Chapter 2

I followed Arthur into his room.

As he pulled off his shoes, I saw a large hole in the heel of his faded sock. My chest tightened with sorrow.

Ever since I fell ill, Arthur poured every penny into my treatments. Wherever there was a glimmer of hope, he took me there. In these past five years, my health only declined, while he aged a decade.

He was so exhausted that he fell asleep within five minutes of lying down.

I gently hovered my phantom hand over his weathered face and sighed. We had been married for thirty years, and I had put him through so much misery.

Just then, audio from a phone played outside the bedroom. Leo was scrolling through social media.

"...Breaking news: At four o'clock this afternoon, a fatal hit-and-run occurred outside Maple Gardens. One unidentified female victim was killed instantly..."

Panic surged through me. I rushed to the living room, but Leo casually swiped up to the next video.

If he had paused for just one second, he would have recognized my coat in the thumbnail.

Maybe it was for the best. At least they could have one last peaceful night of sleep.

A few minutes later, Leo got up, poured a glass of warm water, grabbed my prescription pills, and walked into my room.

"Mom, time for your meds."

I stood beside him, instinctively reaching out, only to pull my hand back. I was gone.

Seeing no movement under the blanket, Leo set the pills and the glass on the nightstand. "Fine. Take them when you wake up."

Getting no reply, frustration flickered across his face, but he quietly shut the door anyway.

I knew him. He was too proud to apologize out loud for what he said earlier, but bringing my medicine was his way of saying he was sorry.

Later that night, I watched him hunched over his laptop, writing lines of complex code under the dim lamp. He was so young, yet silver strands were already creeping into his hair—all worn down by my illness.

Maybe it really was better that I was gone.

Early the next morning, Arthur got up to make breakfast. Leo woke up and peeked into my room. Seeing the water glass untouched, he sighed with annoyance.

He tapped on the door. "Mom, breakfast is ready!"

"Come on, Mom. It's my day off. Let's go for a walk outside."

Still, only silence answered him.

Losing his patience, Leo snapped, "Mom, seriously, stop throwing a tantrum! Get up and eat!"

He yanked the blanket off!

His face drained of all color.

"Dad! Get in here! Mom's gone!"

Arthur dropped what he was doing and hurried over. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"She's not in bed!"

Arthur touched the sheets. The mattress was ice-cold.

The two men stared at each other in sheer terror. "When did she leave?" Arthur's voice cracked.

"I don't know!" Leo panicked.

"We have to find her! How could she leave without us hearing? You slept in the living room all night—did you hear anything at all?"

Leo completely lost his composure. "No! Let me check the indoor cameras!"

To keep me safe, Leo had installed security cameras in the apartment. But when he pulled up the footage from the night and early morning, the front door had never opened.

He rewound further back, refusing to believe it.

"Did you find it?" Arthur urged, trembling. "What time did she walk out?!"

Leo's lips quivered as he scrolled back to the previous afternoon.

On the screen, the moment Leo had slammed the door and left, I had quietly turned the doorknob and walked out into the street. I had never returned.

Leo collapsed to the floor.

"Mom... Mom left yesterday afternoon. She ran away again!"