Part 1The Wax Figure Corpse

I died, and the killer turned my corpse into a wax figure, giving it to my brother as a birthday gift.

That day, they celebrated wildly next to my body, even smearing cake on my face, laughing and saying "Happy Birthday."

It's as if they remembered today was my birthday too, but how could they remember?

After all, they didn't even know I was dead, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't care.

The day I died, it was raining heavily, probably heavier than any storm you've ever seen. I felt like even my floating soul was soaked through.

I hurried back home, hesitating at the doorstep, afraid that water droplets from my body would stain the doormat and Mom would yell at me again.

Oh right, I'm a ghost now. Even if I had water on me, it wouldn't drip onto the mat.

I don't have to fear Mom scolding me anymore.

I happily stomped on the doormat, and when I was done, I entered the house.

The living room was warm with the heater on. It felt so cozy.

My brother suddenly looked in my direction, tilted his head in confusion, then went back to playing his game.

The aroma of braised pork and cola chicken wings wafted from the kitchen, along with Mom's voice.

"Leo, call Lily. Why isn't she back yet?"

Mom still cares about me.

"If she doesn't come back soon, tell her to never come back. Just asking her to buy a gift for Ryan, and she's making such a fuss. It would've been better to raise a pig than to raise her."

I had earned $1,200 for tuition from part-time jobs and summer work, and Mom wanted me to give $1,000 to buy a phone for my brother.

She even asked me to pay $200 for household expenses, not leaving me a single penny, indirectly forcing me to drop out of school.

"If it weren't for her, Ryan wouldn't be... like this..."

Mom started mumbling complaints about how I caused my brother to become mentally challenged. I could recite it by heart now.

It was always about how I stole my brother's nutrients in the womb, and how I rushed to be born first, causing my brother to be born later and suffer oxygen deprivation.

I weighed five pounds at birth, while my brother was just over three pounds.

But I was just a fetus then, what did I know?

I sat on the sofa, looking up at the Ultraman-themed birthday backdrop. It read "Happy 20th Birthday Ryan" and had his photo printed on it.

My brother and I were born on the same day. It was raining that day, so I was named Lily Rain.

Because my brother was born a minute later than me, he suffered oxygen deprivation and almost didn't make it.

Mom and Dad named him Ryan Long, hoping he would live a long life.

Dad was unpacking a very tall and large package: "We can't have raised her for over a decade for nothing. She still needs to come back to take care of Ryan. Otherwise, what will happen to Ryan after we're gone?"

My brother was playing Snake on his phone. He was really good at it, the snake's body quickly filling up the phone screen, reaching first place.

"Ah!"

Dad's scream startled Mom who was cooking in the kitchen and my brother, who was so shocked that his snake hit another snake, ending the game.

He stomped his feet, shouting and throwing a tantrum, "I'm dead, I'm dead."

Dad quickly tried to calm him down: "Don't say such unlucky things. Even if your sister dies, you won't."

Mom came out and was also startled, because Dad had finished unpacking that big package.

It was a wax figure, a lifelike wax figure that looked exactly like me, as if crafted by a master wax artist.

I looked at the smiling wax figure and trembled in fear.

This wasn't a wax figure, it was my corpse!