The Last Wish Coupon Cost Me My Life

On the day of our family island vacation, my sister, Chloe, climbed over the safety railing just to take a photo. She slipped. In her panic, she dragged me into the ocean with her. The rescue guard was about to save me first since I was closer to the shore. But Mom suddenly pulled a faded, yellowed piece of paper from her wallet and threw it toward me. "Mya, let Chloe get on the rescue boat first!" "This is our last wish!" When I was seven, I didn't have money to buy birthday gifts for my parents. So, I hand-drew a hundred "Wish Coupons." Each one said: [With this coupon, Mya will unconditionally grant Mom and Dad one wish.] When Chloe wanted my bedroom, they used one. When Chloe wanted to be an only child, they used another. From then on, I was only allowed to call them Mr. and Mrs. Miller, never Mom and Dad. Even the college tuition I saved from working part-time for three years was taken by them. They used the ninety-ninth coupon to pay for Chloe's intensive dance academy. Now, this was the last one. I looked at the floating coupon on the water and suddenly stopped struggling. I slipped the only rescue rope onto Chloe and pushed her toward the rescue boat myself. Mom and Dad were too busy wrapping her in blankets and checking her for scratches. No one noticed that my leg had already cramped up. I couldn't even hold onto the floating board anymore. As the rescue boat sped toward the pier, Mom only had time to look back and yell: "Mya, hang in there! We’ll be right back!" I watched their retreating figures and let out a self-deprecating laugh. When I was seven, I thought that if I fulfilled all one hundred wishes, my parents would love me just as much as they loved Chloe. It wasn't until the freezing seawater filled my lungs that I finally understood. Those one hundred coupons didn't buy me a single shred of their love. They just used up my entire life. ...... 1 I didn’t know how much time had passed. Finally, the sound of an engine came from the distance. The rescue boat was actually coming back. My nose burned, and my numb arms suddenly found a surge of strength. "Mom! I'm here!" The figure on the boat became clearer. Mom was holding a clean, dry blanket in her arms. Looking at that blanket, I couldn't help but smile. So, they hadn't forgotten about me. I even told myself that once I got on the boat, I wouldn't ask why they saved Chloe first. As long as Mom wrapped that blanket around me and gave me a hug. I would pretend nothing had ever happened. But halfway there, the rescue boat suddenly turned. Not far away, on a floating platform that had drifted from the broken pier, came a weak whimpering. It was Waffles. Waffles was Chloe's dog. His leash was tangled in the broken railing. The platform could flip over at any second. Chloe immediately stood up on the boat, crying as she grabbed the rescue guard's arm. "Save Waffles first! He can't swim!" "He's been terrified of water since he was a puppy! He'll die if he falls in!" The guard frowned and pointed toward me. "There's still a person over there." "The girl who fell in with you earlier, isn't she your sister?" Chloe froze for a second. Then, she shook her head. "She’s not my sister." "She’s just our housekeeper." Across the crashing waves, I stared at Mom and Dad. I waited for them to deny it. Even if they just said, *She is our daughter.* But Mom avoided my eyes. Dad just urged impatiently, "Mya knows how to swim. She has a floating board. She won't die anytime soon." The guard still hesitated. "Is she really not your daughter?" This time, Mom finally spoke. "No." "She's been with us for many years. She just helps around the house." "Save the dog first. You can come back for her later." Those casual words drifted through the wind and pierced my ears. I suddenly remembered when Chloe was twelve. She said her friends all envied only children. She wanted to be the only child, too. So, my parents used a Wish Coupon. From that day on, I was banned from calling them Mom and Dad. The first time I forgot and made a mistake, Mom’s face went cold. "We promised to grant Chloe's wish," she warned. "Who are you calling Mom?" Later, I learned to call them Thomas and Eleanor. Even when I was burning with a high fever and barely conscious, I never dared to call her Mom again. The coupon was only supposed to be valid for one year. But after that year passed, no one ever told me I could call them Mom and Dad again. Gradually, Chloe really became the only daughter in the family. And I became the one who washed clothes, cooked, and cleaned the rooms—someone who didn't even deserve to call them parents. I never thought that years later, they would actually tell a stranger that I was just the housekeeper. The rescue boat veered right in front of me, heading toward the platform where Waffles was trapped. Survival instinct made me wave my arms frantically, trying to get them to see me. But a massive wave crashed down, burying me under the water again. By the time I struggled back to the surface, Dad had already pulled the dog onto the boat. Mom immediately opened the blanket in her arms, carefully wrapping it around Waffles' wet body. The blanket I thought was meant for me was ultimately used to warm Chloe’s dog. 2 Chloe held her dog, shaking and crying. Mom and Dad comforted her on both sides. "Don't worry, Waffles is fine." "Mom saved both of you." Chloe finally smiled through her tears. No one looked back at me. The guard wanted to steer back toward me, but a sudden gale warning blared over the radio. To keep the rescue boat from capsizing, he had to take the passengers and the dog back to the pier first. The sound of the engine faded away. My bleeding, cut hands could no longer hold onto anything. As the saltwater covered my chin, I stopped crying out. They say before you die, you see the happiest moments of your life. Images indeed began to flash before my eyes. Back then, Chloe hadn't been born yet. No matter how busy Dad was, he would always show up at my preschool on time so I could be the first kid picked up. Mom’s phone wallpaper was always me. Her Instagram was filled with my pictures, every post bragging about how I was the best daughter in the world. At night, they would each hold one of my hands and say with a smile: "Mya is Mom and Dad's most precious little girl." When I was seven, I stayed up for nights to draw those one hundred Wish Coupons. When Mom received them, she held me close and kissed me over and over. Dad couldn't bear to use them. He tucked them carefully into his wallet. "Our Mya is so good. How could we ever bear to ask you for anything?" The seven-year-old me could never have guessed. The people who would use these coupons to force me to give up everything, time and time again, would be them. The night Chloe was born, Dad stroked my hair and promised: "This doesn't mean you have less love. It means you have one more sister to love you." But every time Chloe cried, Mom’s grip on me would loosen. In the beginning, they just asked me to let Chloe have the hugs. Then it was my birthdays, my toys, and their time. Eventually, even my parents became something I had to give up. During the summer break when I was eight, they took Chloe to an island resort for the first time. I ran to the door with red eyes. "I want to go too." Mom was putting a sun hat on Chloe. She didn't even look up. "Your sister is fragile. Taking two kids is too exhausting." "You stay at Grandma's this time. We will definitely bring you next time." I stood on the balcony, watching their car disappear at the intersection. That was the first time I was left behind. But it wasn't the last. Every time after that, they always had an excuse to choose Chloe over me. When I was fourteen, I had acute appendicitis. I was curled up on the floor in agony. When Mom picked up the phone, she was watching Chloe's dance competition. "This is her first time on stage. She’ll be terrified if she doesn't see us." "You’re fourteen now. If your stomach hurts, go to the hospital yourself. Stop trying to steal your sister's spotlight." I ended up fainting in front of the apartment lobby. A neighbor called the ambulance. By the time Mom and Dad arrived with Chloe and her trophy, my surgery was already over. Mom didn't ask if I was in pain. Instead, she complained to the nurse: "Mya always exaggerates. She loves making a big deal out of nothing just to get attention." Dad held Chloe's medal in front of my face. "She trained for six months for this. As her sister, you should be happy for her." I had just gotten out of surgery and could barely sit up, but I forced myself to say congratulations. Only then were they satisfied. After that, I stopped asking them for help. I went to the hospital alone when I was sick. I walked home in the rain by myself. I stopped waiting for birthday cakes. But they just said: "Mya is much stronger than Chloe. We don't have to worry about her." They used their neglect to teach me independence, and then used that independence as an excuse to never choose me. So, when Mom invited me on this trip two weeks ago, I was too excited to sleep. She said over the phone: "This time, the whole family will be together. Not one of us can be missing." I took my annual leave and spent my entire bonus booking their flights. But when we got to the hotel, I found out the two-bedroom suite only had rooms for them and Chloe. I had to sleep on a rollaway bed in the living room. I couldn't help but ask why they didn't just book another room. Dad's face darkened instantly. "We brought you on vacation, and you’re already complaining?" Mom sighed. "We’re here to have fun as a family. Do you have to ruin everyone's mood over a room?" During those days, I woke up early to walk the dog, carry their bags, stand in lines, and take photos for them. When registering for the boat tour, the staff asked if I was family. Chloe laughed and said: "No, she’s just our dog sitter." Mom and Dad stood right there. Neither of them corrected her. Chloe posted the photos I took on Instagram. [A family vacation with Waffles. Finally!] In the photo, Dad was holding Mom, and Chloe was holding the dog in the center. I wasn’t in the frame. But I still gave it a quiet like. At least this time, I got to see the same ocean with them. 3 Before the accident, Chloe had climbed over the warning line of the viewing deck just to take a photo. I went to pull her back. When a huge wave hit the rocks, she grabbed me tightly and dragged me down with her. But after she got to safety, they saved her first, and then her dog. Their "not one can be missing" never actually included me. As my memories faded, my spirit drifted beside them. The rescue team asked one family member to stay behind to help with the search. But Dad said impatiently: "Mya can swim. Nothing will happen to her." Mom was convinced I was just throwing a tantrum because they saved Chloe first. "Don't go looking for her," Mom said. "The more we coddle her, the more she’ll use these tantrums to get her way." I touched my empty chest. My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I guess once you're dead, you don't feel that heart-wrenching pain anymore. That was a relief. At 1:00 AM, Mom’s phone suddenly buzzed with an alert. It was my smartwatch. After detecting a severe fall into water with no response, it had automatically sent an emergency location. She glanced at it and swiped to delete. "Her watch is still sending locations. She's obviously fine." "Just ignore her." But they didn't know. That wasn't me calling for help. It was the watch’s automated system sending out one final distress signal after a violent impact went unanswered. The next morning, the rescue team came to the hotel, asking for a recent photo of me. Mom scrolled through her phone for a long time. There were thousands of photos of Chloe, but she couldn't find a single one of my face. In the end, Mom had to give them my ID photo from three years ago. The officer couldn't help but ask, "You’re her family. How do you not have a single recent photo of her?" Mom's face stiffened. "She has an awkward personality. She doesn't like taking photos with us." Chloe chimed in softly, "She always thinks we favor me, so she purposely avoids the camera to make people think we exclude her." Floating next to them, I wanted to laugh. I was already dead. And yet, even the reason why I wasn't in any photos had to be explained away by them. The officers pulled up the surveillance footage from the viewing deck to clip a photo of me before I fell. But the video clearly showed Chloe ignoring the warning signs and climbing over the railing. When the wave hit, she was the one who grabbed my clothes and dragged me down. Chloe's face went pale instantly. "You can't post that!" "If people see this, they’ll say I killed her!" Mom immediately shielded Chloe in her arms. "Just use the ID photo to find her! Why do you have to ruin my daughter's life?" Dad's face darkened too. "Mya is just temporarily missing. Chloe still has to go to school, get a job, and get married." "If you release this video, how is she supposed to live her life?" Just then, Waffles started coughing. Chloe screamed and hugged the dog. "Is there water in his lungs?" Mom and Dad forgot all about the missing person poster. They grabbed the dog to rush to the vet. The officer stopped them. "The person in the water hasn't been found. At least one family member needs to stay to assist." Dad pushed his hand away impatiently. "Searching is your job. What use is it if we stay?" "Mya can swim and she has her smartwatch. If she were in real danger, she would have contacted us by now." At the vet, they found out Waffles had only swallowed a little water. While Chloe watched the dog get examined, she scrolled through a video posted by a local Airbnb on TikTok. [Rescued a girl who fell into the water last night. Glad she's safe.] The video only showed the back of a woman wrapped in a blanket. Mom instantly remembered the location ping she received last night. It was right near that Airbnb. Chloe covered her mouth. "I knew she made it ashore." "She’s fine, but she's purposely refusing to contact us." The worry on Dad's face instantly turned into rage. "Just to make us feel guilty for saving Chloe first, she wasted all these rescue resources!" Mom was shaking with anger. "She’s loved playing the victim since she was a kid. Now she’s even lying to the rescue team!" Chloe leaned into Mom's shoulder, playing the sweet sister. "She probably just wanted your attention." "When we find her, don't yell at her too hard. Just make her apologize to the rescue team." They immediately drove toward the Airbnb. On the way, they planned how they would punish me. Dad wanted to make me pay for the entire rescue fee. Mom wanted me to publicly clarify that I let go of the floating board myself, so it had nothing to do with Chloe. They were certain I was hiding in a warm room, waiting for them to bow their heads and apologize. But when they reached the rocky shore on the other side of the island, the road was blocked by emergency vehicles. Several rescue workers were carrying a stretcher out from the rocks. It was covered with a white sheet. The rescue captain looked at the ID photo in his hand, then at Mom and Dad. "Are you Mya’s family?" "We just found the body of a young woman on the rocky shore on the other side of the island." "We need you to come over and identify her." 4 As soon as the captain finished speaking, Dad’s face fell. "What do you mean, a body?" "Our girl is perfectly fine. Don't curse her first thing in the morning." Mom also instinctively pulled Chloe behind her. "Mya was saved by an Airbnb host last night." "We’re on our way to pick her up right now." The captain looked at the ID photo on his phone, then at the sleeve peeking out from under the white sheet. "The clothes on the deceased match what the missing person was wearing when she fell." "Please, just come and confirm." But Dad waved his hand impatiently. "Plenty of people wear the same clothes." "Mya loves using these cheap tricks to scare us. If we go look, she’ll think she won." Chloe, with red eyes, gently tugged Mom's sleeve. "She must have seen the Airbnb video and is hiding on purpose." "She's just mad we saved Waffles and me first." "When we find her, I’ll apologize to her, okay?" She sounded so sensible and wronged. Mom lovingly smoothed her hair. "It wasn't your fault to begin with." "She was the one who agreed to let you get on the boat first." "Using a dead person just to force us to apologize... I can't believe she would go this far." I floated behind them, wanting so badly to remind Mom. *This time, I’m not hiding.* *And I’m not waiting for your apology.* *Under that white sheet, the person lying there quietly is me.* But they didn't look back. Dad pressured the driver to bypass the rescue vehicles and drove straight to the Airbnb. On the way, Mom called my phone over a dozen times. With each unanswered call, her anger grew. "Mya, pick up." "We already know where you are." "If you come out now, we can still talk." "If you keep this up, don't ever think about coming back home!" Even after the last voicemail, there was still no reply. Mom sneered, throwing her phone into her purse. "When we see her, no one is allowed to comfort her first." "She only acts this wild because she knows we’ll eventually give in." Half an hour later, the car stopped at the Airbnb. Dad pushed the door open and demanded the host hand me over. The host looked completely bewildered. "Mya? We don't have any guest named Mya here." Chloe immediately pulled up the TikTok video. "It's her." "The woman wrapped in a blanket you rescued last night." The host took a look and called upstairs. Soon, a strange woman came down, holding her husband's hand. She only had a similar build to me. Her face, her voice, and her clothes had absolutely nothing to do with me. "I sprained my ankle in the shallow water last night, and my husband helped me back," the woman explained, confused. "Did you get the wrong person?" The anger on Mom's face slowly froze. Refusing to give up, she ran upstairs, shouting my name in every room. "Mya!" "Stop hiding! I know you’re in here!" She knocked on every single door. Still, I wasn't there. Losing his patience, the host slammed the guest log on the table. "Since last night, we’ve only checked in this one injured guest." "If the person you’re looking for really fell into the ocean, you should go back and help the rescue team." Chloe’s face turned pale for a second, but she quickly bit her lip. "Mya probably heard we were coming and left early." "She has money. She could have gone to another hotel." Dad looked like he had finally grabbed a lifeline. "Right." "She changed hotels on purpose to make us worry." "This island is only so big. Let's see how long she can hide." Just as they were about to leave, hurried footsteps echoed outside. The rescue captain had followed them here. He was holding a clear plastic evidence bag. Inside was a waterlogged phone, a smartwatch, and a soggy piece of paper that was falling apart from the seawater. The writing on the paper had bled. But Mom instantly recognized the crooked little flower drawn in the bottom right corner. It was the mark the seven-year-old me had made on every single Wish Coupon. "We found these items near the body," the captain said, his voice heavy. "Even if you won't identify her, you must recognize her belongings."