The day before her graduation party, my sister was raped and murdered in a back alley. And I was trapped in that day forever. Countless times, I thought, "If only I hadn't wanted ice cream," "If only I hadn't taken the shortcut to get home faster..." maybe she would still be alive. When I opened my eyes again... I was back in that summer. 1 That year, it was the hottest summer on record. The temperature hit 106 degrees. My sister, Maya, was the top scorer in the city. I had just barely scraped into a prestigious high school. Our future was bright. Maya's familiar voice reached my ears again after ten years: "Take a shortcut? Don't you want to catch Grey's Anatomy at 7:30?" Tears gushed out uncontrollably. Through my blurry vision, the clock on the wall behind Maya read 7:15 PM... The countdown to death had begun! I shuddered and almost screamed: "No! Mom and Dad said those alleys are dangerous!" Maya was startled by my outburst: "Since when are you such a chicken, Dodo?" "Okay, okay, we won't take the shortcut. Don't cry!" I looked at Maya's vivid, lively face. The face that had been crushed and covered in blood in my nightmares countless times. I swore in my heart. This time, I absolutely would not let anything happen to Maya! 2 My voice was tight: "I saw on the news recently that bad things happen in those alleys. Let's stick to the main road!" Maya chuckled: "Alright, safety first. Good job!" She spoke to me like I was a child. She was only three years older than me. She was just a kid too, but she always yielded to me, spoiled me. And because of me, she lost her future. I stared at the digital watch on my wrist. 7:17 PM. In my past life, not wanting to miss the drama at 7:30, I insisted on taking a shortcut and dragged Maya into the alley. At a fork in the alley, a dark figure suddenly lunged out and covered Maya's mouth with a towel. I screamed my lungs out, but no one answered in the deserted alley. Maya slumped to the ground. The man picked up a brick and smashed it into my head. I fell into a stinking pile of garbage, like a dying fish, watching helplessly as Maya was stripped and murdered. Thinking of this, I couldn't stop shivering. It was still light out at this time in summer, and there were plenty of pedestrians on the street. Street vendors were selling hot dogs and pretzels on the sidewalks. My palms were sweating profusely. My throat was dry. I kept comforting myself. He wouldn't dare to commit a crime in broad daylight, right? Maya turned to look at me: "Dodo, I noticed you haven't said a word the whole way. Did the sun rise in the west today?" Yeah, I used to be a chatterbox. I could write a dissertation on whether Team Edward or Team Jacob was better. When Maya called me "Little Sparrow," I proudly declared I would become a teacher even more talkative than her homeroom teacher. Maya laughed, saying, "I pity the class that gets you." That noisy me, full of longing for the future... Died with Maya that summer. The smile was still on Maya's face. "Wait, don't tell me—" Her voice cut off abruptly. All expression on Maya's face froze instantly, eyes widening in shock. Bright red blood sprayed from her slender neck. She opened her mouth, seeming to want to grab something, and fell straight forward. "Ah—" "Psycho—" "Murder—" Chaos erupted around us, screams filling the air. My mind went blank. A cold blade plunged fiercely into my back. The immense impact made me stumble forward. I turned my head in excruciating pain— It was that masked man! Those eyes were staring straight at me. Why! Why did we meet him again this time! He roared like a beast: "B*tches!" "You all deserve to die!" 3 In my past life, he was the same. While stripping Maya, he kept cursing. "Deserved!" "I'm doing God's work!" "Women deserve to die!" As if he harbored monstrous hatred. But we didn't even know him... Opening my eyes again, I gasped for air. Looking around, I was back in the convenience store. The clock on the wall read 7:15 PM. Maya's voice rang out again: "Take a shortcut? Don't you want to catch Grey's Anatomy at 7:30?" I immediately rushed inside the store, turning back to Maya: "I want to see what snacks they have." Maya followed me in, looking puzzled: "Weird. Usually, you can't even miss the opening theme." I thought hard. Maybe that killer just wanted to commit a random crime? Not finding anyone in the alley, he went to the main street. In the first timeline, when the police found him, he had already committed suicide at home. The police came to my house with a photo asking if I knew him. I had never seen the man in the photo. Neither Maya nor I could have known him. It shouldn't be a revenge killing... I read in detective novels that people like him might just hate society. So this time, we'll stay in the store a bit longer. Surely we can avoid him, right? 4 I touched every bag of chips on the shelf, picked it up, put it down. That summer, the packaging for Lay's chips hadn't changed yet. In elementary school, Maya, being in middle school, had a daily allowance of two dollars. It was a huge sum to me. I pestered her to buy me chips. One bag each. It tasted better than any Michelin-starred meal. "Miss." A little boy looked up and pleaded: "Can you help me get the magic pills?" I froze: "Magic pills?" Maya chuckled, reaching up to grab a pack of Maltesers and handing it to the boy. The boy jumped happily: "With these magic pills, mom and I can live forever!" Magic pills... I used to chase Maya around, shouting spells from Harry Potter. The sunset completely covered the small shop. Memories of the past glowed golden in the evening light. Interrupted suddenly by the shop owner's voice— "What do you need?" Then a raspy voice: "Lighter." The owner said lazily: "Two bucks." I instinctively peeked out from the aisle. It was him. He was still wearing a mask! He took the lighter, excitement flashing in his eyes, and unscrewed the cap of the water bottle in his hand. The owner shouted: "Hey! What are you doing!" Immense fear struck me. I screamed at the top of my lungs: "Run!" "He's crazy!" But it was too late. The convenience store was instantly engulfed in flames. The smile on Maya's face was replaced by terror in a split second. A woman's cry came from outside. "Save my son! He's only five, he's still inside!" "Please, save him!" ... 5 4 dead, 1 injured in the convenience store fire. In this sudden disaster, I was the sole survivor. Burns covering 90% of my body left me lying in a hospital bed all day. Sinking into endless regret. My self-righteousness not only failed to save Maya... But killed more innocent people. In the first timeline, the memory of the shop owner giving us wedding candy was still vivid. Her face was all smiles: "My brat is finally getting married! You all must come to the wedding next month!" And now? She would never see her son get married. And that little boy, his mom used to complain to neighbors at the street corner: "All he does is play! Got a zero on his test! I'm so mad." Just yesterday, she jumped from the roof, leaving a long letter on the table. She said in her next life, she still wants to be his mom. I killed them. My parents' hair turned white overnight. My once-talkative father became silent, and my mother's eyes were swollen like walnuts, yet she forced herself to comfort me: "Don't be scared, Dodo... being alive is good, being alive is good..." "Mom and Dad will always be with you..." Neighbors whispered at the door: "Sigh, the Luo family is cursed. Their eldest daughter could have gone to Ivy League." "Exactly. The younger one got into a top high school too, and now..." "How will they live... a good family, ruined." Yes. A good family ruined. I am everyone's curse. Why wasn't it me who died? Maya's classmates, some held acceptance letters from top universities, becoming elites in big tech companies years later. Some became influencers with millions of followers. Some started businesses, went abroad, started families... Only my sister. Only she was left forever, lonely, in that hottest summer. When I was about to drown in despair, a man in uniform entered the ward. He walked to my bed, holding a photo of a man, looking solemn: "Do you know this person?" That face... I wanted to tear him to pieces! In the first timeline. They had already asked me with this photo. The man in the photo had an extremely ordinary, dull face. Corners of his mouth slightly drooping. Looked like he was about our age. I searched my memory for this face again. But I really didn't know him. I shook my head. The police officer frowned tightly. His next words made me gasp. "However, when we investigated his home, we found something extremely unusual." "His room was covered with photos of your sister!" My heart stopped. "And in his diary, we found a lot of content about your sister. He described your sister, Maya, as his girlfriend." "Think carefully, did your sister ever mention this person?" No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! She said before college, she would only focus on her studies! I struggled, wanting to ask more— What else was written in his diary? What was his motive? The police officer's lips were still moving, but I couldn't hear any sound. My vision went black.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "387079", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel