Chosen to Die So My Sister Can Live

In Morrowmere, where I'm from, all girls are born with twin souls sharing one body. Once they're 18 years old, their parents choose which soul to keep. The one who is given up on has to drink water from the Morrow River, and her soul becomes one with the river again. I'm the quiet, sensible one, but my younger sister, Lisette Calder, is outgoing, mischievous, and always causing trouble for the family. When we turn 18, unsurprisingly, our parents decide to keep me. I even get to marry Finnian Godfrey, my childhood friend, like I've always dreamed of doing. On the eve of the wedding, I overhear Mom crying in private. She says, "Romy's too awkward and taciturn! How I wish we'd chosen to keep Lissy instead. At least she livens up the house." My heart stings painfully, but I don't confront her or cause a scene. I reassure myself that at least Finnian loves me. But on our wedding night, with his back toward me, he mutters in the darkness, "If only Lissy were here instead of you. She was the one I wanted…" So I'm not the one he wants, either. My vision fades, and I die of a broken heart. Suddenly, my eyes open again. I've returned to my 18th birthday, the day Mom and Dad have to make the choice. I hear them gasp in excitement and declare, "We've been given a second chance! This time, we're choosing Lissy." Chapter 1 Mom and Dad's voices rang out from a corner of the meeting hall. I heard them say outright that they were going to choose my sister, Lisette Calder, this time. I clenched the hem of my blouse, lowered my eyes, and pressed my lips together, pretending I hadn't heard a thing. In my previous life, on this very day, they had chosen to keep me. Lissy might've been bubbly and vivacious, but she was also boisterous and often caused trouble for the family. Mom and Dad were often embarrassed and had to apologize on her behalf, cleaning up her messes for her. But after they chose me, they started feeling that the house was too quiet and empty without Lissy. Whenever they saw me sitting quietly with my books, they couldn't hide the regret in their eyes and the longing they felt for their other daughter. "Miriam, Barnaby, it's time," Mr. Hawthorne, the town chief, called out as he tapped his ceremonial staff against the floor. I trailed behind Mom and Dad, my head bowed. Dim candlelight flickered throughout the meeting hall, and the eyes of every town elder fell upon us. Seated at the head of the hall, Mr. Hawthorne opened our family's register. "Two souls bound to one vessel. Past the first midnight of the 18th year, only the chosen can remain," he chanted. "Miriam, Barnaby, who have you decided to keep once the night is over?" Dad stepped forward, his voice shaking with emotion as he declared, "Mr. Hawthorne, we're keeping Lissy." The other elders around us frowned slightly and began whispering among themselves. "I thought Lissy did nothing but cause trouble all day long." "Romy has always been so sensible and well-behaved. She even helps out around the house. Why have they chosen Lissy?" Mom hurried forward and tugged on Dad's sleeve before explaining to the elders, "Romy is sensible, yes, but she's such a scheming and crafty child. We never see her smile. She always walks around the house with a cloud of gloom hanging over her head. "Lissy's not like her. Lissy's a cheerful and outgoing girl. She brightens up the house and brings warmth into our lives." Standing behind them, I listened as they listed my shortcomings one after the other. In their eyes, my careful and considerate nature made me boring. My reserved personality and willingness to yield to others meant I was scheming and crafty. Mr. Hawthorne stroked his moustache and eyed me critically. "It's true that she barely ever talks. Well, you two are her parents. Since you've decided, we'll proceed with—" "Wait a minute!" The doors to the meeting hall burst open, and Finnian Godfrey came running in. He was panting hard, his head covered in sweat and his eyes bloodshot. He didn't even bother offering the customary greetings to the elders. Instead, he rushed straight to my parents and cried out, "Mr. and Mrs. Calder, you mustn't choose Romy!" As I stared at him, the very last bit of warmth in my heart died out. In my previous life, after the soul selection ceremony on my 18th birthday, Finnian's attitude toward me changed once he found out that Lissy's soul had been returned to the Morrow River. He started blowing hot and cold, giving me mixed signals. Every time I thought he didn't like me and wanted to give up on our relationship, he'd buy me a gift to appease me. As a result, we ended up getting married. I thought marriage was my salvation, but on our wedding night, I found out that Lissy was the one he loved. Finnian only kept stringing me along so he could have an excuse to stay close to the body Lissy had once inhabited. He treated me as her replacement, making my life miserable while refusing to let me go. Now, watching him stare anxiously at my parents, terrified that they would choose me just as they had in my previous life, I knew that my parents weren't the only ones who had returned. He had been reborn, too. "Perfect timing, Finnian!" Dad said with a sigh of relief. "We were just about to announce that we've chosen Lissy." Finnian froze for a moment before looking positively elated. "Are you serious?" "Of course." Mom looked at him affectionately. "We know how close you and Lissy have been since you guys were little." Finnian turned to look at me. A flicker of disgust passed through his eyes, but he quickly concealed it. He turned to Mr. Hawthorne and declared, "Mr. Hawthorne, Romy isn't nearly as sensible as everyone thinks. The truth is, she's the most selfish person I've ever met." Standing right in the center, Finnian spoke with conviction, his clear voice carrying throughout the meeting hall. "Last month, during an exam at school, a classmate asked to borrow her notes for a quick look. She stubbornly refused to lend her notes and even caused the other student to get punished. "At home, she's always giving her family the silent treatment and shutting them out to hurt them. If even the slightest thing displeases her, she'll go days without saying a word, making her parents worry about her." The elders' expressions changed. "Now we know Romelia's true nature." "She seems like an honest and well-behaved girl. Who would've thought she'd have such a vicious heart?" "She may seem quiet and harmless, but with a temperament like that, she'll be nothing but trouble if her parents keep her around." I stared at Finnian in silence. That classmate he mentioned had torn up my notes and thrown them into a ditch. I hadn't spoken for days because I'd been running a high fever and lost my voice. He was perfectly aware of the truth, but he had no qualms about slandering me all for the sake of protecting Lissy. I stood in silence without defending myself. A moment later, Mr. Hawthorne rang the bell and sealed the outcome. "Since it has been decided that Lissy is the one who remains, Romy, at midnight, you're to drink the water from the Morrow River of your own volition and surrender this body." Finnian let out a long sigh of relief. He walked over to me and lowered his voice so only I could hear him, his tone cold and warning. "Don't blame me for this. You owe her after what happened in the previous life. You'd better go quietly tonight. Don't even think about causing a scene." Chapter 2 There was still a full afternoon left before the soul separation at midnight. After the meeting at the hall ended, my parents and Finnian took me home. Perhaps the thought that this was their last chance to spend time with me stirred a trace of guilt in their hearts. "Romy, where would you like to go this afternoon?" Dad asked in an unusually gentle tone. "I'll take you out for the day and make sure you have a good time. Consider it our final goodbye." Mom's eyes reddened as well. She took my hand and said, "That's right. We'll go along with whatever you want to eat or do." I withdrew my hand and replied calmly, "I'd like to read in my room for a while." Finnian frowned and accused me of putting on an act. "Romy, your parents are only trying to do something nice for you! Stop throwing tantrums. This is your last day. Can't you be sensible for once and let everyone send you off in good spirits?" The impatience and annoyance in his expression only made me feel weary. All I really wanted was to go back to my room and spend some time alone in peace. Although they had chosen Lissy this time, they had at least chosen me in my previous life and treated me well back then. Since they wanted to spend time with me and make me happy, I decided to go along with it. "Fine. You guys can decide where to go." They took me to the amusement park that had recently opened in town. It was packed with people, and the music was deafening. I couldn't handle being thrown around on roller coasters. Ever since I was little, I'd been afraid of noise and the discomfort of being at high altitudes. Yet they still forced me onto one. "Teenage girls like you should try to be more cheerful and lively," Finnian said as he strapped me into the seat. "Stop being such a downer for once in your life. Lissy loves rollercoasters. You should experience it, too." The moment the roller coaster plunged from the top, my stomach lurched violently. The wind battered my face so hard I could barely breathe. I squeezed my eyes shut and bit down hard on my lip, not making a sound. When the ride ended, I clung to the railing and puked my guts out. Mom handed me a bottle of cold water, snapping, "Why are you so fragile? Lissy adores rollercoasters. She always insists that we ride it a few times in a row." At the mention of Lissy's name, I felt a violent tremor deep within my sea of consciousness. Lissy, who had been dormant inside my body, had felt the thrill of the amusement park and was beside herself with excitement. She began shouting frantically inside my mind. "Romy! I want to come out and play. Give me the body! I want to ride the roller coaster." I lost control for a moment, and a phrase in Lissy's distinctive tone slipped from my lips. "That was so fun!" she cried out in her usual spoiled, high-pitched manner. My parents and Finnian stiffened at once. Finnian grabbed my shoulders, his eyes shining with an almost manic gleam. "Lissy? Is that you?" Mom and Dad crowded around me in excitement as well. "Did Lissy come out? You wanna have some fun, right, Lissy?" I forced myself to swallow the bile rising in my throat as I looked at their frenzied expressions. Finnian lowered his voice and urged me persuasively, "Romy, let Lissy come out. She's been locked away for an entire day. This is her favorite amusement park. Since we're already here, just let her have some fun, okay?" Mom chimed in, "That's right, Romy. You don't like amusement parks anyway. Just do it for your sister's sake." They demanded that I hand over control of my body to Lissy as though it were the most natural thing in the world. It had completely slipped their mind that this afternoon was supposed to be their last farewell to me. I looked at Finnian. "If I go back inside, will you let me come out tonight when it's time to drink the water from the Morrow River?" For a moment, Finnian's eyes flickered with uncertainty. Then he declared with a firm nod, "Of course. You have to be the one to drink the water. We're only letting Lissy have some fun for a little while." I didn't bother arguing with them. I closed my eyes and released myself. Darkness swallowed me instantly, forcing me down into the deepest reaches of my sea of consciousness. Through the hazy barrier, I watched Lissy open her eyes. Her gaze was bright and mischievous. "Finn! Mom! Dad!" Lissy squealed. She threw herself into Finnian's arms, and he caught her securely, his face breaking into a doting smile. "Come. I'll take you on the pendulum ride." For the next few hours, I remained trapped in the darkness, watching them enjoy themselves as a happy family. They bought Lissy her favorite cotton candy. When it was dinnertime, they took her to a restaurant famous for its strong flavors and spicy food. I had a weak stomach and couldn't handle anything too spicy, but Lissy ate until her forehead was drenched in sweat. She kept exclaiming over how delicious everything was. Finnian carefully peeled the shrimp for her, his movements practiced and familiar. In my previous life, whenever he and I went out to eat, he'd never once bothered to even refill my water glass for me, let alone peel shrimp for me. So this was how attentive and considerate he could be when it came to Lissy. After dinner, they continued playing in the amusement park. The sky was completely dark when the announcement of the park's closing echoed through the speakers. It was only when the lights started turning off that Mom jolted with realization. "Did we… let the whole afternoon go by without letting Romy out?" For a moment, there was silence. Finnian suppressed the inexplicable pang in his heart and wiped some crumbs from Lissy's mouth before answering reassuringly, "It's fine, Mrs. Calder. Romy has always been a thoughtful and sensible girl. I'm sure she's happy that she spent the last few hours of her life letting Lissy have fun. "We'll just let her come back out once we head back to the meeting hall." Lissy leaned against Mom's shoulder, her expression bright and cheerful as she said coquettishly, "Romy loves me more than anyone else, Mom. She won't be upset about it." Mom exhaled in relief and stroked Lissy's head. "Yeah, that's true. I'm glad to hear that." Deep within my sea of consciousness, I witnessed the way they ignored my existence, as if it were only natural. It didn't stir anything in me. Chapter 3 At midnight, the meeting hall was brightly lit. The flames of the eternal lamps flickered, illuminating the bowl of inky black water from the Morrow River. According to tradition, the soul being eliminated had to be the one in control of the body and willingly drink the water from the Morrow River. Only then could the soul be separated painlessly and without sensation, returning to the river. In my previous life, Lissy had been in control of the body. Mom and Dad had summoned her repeatedly before she finally emerged and tearfully drank the bowl of water, leaving everyone heartbroken and yearning for her for the rest of their lives. This time around, they were eagerly waiting for me to come around. Mom and Dad kept calling out to me. "It's time, Romy. Come out and drink the water." "Romy, come out." But there was no response from the body. My parents exchanged bewildered glances. "What's going on? Where's Romy?" Frowning, Finnian snapped impatiently, "Stop sulking, Romy! Get out here." No one on the outside had any idea that, deep within my sea of consciousness, I was already doing my best to come out. I wanted to take control of the body, drink that bowl of water once and put an end to everything. But Lissy was far too attached to being in charge of the body. From deep within, she used all her strength to suppress my consciousness. She was like an impenetrable net, holding the body firmly under her control. "Stop trying to take control of the body, Romy. Since I already spent most of the day in control, I don't wanna give it back to you." With an innocent-sounding chuckle, she remarked, "Say, why don't we play a game, Romy? It won't matter if we let Mom and Dad call for you for a little longer. Let's wait until they start panicking before I let you out." She pinned my soul down in a dark corner of the mind. I couldn't move at all. When I still didn't appear, Finnian started getting antsy. Just then, Lissy opened her eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she cried out, "Mom! Dad! Finn!" Her voice was choked with sobs, her expression utterly aggrieved. "Romy is upset because we ignored her all afternoon, so she's angry and refuses to let me have the body. It's okay. I've had plenty of fun today." She raised her head and adopted a look of noble self-sacrifice. "Just let me disappear instead. Let Romy stay." Those words instantly ignited my parents' fury. Dad trembled with rage and wagged a finger at my body as he shouted, "I'm so disappointed in you, Romelia! Even until the very end, you're still trying to use these underhanded tricks to force us to make Lissy give up the body to you?" Mom also cried as she pounded on the table. "So that's why you didn't cry or throw a tantrum today. You've been waiting for this moment, just to back us into a corner!" Finnian's face darkened, his gaze turning vicious. "Romelia, if you refuse to leave with some dignity, then don't assume we'll go easy on you." He walked up to Mr. Hawthorne and said, "Mr. Hawthorne, since Romy is being so unreasonable and stubbornly refusing to give up the body, I suggest we use the rite of soul severance, the one reserved for souls who refuse to leave." The moment he said this, the meeting hall fell deathly silent. The rite of soul severance involved using soulfire poison and silver needles to forcibly extract the soul from the body. It was a punishment reserved for souls who hid in the depths of the body and refused to come out. Once the soul was exposed to air after being put through unbearable agony, it would disappear for good without even getting to return to the Morrow River for a chance to live again. The elders gasped in horror. "Finnian, doing so would mean that Romelia's soul would cease to exist completely!" Finnian's expression remained just as grim as he said cruelly, "That's the punishment she deserves. Since she's doing this to forcibly delay the ceremony, she should suffer the consequences for her actions." He turned to my parents and continued, "Mr. and Mrs. Calder, if we drag this out any longer, the midnight hour will pass, and both souls will be damaged. For Lissy's sake, we can't waste any more time." My parents hesitated for the briefest second, but after seeing Lissy, who was kneeling on the floor looking all noble and selfless, they nodded and declared angrily, "Let's do it. Use the rite of soul severance and force that stubborn girl out of there." Chapter 4 Since Mom and Dad were adamant about it, Mr. Hawthorne sighed and waved his hand. Two burly men brought over a brazier and a set of silver needles. The soulfire poison was ignited, and acrid green smoke immediately filled my nostrils. Inside my sea of consciousness, Lissy let out a piercing scream. "It hurts! Help, Finn!" Finnian turned away, his expression pained. Then he gritted his teeth and took a needle himself. "Romy, this is all your fault. You're forcing Lissy to suffer with you!" The long, thick silver needle plunged mercilessly into my head. The unbearable physical and spiritual agony instantly tore apart the barrier separating our two souls. The pain forced me out of the depths of my consciousness. My soul was torn out of the body. Beneath the cold moonlight, it began to dissolve bit by bit, as though someone had poured sulfuric acid over it. I writhed on the floor in agony. With every breath I drew of the poisonous soulfire smoke, it felt like my soul was being ripped apart. Finnian and my parents were all stunned to see the agonizing torture I was being put through. They seemed unprepared for how horrific the rite of soul severance turned out to be. Out of nowhere, memories came flooding back to them. They recalled all the ways I'd spent the past 18 years doing everything I could to please them. When I had a fever, I made my own soup. To save up money to get Finnian a birthday gift, I washed clothes for other people even in the dead of winter. Mom's heart clenched, and her legs gave way. After collapsing to her knees, she frantically crawled toward the altar and reached for the bowl of water from the Morrow River. "Stop! Make it stop!" she tearfully begged Mr. Hawthorne. "Can't you just let her drink the water? Please stop burning her soul!" Mr. Hawthorne shook his head. "Once the rite begins, the soul is damaged beyond repair. It can't be stopped. She can no longer return to the Morrow River." Finnian stiffened, his feet rooted to the spot. When he saw my bleeding face, his eyes finally flickered with panic. "Romy!" He tried to approach me, but the foreboding air of death radiating from my soul drove him back. "Why didn't you come out sooner?" he questioned in a trembling voice. Even now, he was still trying to shift the blame onto me. "If you'd just behaved yourself, you wouldn't have had to suffer like that." Just before my soul completely dissolved, I looked at my parents and Finnian, their faces stricken with terror as they reached out desperately to grab me. "I know that in the previous life, all of you regretted keeping me," I said abruptly. Finnian's hand froze in midair, his eyes widening sharply. "What?" Looking at their stunned expressions, I managed a smile. "You get your wish now." "No!" Mom, Dad, and Finnian let out anguished cries and dropped heavily to their knees.