No Fingerprint, No Return

SkyStory 1 Chapters English

On the day my family installed the new smart lock, the technician mentioned it could only store up to four fingerprints. My dad registered his. My mom registered hers. My older brother registered his, and my younger sister registered hers. When it was my turn, my mom simply pulled the door shut. "You live here anyway, just ring the doorbell. It’s easier to just leave it at four." On the first day of summer break, I took a 20-hour Greyhound bus and didn't make it back until midnight. I rang the doorbell until the battery died. I called them until my phone automatically shut off from a dead battery. No one answered. I sat in the stairwell until dawn, only to find out the four of them had gone out to celebrate my younger sister passing her civil service exam. When my mom got back, all she said was that I was being dramatic. A month later, my dad suffered a sudden, massive heart attack at home. He used his dying breath to call me. "Open the door, quick... the medicine is under the TV stand..." I stood outside the door, listening as a heavy thud echoed from inside. The building superintendent urged me to hurry up and go in. I pressed my face against the freezing metal security door and whispered: "Dad. I don't have a fingerprint."

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