Semua Bab Three, Two, One: I Close My Eyes Forever: Bab 1 - Bab 9

Inside the pitch-black coffin, I stared at my hands for a moment. This should be clean enough, right?Hannah's medicine must be working now because I was starting to see her flushed, angry face right in front of me.She slammed the heavy iron gate shut with a bang. "Oliver Hubbard, you're nine years old. How do you still not know any better? How many times have I told you to stay away from Blake? Why did you have to lie? I didn't raise you to be like this."Curled up inside the coffin, I murmured that I hadn't lied, and I hadn't dirtied Blake Mueller's shirt on purpose either.Also, I couldn't understand why my big sister, Hannah Hubbard, was so angry when Blake had already said it was fine.Hmph!Once I got to heaven, I would definitely beg the angels to let me come back as the older sibling!That way, I could put my hands on my hips and yell at her for a change. As I got excited at that thought, my eyelids began to feel too heavy to keep open. There was just one problem, tho

There was a time when Hannah had been a proud but soft-hearted young girl as well.After school, she would watch cartoons with me and play games with me.My favorite game was Red Light, Green Light. But one day, while we were playing outside, Hannah had just shouted "Red light!" when one of her classmates called her over to ask about homework.I stood there alone, waiting for ages, and that was when a stranger snatched me up. As I struggled frantically, I banged my head against a sharp corner nearby. The stranger dropped me and ran. When Mom and Dad found out that I had become a fool, they got a divorce. Hannah was the one who took on the responsibility of taking care of me, even though she was small and weak herself.But even a fool like me knew that none of this was Hannah's fault.Hannah should have been free as a bird, able to do whatever she pleased. She shouldn't have been tied down by someone like me, turning her into a person who was too scared to even confess her love t

Despite the stern look on Hannah's face, she still crouched down and regarded Grandma tenderly."Grandma, you can't keep spoiling Oliver like this. He's getting older. Even if I keep protecting him, he's still a young man who has to go out into the world eventually. If we're no longer around someday, how is a fool like him supposed to survive on his own?"I rubbed my eyes groggily. Hannah's voice had woken me up. How strange. Did ghosts even need sleep?Before I could make sense of it, her words had already hurt me.Hannah didn't used to be like this. She never called me a fool. She always said I was the gift Mom and Dad left her.Hannah said I was her little prince, and princes were meant to be pampered at home.She even said I was her Achilles' heel. Although I couldn't see any resemblance between myself and a heel, I knew better than to question it. All I needed to know was that Hannah would always protect me and love me.Women were indeed hard to figure out. It hadn't even b

I floated after Hannah and curiously peeked inside the coffin, only to see myself lying there with foam at my mouth. My face had turned a mottled purple and blue.Man, I looked awful. I couldn't even hold a candle to a tenth of Blake now. Would Hannah even recognize me in the next life?I pursed my lips. Just as I was about to comfort Hannah, I saw her go completely still, standing stiff and straight. "Oliver… It really is Oliver…"A twisted smile appeared on her face as she turned to Blake. "Blake, I don't have a little brother anymore. I don't have a brother anymore!"She dropped to her knees with a thud, her head slamming hard against the coffin. "This is my fault. This is all my fault!"She started slapping herself hard across the face. When Blake stopped her, she banged her head on the ground instead. "Why… Why did I leave Oliver home alone? Why?"Hannah's anguished cries left me stunned. Shouldn't she be happy that I was gone? She was finally free of this burden. Without me

Hannah spread her arms to gather me into her embrace, only to end up holding nothing but air. "Oliver, are you still unwilling to forgive me?"Tears brimmed in her eyes. She wanted to move toward me, but she was terrified that this was just a dream."Hannah, I'm not a fool anymore." I spun around in front of her, my tone light and cheerful. "You see? I'm healthy as can be. Everything is okay now. Wouldn't you call this a blessing in disguise, Hannah?"Flashing a playful smile, I blinked back my tears."Oliver, you… I really didn't mean those things I said. You have no idea how much I regret it… I regret getting mad at you. Is it too late to say this now…"Under the shocked stares of everyone present, she dropped to her knees, as though she were begging me for forgiveness. I couldn't stop her, so I just knelt in front of her."Hannah, didn't you tell me that when people die, they go to heaven? Well, I'm about to go to heaven. Shouldn't you be happy for me?"To be honest, I really