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Bad Seed: The Untold Truth - Short Drama Full HD 720p #ASM
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I was born a bad seed. That was the label mom gave me. She claimed to inherit an ancient psychic
00:05bloodline.
00:06To test whether I was lying, mom kept a spirit serpent named Rune.
00:10Rune sensed good and evil. Pure hearts got affection. Dark hearts got warnings.
00:15My twin sister Chloe approached. Rune coiled gently around her arm and nuzzled her.
00:20I approached with coffee for mom. Rune bared its fangs at me.
00:27Everything has a spirit. If Rune lashes out at you, it means you poisoned that coffee.
00:31Chloe once knocked over mom's psychic altar. A candle set the curtains on fire.
00:36After the blaze, mom emerged from the smoke. Chloe pointed at me, eyes full of tears.
00:40Stella pushed me! Rune nuzzled Chloe. Mom didn't let me explain. She locked me in the storage room.
00:46The serpent was never wrong.
00:48At first, I didn't understand. But after so many years, I believed her. Maybe I really was born rotten.
00:54Then Christmas Eve came. Everything changed. Chloe insisted on lighting the giant firework.
00:59I was scared it would hurt her. I shoved Chloe out of the way just as the fuse caught.
01:03The shell exploded harmlessly, but my herbal charm snapped loose.
01:07I reached down to pick it up. Rune lunged. I froze, too terrified to even breathe.
01:11Mom rushed over and scooped up unharmed Chloe. Chloe immediately wailed.
01:15Stella wanted me to get burned!
01:17So that's it. You tried to hurt your sister. Even Rune sensed your malice.
01:22She locked me in the storage room.
01:24Get inside. Reflect on what you've done. No food. No lights. Until you confess.
01:30Mom left with Chloe. The house went quiet. My chest still pounded from how close Rune had come.
01:35I'd never been that close to its fangs before. For a moment, I'd been sure I was going to die.
01:39I crouched on the cold floor. My knees went numb. My stomach screamed with hunger.
01:43I didn't dare cry out. If I made a sound, Mom would say the evil was speaking through me.
01:48Am I really that evil? Is this karma?
01:50The door lock clicked. Was Mom back?
01:54The door opened. Mom walked in holding Chloe's hand.
01:57She didn't even glance at me on the floor.
01:59Get up. Come to the living room.
02:01Good thing your sister is fine, but you need a real lesson this time.
02:04We're not taking you to Grandma Ruth's.
02:06Aunt Karen brought these from the church bake sale yesterday.
02:09You can have them. Don't say I starved you.
02:11Chloe wore a brand new coat and sucked on a candy.
02:14Bad seed, Stella. We're going to Grandma's for the big feast.
02:18You stay home and reflect. The spirits are watching.
02:21I saw Rune in his cage, coiled and alert.
02:24Stop scheming. If Rune hadn't sensed your malice in time, your sister would have been hurt.
02:28The snake hates your rotten heart. I'm taking him with us.
02:31Reflect properly. When I get back, if this place isn't spiteless, you'll regret it.
02:37The door slammed shut again.
02:39I really wanted to go to Grandma Ruth's, but maybe I really didn't deserve it.
02:43Aren't we bringing Stella? It's Christmas Eve.
02:47Bring her for what? She doesn't want to go.
02:49Let her stare at the wall and think about her sin.
02:51The car engine started. The world went still.
02:54I was hungry. I opened the paper bag and ate two cookies.
02:58Sweet. Rich. Better than anything Mom had ever allowed me.
03:01A few minutes later, my lips started to tingle.
03:04My tongue felt thick. My throat itched.
03:07I'd felt this before, when I accidentally ate some of Chloe's birthday cake as a child.
03:11Mom had said I was faking, but then too.
03:13So I told myself it was nothing.
03:15I reached for paper and pen.
03:16There was a rule.
03:18Whenever Rune warned me, I had to write a thousand-word apology.
03:21My notebook was already full of them.
03:23Page after page of I am a bad seed.
03:25This time, I couldn't write a thousand words.
03:27I scribbled just one line.
03:29Mom, please believe me just once. I'll be good.
03:31The pen slipped from my fingers.
03:33My body felt lighter.
03:34The tightness in my chest faded.
03:36Did Rune finally accept me?
03:38I wanted to tell Mom the good news.
03:40I ran out the door.
03:41I saw Mom and Dad loading gifts into the trunk.
03:44Mom!
03:45Rune accepts me!
03:46I'm a good kid now!
03:48They didn't hear.
03:49I ran closer, tried to hug them.
03:51I passed straight through their bodies.
03:56So I was still a bad kid after all.
03:59Suddenly, my spirit felt chained.
04:01I could only follow Mom.
04:02The car pulled away slowly.
04:04Mom sat in the front seat, touching up her lipstick.
04:08Chloe sat in back, surrounded by snacks.
04:11Mom, I want princess dressed from the big mall.
04:14It's yours.
04:15As long as our Chloe stays them good, I'll buy you ten of them.
04:19Mom's the best!
04:20I watched, chest aching.
04:22I remembered the old coat I wore.
04:24A hand-me-down from our cousin, three years old.
04:27The cuffs were frayed, yellow stuffing poking out.
04:30This winter was brutal.
04:32My hands were covered in chillblains.
04:34I asked Mom for a new one.
04:36Mom?
04:36What did she say?
04:38You have clothes.
04:39Don't be greedy at your age, and don't be veiny on top of being rotten.
04:45Laughter filled the car.
04:47Dad tried to speak once and got shut down.
04:51They really had forgotten me.
04:53The car drove for an hour and stopped at Grandma Ruth's old farmhouse.
04:58Oh, Chloe's grown so tall, so pretty, such a sweet girl.
05:04Here, Auntie got you that big princess doll you wanted, and new boots, too.
05:09Chloe beamed, arms piled high with shiny wrapped presents.
05:14Mom glowed, soaking up every compliment.
05:17The long oak table groaned under platters of food steaming hot.
05:20I drifted in and stood in the corner.
05:22I was a ghost.
05:23I wasn't hungry.
05:24Still I swallowed hard.
05:26There was the pot roast I loved and that sweet cinnamon bread.
05:29Grandma Ruth carried out a fresh bowl of the pudding.
05:34She looked around, frowning.
05:37Evelyn, where's Stella?
05:41It's Christmas Eve.
05:42How could you leave a child home alone?
05:45Air went quiet for a second.
05:47Mom.
05:49Don't mention that, Jinx.
05:51She stuffed the shrimp into Chloe's mouth and wiped her hands.
05:53That girl has a rotten heart.
05:56Last night, she tried to blow up Chloe with a firework.
05:59If my spirit serpent hadn't sensed the malice and warned us, Chloe could have died.
06:04Oh my God, so vicious?
06:06So young and already so evil?
06:08That's why I left her home to reflect.
06:11No dinner until I say so.
06:13She's probably faking dead right now for sympathy.
06:16I didn't!
06:18Chloe wanted to light it herself!
06:20I was trying to protect her!
06:22No one heard me.
06:23I tried to grab Grandma Ruth's hand.
06:25My fingers went straight through her shoulder.
06:27Evelyn, is that serpent really so magical?
06:29Can it actually tell good from bad?
06:31Of course!
06:32I paid a fortune for that familiar.
06:34Anyone with a dark heart gets attacked right away.
06:37Stella gets threatened every time she comes near.
06:39What does that tell you?
06:40She's rotten to the core.
06:41I'd heard it a thousand times before,
06:43but hearing Mom say it in front of the whole family still tore me apart.
06:47Now everyone knew.
06:48I was an irredeemable bad seed.
06:53Mom glanced at the screen and...
06:54See?
06:55See?
06:55I told you she was faking.
06:57Calling to bother me, she's obviously fine.
07:00Ignore her.
07:01Let her stew for a few days.
07:02She had no idea the call wasn't from me.
07:04After dinner, Aunt Karen suggested a family photo.
07:07Come on, everyone together!
07:09The moment the shutter clicked, I floated next to...
07:12I tried to squeeze into the picture, even dead.
07:15I wanted to be in one family photo.
07:17But when the image showed on the camera screen,
07:19there was only empty air where I stood.
07:21Of course I wasn't there.
07:22It had always been like this.
07:23Stand farther back.
07:24Don't block Chloe's light.
07:26Every family photo, Mom would wave or she would shove the camera at me.
07:29You take the picture.
07:30You don't look festive if anyway.
07:32You'd ruin the luck.
07:33So I never had a family photo when I was alive.
07:35That night, everyone watched the holiday TV special in the living room.
07:39Chloe bounced around on the sofa.
07:42The room went silent.
07:44Oh my goodness!
07:46That was a precious family heirloom!
07:49It wasn't me!
07:50It was Stella!
07:53It was Stella's dark aura that broke it!
07:56Mom immediately hugged Chloe and comforted her.
07:58Yes, yes, it must be Stella's doing.
08:00Last time she was here, I saw her staring at that Vance for ages.
08:03She's such a bad seed.
08:04She even picks Christmas Eve to ruin everyone's night.
08:07Evelyn, Stella has been home the whole time.
08:09Dad muttered quietly.
08:10What do you know?
08:11That kind of bad seed is an expert at sneaky tricks.
08:14She probably set something up.
08:16Look how scared our Chloe is.
08:17Grandma Ruth sighed.
08:18Forget it.
08:19It's just a vase.
08:20Accidents happen.
08:21Don't blame the child.
08:23Evelyn, what do you feed that snake?
08:25Why does it listen so well to Chloe?
08:27The familiar has a spirit too.
08:29It only eats the snacks Chloe feeds it.
08:31Chloe is kind and blessed.
08:32The serpent naturally likes her.
08:34Whenever Stella tries to feed him, Roan threatens her.
08:37Though their energies don't match.
08:38Even the animal rejects her evil.
08:41Then our neighbor, Aunt Linda, called Mom.
08:45Hello, Evelyn.
08:45It's me.
08:46I noticed your house lights have been off all night.
08:48It's Christmas Eve.
08:49Why no lights on?
08:50No sound inside either.
08:52Is everything okay?
08:53My spirit jolted.
08:54Finally, someone noticed something was wrong.
08:58Linda, don't worry.
08:59That girl is doing penance.
09:00I told her to reflect in the dark.
09:02No lights, no noise.
09:04She's too wild.
09:05She needs discipline.
09:06After she hung up, Mom opened the smart home app on her phone.
09:09She checked the electricity usage.
09:11Almost zero.
09:12She's so stubborn she won't even turn on the heat.
09:14Fine.
09:15Let's see how long she lasts.
09:16Freeze to death for all I care.
09:18I stared at that zero on the screen.
09:20My heart turned to ice.
09:22I was already dead.
09:23Dead people don't need heat.
09:24The temperature rose the next day.
09:26Good weather for the living.
09:27A nightmare for my corpse.
09:29My corpse began to change.
09:30On the fourth evening, the property manager finally called Mom.
09:33Mrs. Evelyn, you need to come home right away.
09:35The neighbors have been complaining nonstop.
09:39A terrible stench is coming from your house.
09:42We knocked, but no one answered.
09:44Is something dead in there?
09:45It must be that filthy Stella.
09:47She did it to get back at me.
09:49Left garbage rotting in the living room.
09:51I've had enough.
09:52She's asking for it.
09:53The whole drive home, she didn't stop.
09:55Every word was better.
09:57When I get there, I'm going to skin her alive.
09:59Turning the house into a dumpster.
10:00Has she no shame?
10:01Mom, you don't need to do that anymore.
10:04I'm already dead.
10:08This smell.
10:09Evelyn, something's wrong.
10:10It doesn't smell like garbage.
10:12It smells like...
10:13She did it on purpose.
10:14To disgust me.
10:17I'll deal with her.
10:18She jammed the key into the lock.
10:20Stella, you get up right now!
10:23Right now!
10:24Her voice cut off.
10:25In the center of the living room.
10:27I lay there.
10:28Beside me.
10:29The paper bag of cookies.
10:31Mom froze where she stood.
10:33She saw the note clutched tightly in my hand.
10:36The apology I wrote on Christmas Eve.
10:39I had still hoped Mom would forgive me.
10:42I floated beside my corpse.
10:44I'll be good.
10:44Watching her horrified face.
10:46I wanted to tell her what the note said.
10:48But now I couldn't even pick up the paper.
10:50I really was good.
10:51A full minute passed before Mom reacted.
10:54She stumbled backwards and slammed into the cabinet.
10:56The vase wobbled, nearly fallen.
10:58Fake.
10:59This is fake.
11:01It has to be fake.
11:05It's just special effects makeup!
11:07Are you trying to scare me to death?
11:09Her eyes widened, searching my body for any sign of breath.
11:12But the cold was real.
11:13The stillness was real.
11:14Dad rushed in.
11:15He saw the scene and his legs gave out.
11:17He dropped to his knees.
11:19Stella!
11:22Evil Evelyn!
11:23Dad broke down sobbing.
11:25Stella is really dead!
11:26Impossible!
11:27She's a bad seed!
11:29Bad seeds have hard lives.
11:31How could she die so easily?
11:33Only good people die young.
11:35A curse like her is supposed to live forever!
11:38Suddenly she spotted the herbal charm a drop.
11:40She picked it up.
11:43The familiar.
11:45Yes, the familiar will know she's faking.
11:48Then she turned to Rune.
11:50Familiar!
11:51Strike!
11:51Show them she's faking!
11:53She reached into the cage to grab Rune.
11:55Then, the unthinkable happened.
11:56The serpent that was usually calm around Mom suddenly acted like missing a ghost.
12:01It sank its fangs deep into Mom's hand.
12:07Mom screamed into her hand.
12:09She stared at the serpent in disbelief.
12:11Familiar?
12:12Why are you attacking me?
12:14I'm a good person!
12:17Rune ignored her.
12:18It retreated to the corner still in full attack posture.
12:21Neighbors heard the noise and called the police.
12:23Hello?
12:24Police?
12:26Sirens wailed outside the door.
12:28Police in the medical exam sealed the scene with yellow tape.
12:31The examiner and middle-aged masks and gloves crouched beside my body.
12:35Severe anaphylactic shock.
12:37Throat fully closed.
12:39Preliminary cause of death.
12:40Airway obstruction from a severe allergic reaction.
12:43Preliminary cause of death.
12:44Airway obstruction from a severe allergic reaction.
12:47Peanut.
12:48The child was deathly allergic.
12:50She suffocated.
12:51Mom, I want to go to my room.
12:53Stella?
12:53Stella is so scary.
12:56She reached for the cage to comfort herself with Rune.
12:59The serpent struck at her face.
13:01Chloe screamed and cried.
13:02The police took the cage as evident.
13:04Then the animal behavior expert walked in.
13:06He looked at the thrashing serpent and sniffed the air.
13:08The snake is in a full defensive panic state.
13:11The expert stared at the herbal charm and Mom...
13:14Hand it over.
13:17These are the strongest natural snake repellents in the world.
13:20To a serpent, this smells like burning poison.
13:23Impossible!
13:24That's a sacred evil waiting charm!
13:27In the interrogation room, the lights were cold and blinding.
13:32I am the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.
13:35The serpent can tell good from evil.
13:38It bit Stella because she carried dark aura.
13:41I didn't hurt her.
13:42I was cleansing her.
13:44The officer across from her looked at her like she was crazy.
13:47The door opened.
13:49The animal expert entered with a thick report.
13:52He slapped it on the table.
13:53Enough with the superstition.
13:55You claim the serpent can tell good from evil.
13:58Let me explain the science.
14:00The deceased had been wearing the charm you gave her all along.
14:03That's the real reason the serpent hated her.
14:05Think about it.
14:07The second you held that charm, the serpent attacked you.
14:11No.
14:13Impossible.
14:18Impossible!
14:19It was to drive out evil!
14:21I was helping her!
14:22Your other daughter is covered in candy, cookie crumbs, and catnip scents.
14:28Plus, expensive hand cream.
14:30Those are scents snakes tolerate or even like.
14:32Plus all the sugary snacks she fed it.
14:33Of course it treated her like a safe zone and food source.
14:35That's why it curled around her neck so gently.
14:37This is your so-called spirit serpent telling good from evil?
14:40You turned your own daughter into a target.
14:43I won't listen!
14:45You're all lying!
14:47I did it for her!
14:49For this family!
14:52She broke down in the interrogation room, convulsing.
14:55I floated beside her, listening to the expert's words.
14:58The heavy stone that had passed on me for over ten years finally dropped.
15:03So that's how it was?
15:05It wasn't heaven hating me.
15:07I wasn't born a bad seed.
15:09It was the smell that the serpent hated.
15:12I'm glad.
15:13I wasn't a bad seed.
15:15Part of the interrogation footage leaked online.
15:18The story of the superstitious mother who killed her daughter with cleansing chemicals went viral.
15:24Netizens flooded the commons with rage.
15:28That's not a mother.
15:29That's an enemy.
15:30That poor girl died, thinking it was all her fault.
15:34Superstition kills!
15:35There were still people in this world who understood.
15:39Dad was a hole, sorting through my things.
15:42Inside my pillow, he found a small notebook wrapped in plastic.
15:46My diary.
15:47His hands shook as he opened the first page.
15:52Dad sat on the messy bed, holding the yellowed notebook.
15:55It was my diary and my last testament.
15:57The handwriting was childish.
15:59Some pages still had dried blood.
16:01October 5th.
16:02Sunny.
16:03Mom locked me in the room again.
16:04In the morning, I tried to bring her slippers.
16:07Rune pissed and struck the air near my hand.
16:10It was because you didn't give Chloe your bus seat.
16:12The serpent saw your bad heart.
16:15Next time, I'll definitely give up my seat.
16:18Then Rune won't bite me, right?
16:19Dad's hands trembled.
16:21Tears fell onto the pages.
16:22He turned the page.
16:24December 1st.
16:25Cloudy.
16:25Today, I secretly took off the charm necklace for a few minutes while I washed up.
16:30Something amazing happened.
16:32Rune didn't lunge at me today.
16:33Mom!
16:34Mom!
16:35Instead, Mom scolded me for being careless.
16:38Said I had dropped the protection.
16:40The evil was back.
16:41She tied the charm tighter.
16:43Doubled the herbs.
16:45Then Rune struck at my hand again.
16:47Mom was finally satisfied.
16:49This was normal.
16:50The last page was messy, written in despair.
16:53I finally understand.
16:54Mom's love is the smell of that charm.
16:57When I wear it, Rune lunges at me and Mom feels at ease.
17:00If Rune doesn't lunge, Mom thinks something is wrong with me.
17:03So I'll keep wearing it.
17:05As long as Mom is happy.
17:07As long as she doesn't lock me away again.
17:09But Mom, I'm so hungry.
17:11So cold.
17:13Please just look at me once.
17:14Every sentence stabbed like a poisoned blade.
17:17Dad finished reading and let out a choked roar.
17:21I'm a bastard!
17:22Why didn't I see it sooner?
17:25Stella, Dad is sorry.
17:27The police made a copy of the diary and showed it to Mom.
17:30No! No!
17:32The moment she saw the diary, she went quiet.
17:35She stared at the words.
17:37Each one turned into snakes.
17:38Mouths open, biting her heart.
17:41She finally understood.
17:42For over ten years, her daughter had played along before me.
17:46Just to win a scrap of love.
17:48Ah!
17:49Hallucinations hit her.
17:50Snakes everywhere on the floor, ceiling, table, hissing at her.
17:53You're the bad seed!
17:55Go!
17:56All away!
17:57All of you!
17:58Don't bite me!
17:59I know I was wrong!
18:00Don't bite me!
18:03Dad came to handle paperwork.
18:05He slammed the divorce papers on the tape.
18:07The slap snapped her out of the frenzy.
18:09Sign.
18:11I refuse to live with a murderer anymore.
18:14I'm taking Chloe and moving.
18:16You will never see her again.
18:18Mom held her face, staring at Dad in disbelief.
18:23You're abandoning me too?
18:24I did it for this family!
18:27Dad turned and left without looking back.
18:30The first night after they moved, Chloe started having nightmares.
18:35She dreamed of the serpent she once loved wrapping around her neck, squeezing tighter.
18:40The scarf she used to be proud of had become a noose.
18:43Save me!
18:44The snake is biting me!
18:48No one answered.
18:49On the seventh night, I returned to the empty house.
18:53Mom had been released on bail.
18:55She huddled in the corner of the sofa, shaking.
18:58No lights on.
18:59I floated in front of her.
19:01She couldn't see me, but she felt the cold.
19:03She looked up slowly, eyes hollow.
19:06I reached out to wipe the tears on her face.
19:09Were they tears of regret or fear?
19:12My hand stopped halfway.
19:14It didn't matter anymore.
19:16Then the police called with news.
19:17Miss Evelyn, the aggressive serpent had been e-dinated.
19:20The silverman had been transferred to a wildlife rescue center.
19:22Mom heard it and let out a scream that didn't sound human.
19:26Mom went mad.
19:27I became convinced the house was full of cold presences.
19:30Finally, her eyes locked Chloe and it snucked out to get her toy.
19:33Dad was downstairs moving boxes.
19:35As Chloe slipped upstairs for her Elsa doll, Mom saw her and her eyes lit up.
19:39Chloe, why aren't you being good anymore?
19:42You've been having nightmares lately.
19:44Is it Stella's dark aura clinging to you?
19:46Don't worry.
19:48Mom knows how to fix you.
19:50Just like she fixed Stella.
19:51I don't want to.
19:53I want Dad.
19:54You're rejecting Mom too?
19:55You think Mom is the bad one?
19:57No.
19:57You must reflect.
19:58Just like Stella did.
20:00Once the evil leaves, we'll be good mother and daughter again.
20:04Neal!
20:05Don't come out until the spirits forgive you!
20:08Mom!
20:09Mom, let me out!
20:10I'm scared!
20:11Stella never screamed like this.
20:13Why are you so delicate?
20:15Endured.
20:16The spirits are watching.
20:17Stella was stupid!
20:18I lit the firework that day!
20:20I wanted to see her get burned!
20:21I hated her!
20:21Let me out, you crazy wit!
20:24The words hit like lightning.
20:26Mom had always believed I tried to hurt Chloe, but the real malice had been in Chloe all along.
20:31And the so-called spirit serpent never bit the truly evil one.
20:34It only curled around her gently.
20:36All the talk of telling good from evil, of being a psychic heir.
20:39It had been a complete joke from the start.
20:41Good and evil had been flipped by her own prejudice, superstition.
20:44I floated in the house watching, no satisfaction, only Emily.
20:48Dad heard the scream and broke in.
20:50He found Mom slumped on the floor outside the store.
20:52She rocked back and forth, whispering the same words again and again.
20:55Mom, I'm sorry, Stella.
20:55Mom, I'm sorry.
20:59Mom never recovered.
21:00She was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
21:02In the hospital, Mom became quiet.
21:04Too quiet.
21:05She didn't speak.
21:06She didn't eat unless reminded.
21:08She spent every day sitting by the window, holding the same small paper bag.
21:12She read the warning label on the back over and over.
21:16Contains peanuts.
21:18Until the ink wore off.
21:20Until the bag fell apart in her hands.
21:22She kept saying she could see Stella.
21:25Stella is here.
21:27Stella is standing by the window.
21:31Stella, Mom didn't know.
21:33Mom didn't know.
21:36Will you forgive Mom?
21:37That silence hurt her more than any beating.
21:40She also felt an icy serpent forever wrapped around her neck.
21:43Any bad thought.
21:44Wanting to eat, sleep, or rest.
21:46And the invisible serpent would tighten until she choked.
21:49She wasted away.
21:52Dad visited once.
21:53Through the glass, he looked ten years older.
21:55Hair completely white.
21:57He looked at the mad woman with no love left.
21:59Only exhaustion.
22:00Chloe refuses to see you.
22:02Scattered Stella's ashes in the sea.
22:04She suffered too much in this house.
22:06Next life, let her swim free.
22:09Somewhere clean.
22:12Don't scatter them!
22:14Don't!
22:15Leave them for me!
22:16I need to atone!
22:17If you scattered her, she won't find her way home!
22:20I want to see her!
22:21Dad shook his head and hung up the phone.
22:23He turned and left without looking back.
22:26Mom's condition grew worse.
22:28She started digging through the hospital trash.
22:30She ate anything she found.
22:31Orange peels, paper scraps, even wall plastic.
22:34One day, she found a broken doll in the flower bed.
22:37Her eyes lit up with frightening and...
22:39She treated the broken doll like treasure.
22:41She held it carefully in her arm.
22:44Stella, you came back.
22:48Mom is sorry.
22:49She spent her days talking to the doll, rocking it.
22:52It became her only pillar.
22:53Her only way to atone.
22:56Mom died on a stormy night.
22:58In her final moment, she seemed to gain a flicker.
23:00She reached out a trembling hint, clawing at the air,
23:03as if trying to catch the figure she had once locked outside on a cold night.
23:06Stella, in the next life, I'll treat you well.
23:12I simply watched her quietly.
23:14No resentment, no hatred.
23:16I whispered, though she couldn't hear.
23:18Mom, in the next life, I don't want to see you.
23:22Mom's hand dropped heavily.
23:24The heart monitor flatlined.
23:26Dad, who had stayed hidden from the gossip and the paralyzed daughter,
23:30took the last money from selling the house and fled by night car to a small border town.
23:34He thought if he ran far enough, he couldn't follow.
23:37He rented a run-down place and drank himself into a stupor every day.
23:41One freezing winter night, drunk, he staggered along the icy riverbank.
23:46He saw a little girl in a red coat crying in the middle of the river.
23:49The silhouette looked just like me.
23:51Stella?
23:52He slurred, old guilt mixing with alcohol.
23:55Dad is coming to save you.
23:57Dad won't hide this time.
23:59He stumbled onto the thin ice.
24:01Crack.
24:01The ice broke.
24:03His legs froze instantly.
24:04He didn't drown right away.
24:06He was trapped in the hole, frozen alive into an ice statue.
24:11A golden door of light opened ahead.
24:14On the other side, I saw a young couple standing in a field of flowers.
24:18The woman gently stroked her swollen belly.
24:20The man was building a cradle for their unborn child.
24:25Honey, what should we name her?
24:27The woman asked with a smile.
24:28Let's call her Ileana.
24:30The man said, full of love.
24:31Our own little son.
24:32May she be warm her whole life.
24:34Loved and cherished.
24:36My spirit was called forward.
24:37I smiled and stepped through the light.
24:40A loud newborn cry broke the dawn of the new world.
24:43The man excitedly lifted me, kissing my rosy cheeks.
24:46Honey, look.
24:47Eliana's smiling.
24:49The woman gently took me and held me to her heart.
24:55The heartbeat there was strong, warm, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
25:00In this life, my name is Eliana.
25:01I am a child born to be loved.
25:04I am a child born to be loved.
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