With no hope of living, I stand myself on the top of the 20th floor building. This doesn’t make me afraid. Is it why people say, nothing scares you when you are determined to die. I am feeling more relieved this way.

The cold wind breezes my hair, I calm myself and set my foot towards the edge. With my last breath, I jump.

“What’cha looking at, you brat?” Mother was angry and my little sister was still staring at her. “You ain’t no manner. Am teaching ya manners.” She started beating her with the broom she had on her hand. My little sister has turned rebellious after dad left home five years ago. She was just seven years old. I am two years older than her. Mom had changed since then as well. She comes from work and beats us to get out her anxiety. And hangs out with a man at night. She had refrained us from school and it has been long time since we set foot outside.

I am scared of my mother. It has been a long time since I saw her face. Whatever she does, we had tolerated but she, my little sister, started rebelling.  She talks back at her and sometimes uses the same broom to beat her. She became strong but I am still the same scaredy cat. I have always hated myself for being such a coward who couldn’t even protect her own little sister. And now I could never protect her.

This one day we tried to run from the house. We were out on the road in the bus station. But a man out of nowhere grabbed us both sisters, he started walking towards that house. We screamed and begged for help but no one turned an eye. We were back at that house again. Mom was there inside sitting on the chair. I gave up my hope. I knew we could never get out of this hell. She came stomping with a big stick on her hand. She started beating us, I screamed and cried but my little sister didn’t even make a noise. By that time, we could hear noises from outside. There were a lot of people on our backyard and police siren was ringing. Mom face looked terrified, my little sister had a small smile on her face now, I hadn’t seen that smile for a long time. Someone from outside spoke “Come out, Liya. You are under arrest.” There was a little feeling of a relief. 

But that wasn’t written in our fate. A splat of blood covered my face. A knife was inside out of my sister’s body. She fell in the floor and a lot of blood gushed out of her body. Mom then grabbed the same knife and stabbed herself. I was standing there like a statue, I couldn’t even scream. But it surprised me when that man standing beside me fell and while looking down I found myself standing on top of my body. I was shocked to death. A lot of people suddenly broke out in our house, police came and took our body outside.

And now, I am falling from a 20th floor but still I could not feel the fear of dying.

“Oi lee, what’cha doing, huh?”

It’s my little sister voice, I looked up.

“Ya ain’t dying even from this floor.” She was laughing now. “Ya, a ghost now.” Then she flew higher above than the 20th floor building. Then I noticed I was not falling, I was flying.

“Then where’s ma?”

“Who knows! That bitch went directly to hell.”

Then we knew, we are free now.