Chapter 2

Joe begged my mother, pleading with my mother until his voice became hoarse, but my mother was not moved. "Let her out? Not so easily. Didn't you just say that life is not worth living, Joe? I'll make an example of Janine for you to see so you can judge for yourself whether it's better to live or to die!

"Watch her for 24 hours and not an hour less! I want your gratitude to me ingrained into the very core of your soul!"

The oxygen in the coffin started to thin as I struggled. I tried taking in deep breaths, but started wheezing from my asthma instead. I felt despair when I realized I could never escape by myself. If I could not get out, it would not be long before I died in this coffin.

I stopped scratching the inside of the coffin and started slamming hard against the coffin walls instead, while making weak attempts to call for help. "Joe… Help me… It's so dark in here…"

My voice echoed in the dark basement, and Joe went crazy with anxiousness. He suddenly stood up and tried to break the lock.

"What are you doing?!" My mother pulled Joe away when she saw what he was doing, and she started crying when she saw his palm bleeding. "You're just hurting me, Joe! Who do you think I'm doing all this for? I'm an education expert. Would I harm you?"

My mother wiped away her tears and said threateningly, "Go sit in the corner right now and write a five-thousand-word essay reflecting on your behavior! I won't let your sister out if you don't finish it!"

"Mom…"

"Start writing now!"

I could hear Joe’s despairing voice outside the coffin, along with the rustling of pen on paper. I lost all hope. There was no more oxygen inside the coffin and I started to hallucinate. It felt like millions of bugs were gnawing into my limbs in the dark and all I could do was lie down inside the coffin with my mouth helplessly agape.

When I stopped struggling inside the coffin, I finally felt the intense pain coming from my broken fingernails, which were hurt from all the scratching. I started convulsing and could only allow the pain to agitate my dulling brain.

That was when I heard a huge crash. The door to the scary basement was kicked open.

"Are you crazy, Sharon?" My father's anxious voice was heard. "I thought something didn't feel right, and I wouldn't have found this godforsaken place if not for the GPS on Joe's phone."

He hurried to the coffin and started slamming it. "Janine! Can you hear me, Janine?"

I no longer had the strength to answer. All I could do was open and close my mouth like a fish on land.

"She lost consciousness! Sharon, that coffin is made of pure wood and doesn't have any ventilation. You're murdering our daughter!"

My mother pushed him away and spread out her arms protectively in front of the coffin to stop him from coming forward. "Go away, Edward! Our children turned out this way because of your weak and unprincipled character. Your son was just talking about dying, and I'm trying to save his life! As for Janine… I'm an education expert. Do you think I have no limits? There is ventilation underneath the coffin."

Ventilation? Hah!

I had felt all around the coffin when I was struggling earlier. There were a few holes beneath the coffin, but they had been sealed with duct tape.

My father looked at the ugly expression on my mother's face and decided not to waste his time talking to her. He reached into her pockets forcefully to search for the key.