COG
Her grip was so tight I almost dropped the urns.
Charles and Margaret lived just a few minutes away in the neighboring complex.
Emily fumbled for her keys and unlocked the door.
“Mom, Dad, come see your wonderful son–in–law! He’s gone nuts, claiming you’re dead! It’s because you always took his side, now he’s lost all control, Mom, Dad…”
Emily checked every room, but no one was there.
A hint of panic flashed in her eyes as she muttered, “Mom usually does her spa around this time, and Dad should have been back from his card game. Did they go out?”
I watched her silently, my gaze cold.
Just then, the neighbor lady returned home, spotting us through the open door.
“Emily, have you chosen a burial plot for your parents? Let us know if you need help. It’s shocking they left us so suddenly…”
The neighbor dabbed her tears as she spoke.
Emily looked as if she’d been struck by lightning, her face deathly pale.
She screamed, “What are you talking about? Steve’s cursing my parents to death, and now you too? Have you all lost your minds? What did my parents ever do to you?”
“Emily, death is final. Please, accept it and try to find peace.”
The neighbor sighed and returned to her home, leaving Emily in shock.
“If you don’t believe me, just call your colleagues. They all know.”
Trembling, Emily pulled out her phone, but before she could dial, a call came through.
It was Matt!
“Emily, I just saw your parents dancing in the park. Haven’t seen them in years, and they haven’t changed a bit.” Emily took a deep breath and calmed down, then turned to me with a look full of loathing.
She ended the call and hissed, “Steve, you’d do anything to scare me, wouldn’t you? Even got the neighbor involved! I can’t believe I married such a lunatic. I’m going to find my parents, and when I get back, we’re getting a divorce!”
A lunatic?
How could she say something so hurtful?
Even now, she only believed Matt.
She stormed out but then turned back and slapped me hard across the face.
“That slap was for my parents! They treated you like a son, and you wished them dead!”
She never once looked at the urns in my arms.
They were the very urns Charles and Margaret had chosen themselves, different from the usual ones. Emily had seen them before.
She refused to see the truth right in front of her, choosing instead to believe I was the one causing trouble. Furious, she slammed the door as she left.
I lowered my head and gently touched the urns. “Dad, Mom, sorry to disturb you.”
They had always said they wanted to be buried in a peaceful, scenic place.
Thonored their wish and quickly chose a fitting burial site.
