"My whole family can see the countdown to my sister’s death. We all know she’ll die on her sixteenth birthday, so she always comes first.
The pretty dresses are hers. Every family outing revolves around her. Even our parents’ time and attention belong to her.
When her sixteenth birthday finally arrives, I’m burning with fever. Afraid I’ll ruin her last day, my parents lock me in the storage room.
“Mom, it hurts. Please let me out.”
“Enough. It’s her last day. Can’t you just bear it?”
“But I really don’t feel well…”
Slowly, the sounds outside the door fade away, and my consciousness slips away forever."
