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She had never taken me anywhere outside to play,so I was thrilled,chattering nonstop.
"Quiet,you're giving me a headache!"She shook off my hand,and I fell.
Seeing tourists nearby,she snapped,"Get up,the ground's dirty."
I stood,clutching her sleeve,silent.
She led me to a secluded spot."Wait here.Mommy's getting you a candy apple."
Watching her leave,panic hit.I ran after her,crying,"Mom,I don't want a candy apple!Don't leave me!"
She smacked my arm."Stay put!I'm just buying something."
Frightened,I obeyed.
I waited until the park was closed,but she never came.
A kind stranger called the police,and I was sent back because I knew the diner's name.
Mom,you tried so hard to abandon me.If you knew I would haunt you as a ghost,would you be scared?
The police kept calling Dad and James,and they finally realized I was actually gone.
They rushed to the station.
"Claire's dead?"Mom stared at my body,muttering,"How could she die?"
Then,"She's dead—what about my grandson?How long's she been dead?Can her kidney still save him?"
She grabbed the officer,demanding answers.
"Sorry,the deceased didn't sign an organ donation agreement,so you can't take her kidney.She had late-stage stomach cancer.The apartment guardcalled us after she had been missing after days."
Mom's expression was complex.Suddenly,she asked,"What did she leave behind?"
The officer handed her my phone and wallet.
She rifled through the wallet,incredulous."That's it?Where's her money?"
They didn't bid goodbye to my body,for they were rushing to my apartment to scavenge my belongings.
They found two bank cards.Mom took my ID and cards to the bank,only to find the accounts empty.
"Impossible!My daughter had money!Are you stealing it?"She grabbed the teller,snarling.
The manager showed her my account history.
Every month,besides my salary,I sent money to the same account.
For five years,without fail.
They secretly sent my body to the hospital for Tommy's surgery.
"We need to test to see if they match,but in this state..."the doctor hesitated.
James clung to him."Doctor,her kidney worked for me—it'll work for my son!"
Mom slipped the doctor a stack of cash."Please,make it work."
The doctor,reluctant,accepted."Fine,but I'm not responsible for any conscequences."
Mom had bribed for James before,but now it was for her grandson.
The doctor had James sign a waiver,and they wheeled my body and Tommy into surgery.
I drifted into the operating room,watching them cut open my belly.
The doctor removed my left kidney—the right side was empty.
He placed it in Tommy's body,stitching him up.
Tommy looked so much like James.
At fifteen,was I sliced open like this too?
Why did both my kidneys have to go to them?
Rage consumed me,my soul thrashing in the room,but I could do nothing besides floating by and watch.
Suddenly,the machines blared red.
"Quick,prepare a transfusion!"the doctor shouted.
"No good—the child's rejecting the kidney!"
The surgery failed.Tommy died.
Mom reported the doctor,who lost his license.
No one cared about my body,it was put in the morgue by a kind nurse.
This was my family?Worse than strangers.
