like me in my previous life almost instinctively i glanced at her wrist she was wearing a cheap green
00:51:52cartoon wristband later i learned that lena's mother was also extremely strict she demanded absolute obedience
00:52:00and absolute honesty if lena made even the smallest mistake she would be locked in her room and denied
00:52:05food lena just like my past self lived in endless fear and suppression one day lena accidentally broke
00:52:12the teacher's glass cup
00:52:13i looked at her at the fear and despair in her eyes in that instant i was reminded of my
00:52:23past self the little
00:52:25girl who lay on the cold floor writing i am a liar over and over again begging for forgiveness again
00:52:31and again lena it's okay accidents happen let's go tell the teacher together okay the teacher won't be
00:52:40angry but mom said that children who lie are bad kids and they will be punished being honest doesn't
00:52:48mean you never make mistakes it means that when you do make a mistake you're brave enough to admit it
00:52:52and even if you tell the truth you shouldn't be punished for it i i broke the cup i'm sorry
00:52:59the teacher didn't get angry instead she smiled patted both our heads and said it was okay
00:53:05just to be more careful next time from that day on we became best friends i took lena home to
00:53:13meet my
00:53:13parents she looked at my mom and dad so gentle so patient never shouting over small things never
00:53:20punishing a child for making mistakes her eyes were filled with envy lena you don't need to please
00:53:26everyone you're allowed to have your own feelings you can say no you can be scared you can make
00:53:32mistakes none of that is shameful one day lena's mother came to school to pick her up when she saw
00:53:38us together her face immediately darkened she grabbed lena's hand tightly and said sharply did you cause
00:53:44trouble again is charlotte helping you lie auntie lena hasn't done anything wrong she's a very very
00:53:53good child you shouldn't always assume the worst about her she's afraid of you
00:54:01that night she called my mom they talked for a long time and in the end she said thank you
00:54:08thank you your daughter made me realize how terribly wrong i've been little by little lena's
00:54:16mother became gentler she started learning to listen instead of shouting to trust instead of blaming and
00:54:23lena too became more and more confident more and more open in my previous life i was never saved i
00:54:32endured all the pain alone in the darkness but in this life i can save others when i was 10
00:54:37years old
00:54:38dad took us to the mountains not the alps just ordinary mountains dad was the captain of a mountain
00:54:45rescue team he knew every path in the area knew where the hidden ice was which slopes were dangerous
00:54:50where you could set up camp and where rocklops might happen after rain he led me along an easier
00:54:55trail mom walked behind us camera in hand taking photos from time to time
00:55:03here thank you
00:55:07dad have you ever seen people trapped in snowy mountains
00:55:11yes many times what happened to them in the end
00:55:20some were rescued some weren't the ones who weren't rescued
00:55:27do you still remember them i remember every single one do you know why i chose this job
00:55:35no because i hope that after every snowstorm no one is left alone in the mountains
00:55:40for everyone who gets trapped i hope someone can reach them in time the wind blew down from the
00:55:45mountain carrying the scent of pine trees and a faint coolness from the distant stream but it
00:55:50wasn't the kind of cold that selt into your bones it was breathable refreshing alive a summer kind of cool
00:55:57the coolness of being alive
00:56:06i stared at that photo for a long time that child was me clean looking outward alive not chloe curled
00:56:13up in the corner of an attic in my previous life that was charlotte standing in the sunlight standing
00:56:18between dad and mom at that moment i remembered the lines in my drawing book i remembered the hands that
00:56:25wrote them i remembered the child who use up her last bit of strength just say
00:56:30i love you so much you don't need a wristband to prove that what you say is true there are
00:56:36people
00:56:36here who believe you even without a wristband even without any device to verify it even if
00:56:41what you say sounds impossible there will still be someone who will catch every word you say there
00:56:46are people here who believe you hey
00:56:50in autumn one of dad's old rescue teammates came to visit bringing his wife and an elderly woman
00:56:56when with them she was his mother even though time had carved deep marks into her face even though
00:57:02it shed the obsession and madness of my previous life even though the eyes that once belonged to a
00:57:07scientist no longer held that burning phoneticism only gentleness and the weight of years i would never
00:57:12mistake her this was grace charlotte what's wrong sweetheart are you feeling unwell at that moment the old
00:57:28woman's gaze also fell on me her originally gentle eyes froze the instant she saw me
00:57:42this is your child yes this is our daughter charlotte i could clearly see the wrinkles at the corners of
00:57:53her
00:57:54eyes the white strands at her thames and the tears pooling in her eyes held back so tightly that they
00:58:02refused to fall charlotte such a beautiful name my throat felt blocked as if something was stuck
00:58:12there i was no longer chloe i am charlotte the charlotte who had grown up wrapped in love
00:58:20seeing that i remained silent a trace of panic flashed in her eyes
00:58:26how old are you
00:58:32ten ten that's good at lunchtime she sat directly across from me
00:58:39she carefully used serving chopsters to put food into my bowl
00:58:44auntie you're spoiling charlotte too much you should eat too
00:58:50it's fine when i look at this child i just feel an instant sense of closeness
00:58:56i looked at the pile of food in my bowl my emotions tangled and heavy
00:59:01in my previous life until the day i died i had always hoped just once that she would serve me
00:59:08a
00:59:08bite of food say something gentle to me or believe me even once but now she had done it
00:59:15only it was already too late in the afternoon i paint alone in the sunroom
00:59:25charlotte can i sit here for a while i won't disturb you while you draw
00:59:30she carefully walked over and sat down on the wicker chair beside me
00:59:35i know who you are and i also know who i am from the moment i was born i carried
00:59:43all my memories
00:59:44i remember everything i did to you i'm sorry chloe i'm sorry chloe i'm sorry to you i'm really sorry
00:59:59every day i ask myself why didn't i trust you that day in the cabin
01:00:07why did i trust that broken wristband instead of my own daughter i remember slapping you
01:00:15i remember shocking you the way you curled up on the floor begging me to stop
01:00:21i remember locking you in the attic the way you clung to the door frame begging me not to lock
01:00:29it
01:00:31i remember kicking open the attic door and finding your frozen body and the red light still flashing on
01:00:40your wrist i saw your blood written letter every single word i carved into my heart and carried with me
01:00:49for the rest of my life you asked if there could be another life could i please trust you once
01:00:56could i
01:00:57stop calling you a liar but i didn't even give you that chance i destroyed it with my own hands
01:01:05i'm sorry
01:01:07it was a diary with a sunflower on the cover the flower i had loved most in my previous life
01:01:14chloe chloe no charlotte i know that no matter how many apologies i say it's useless now i took your
01:01:23life i can never repay what i owe you not in this life not in the next i don't dare
01:01:31to ask for your
01:01:32forgiveness i just i just wanted to tell you sorry in person i just want you to know that i
01:01:39understand
01:01:39now love is not measured by machines nor judged by data it is listening to you believing what you say
01:01:45holding you and telling you that your mother is here but i understood all of that far too late
01:01:49too late i'm so sorry charlotte she was crying so hard that her whole body trembled
01:01:57her aged face was covered in tears and regret
01:02:02i looked at her for a long time in my previous life lying on the cold floor of the attic
01:02:08what i had
01:02:09wanted most before dying was a single apology from her a single i believe you but now she was truly
01:02:16standing in front of me saying countless apologies and yet i realized they no longer mattered to me i
01:02:23already had a new life parents who loved me a warm home and a bright future auntie i don't hate
01:02:29you
01:02:29anymore her tears fell even harder her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something but no words came
01:02:36out
01:02:36but i also won't call you mom again the me i am now what is charlotte i have my own
01:02:41parents they
01:02:41love me very much i've received your repentance i don't hate you anymore because i don't want to be
01:02:48trapped by the past i don't want to spend my entire life living inside that snowy mountain nightmare
01:02:54but i also won't forgive you not because of hatred but because what happened does not deserve
01:02:59forgiveness after hearing my words her body swayed she covered her face and let out a broken
01:03:06desperate sob she knew i was right it was too late everything was too late when she locked me in
01:03:16the attic and let me freeze to death where was her remorse then when i kept calling her mom over
01:03:22and
01:03:22over telling her i wasn't lying where was her remorse then when i used my last strength to write a
01:03:29blood
01:03:29letter begging her to believe me just once where was her remorse then now it was all too late that
01:03:38afternoon when jason's family prepared to leave the old woman walked at the very end at the doorway she
01:03:45turned back to look at me once more her eyes were full of tears reluctance and endless loneliness
01:03:49then leaning on her cane she walked away slowly step by step i stood at the door watching her aged
01:03:55hunched body disappear down the street and in my heart there was no ripple at all mom walked over
01:04:00and gently hugged me from behind she didn't ask what had happened she simply patted my head softly
01:04:06no matter what happens your dad and i are here for you
01:04:12that night i lay in bed with steady breathing occasionally shifting as i chased something in
01:04:17my dreams i stared at the ceiling thinking of my previous life
01:04:24chloe chloe they were real the pain was real that cold abandoned time when no one came for me
01:04:32that was real too but i am no longer chloe i am charlotte and i no longer hate grace that
01:04:41winter dad's
01:04:42rescue team completed a high difficulty mission a family of three had been trapped near the 3000 meter
01:04:49snow line and they were all rescued safely no one was injured during the celebration the entire team was
01:04:57eating in the cafeteria mom sat in a corner smiling as she watched him i sat beside mom eating and
01:05:04listening to their stories they talked about the child from that stranded family a boy eight years
01:05:10old when they found him he was curled up in a hollow facing away from the wind his head wrapped
01:05:16tightly
01:05:17in his clothes he knew how to preserve body heat he lasted much longer than we expected
01:05:23after being rescued the first thing the boy asked was where is my mom mom is here that boy's mother
01:05:32is
01:05:33here my mother is here too this is real this is not the long winter for my past life not
01:05:40a wish written
01:05:41in blood this is now this is today mom's hand is still on my shoulder she doesn't know what i'm
01:05:48thinking
01:05:48but she just keeps it there that's enough this is already enough all right very nice when i was 13
01:05:57i
01:05:57graduated from elementary school and got into the best middle school in the city dad and mom took me to
01:06:03the seaside to celebrate i stood by the ocean the sea wind brushed through my hair carrying a salty taste
01:06:13i spread my arms feeling the wind feeling freedom for a moment i seemed to see my past self
01:06:25charlotte what are you thinking about
01:06:30i'm just grateful to be alive and to be with you silly girl we're the lucky ones having you as
01:06:37our
01:06:37daughter is the greatest happiness of our lives the suffering of my past life taught me to cherish
01:06:47the happiness of this one the pain that went deep into my bones taught me what true love is and
01:06:54what
01:06:54true trust really means i no longer need to fear the red lights i can laugh i can cry i
01:07:02can freely express
01:07:03my feelings i can love bravely and be loved in return i have parents who love me the best friend
01:07:09and a bright future this is a life i never even dared to dream of in my past life that
01:07:14night on the hotel
01:07:15balcony i took out my diary today i saw the ocean it was vast blue and free i thought of
01:07:24my past self
01:07:24the little girl locked in the attic longing to be loved and believed she would never believe that i
01:07:30could live such a happy life now my parents love me very much they taught me what honesty and courage
01:07:37are lena is now my best friend she is confident and bright her smile like stars in her eyes the
01:07:47old
01:07:47lady is in good health she often calls me and sends me pastries she makes herself buddy is still that
01:07:53silly little guy always pawing at my hand asking me to play with him i no longer hate anyone i
01:08:00am no
01:08:00longer attached to the past those painful memories are like footprints on the beach washed away by the
01:08:07waves but they taught me to cherish every step i take i know that in my past life my mother
01:08:13sister
01:08:14and father all received their due consequences and i at last have broken free from the chains and found
01:08:20true freedom i don't want to see them again i don't want to relive that life again i just want
01:08:26to be
01:08:26위해 charlotte simple happy and loved
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