8.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the
operating room erupted in screams.
The doctor I’d pre–arranged to be there came
running out.
“There! There’s a ghost!”
“He’s alive again, he is!”
That one word, “alive,” sent the livestream’s
viewership soaring.
In front of all the internet, my “dead” brother
walked out of the operating room, one step at
a time.
[Holy crap, is this for real?! This is the first
time I’ve ever seen anything like this!]
[How can someone come back from the
dead? Is this just some kind of publicity
stunt?]
I set down my phone and put on my best
shocked–and–scared face.
“Ethan, is that you?
How are you… alive?
Say something! Are you a man or a ghost?”
Ethan looked at me, embarrassed. Seeing that
I hadn’t figured anything out, he continued the
act.
く
“Um… I don’t know what happened.
Whatever! I’m alive!
And how could you just donate my heart? Dad
doesn’t even have heart failure! You listened
to that quack!
Take Dad home now!”
Oh, oh, I said, circling like I had no idea what
to do.
Then I picked up my phone and started
filming him.
“Guys, you see that? My brother’s alive!
This is…”
Before I could finish Ethan impatiently
<
slapped my phone out of my hand.
“Stop it! Don’t air the family’s dirty laundry! Is
this something to be proud of?
Let’s go home!”
I pretended to be timid, wanting to provoke
the viewers against him.
[What’s with her brother? He barely came
back to life and he’s treating his sister like
that?]
[Not trying to be rude, but she’d be better off
without a brother like that.]
[OMG, how could God be so blind? Good
people die young, but the wicked live for
centuries.]
His behavior didn’t have a big impact on me.
I ruined his plan, so he must hate me.
But that was nothing compared to the time he
pushed me off the balcony.
My heart had been chilled completely by then.
Dad was brought home.
As soon as we walked through the door, I
called out, “Ethan, I’m so happy you’re alive.
I don’t know what I would have done.”
Ethan glared at me.
“What was I supposed to do, wait for you to
cut me up?!”
Hearing her son’s voice, Mom finally couldn’t
hold out any longer and squinted her eyes
open.
I saw her open them, but I pretended like
<
nothing happened and looked away.
Now that her son was awake, she and Dad
couldn’t stay down.