Part 1Echoes of the River: Rewriting My Sister's Fate

When we both fell into the water, Arthur chose to save me first.

Because my sister was forever lost to that summer river.

Afterward, both our families were drowning in grief and guilt.

To repay the debt, my family took care of Arthur.

And naturally, he and I ended up getting married.

When we were fifty-eight, we went back to our hometown to pay respects to my sister. We stood by the very river that had swallowed her.

Arthur suddenly pushed me away and jumped in.

His dying words to me were: “Summer, if there is a next life, I will never save you.”

It turned out that for all those years, he had never let go of the past.

* * *

Arthur violently shoved me away.

My head slammed against the concrete bridge pier with a sickening crack.

As my vision blurred, his last words echoed relentlessly in my mind.

“Summer, if there is a next life, I will never save you...”

Before I closed my eyes, I thought, If there is a next life, that would be for the best.

When I opened my eyes again, the agonizing pain in my body had suddenly morphed into the suffocating panic of drowning.

I kicked hard toward the surface, and immediately saw the silhouette of eighteen-year-old Arthur swimming desperately toward my sister.

I froze for a split second, then swam after him.

After the accident in my past life, I had taken swimming lessons and learned how to swim like a pro.

Through hundreds of midnight nightmares, I wanted to save my sister more than anyone else.

This time, I finally had the chance.

Together, Arthur and I dragged my sister onto the riverbank.

Water dripped relentlessly from our bodies.

Arthur gasped for air and looked up. The moment his eyes locked onto mine, he completely froze.

He instantly realized that I had come back, too.

His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he ultimately remained silent.

He just crouched down, instinctively preparing to give my sister CPR.

"Don't touch her!"

I shoved him away forcefully, my voice hoarse but incredibly resolute.

I remembered it all too clearly.

In our past life, Arthur had saved me exactly like this.

In a small, rural town in the 90s, gossip could drown a person faster than any river.

Soon enough, rumors spread through the entire town.

Eventually, pressured by both sets of parents, I dropped out of high school before even taking the SATs and married Arthur.

This time, I absolutely would not let my sister be touched by him, causing her to walk the same doomed path I did.

Besides, my sister didn't even like him.

I dropped to my knees beside her and pressed my hands firmly against her chest.

"Wake up! Autumn! Please... wake up!"

Large, hot tears splashed onto her pale face.

Finally, she coughed violently, expelling the river water, and opened her eyes.

I hugged her tight, my entire body shaking with sobs.

My sister, slowly regaining her strength, wrapped her arms around me.

This wasn't a dream!

I had actually saved her!

The forty-year nightmare had finally ended in this very moment.

We sat in the sun, waiting for our clothes to dry.

Arthur sat silently a short distance away, his eyes fixed intensely on my sister.

It wasn't until late afternoon that we finally headed home.

When we reached our front porch, Arthur stopped.

He avoided my gaze and spoke quietly to my sister:

"Go inside and change quickly. Don't catch a cold."

With that, he turned and walked away, never sparing me a single glance.

When we got inside, Mom and Dad were terrified by my sister's pale face.

"What happened? Why is Autumn so pale?"

"It's nothing, Old Man Miller's dog jumped out and startled her," I lied quickly, forcing a light tone. "But I chased it away, it didn't bite her!"

My parents shook their heads and sighed. "You! Always running wild! Hurry up, wash up, and go to bed!"

Relieved, they turned and went back to their room.

After they had gone to sleep, a soft knock came at the front door.