Stars In The Snow

When my body was placed on the simple operating table, it was still warm.Not that anyone cared, of course.With a surgical knife in hand, Zach Clark slowly but meticulously cut open my chest, and then, he was puzzled.“Huh? Why is there only one kidney?”But he soon resumed what he was doing. His movements were sure and smooth. As expected of the top nephrologist in the city.Some moments later, he removed a bloody kidney from my body and placed it on a uniquely-shaped instrument.“Send it to the hospital and have the staff perform the kidney transplant for Catherine immediately.”Gale Queen, Zach’s best friend, stared at the torso on the operating table and asked, “What about the woman’s body? Even though she only had a torso left when we bought her, it still feels weird to keep her around. Should we call the police?”Zach just washed off the blood on his hands and did not even spare the torso a look. He said in his usual nonchalant tone, “Just destroy it. We don’t want any a

When he got back, Zach massaged the center of his brows because he was feeling tired.He had accomplished a major task, but for some reason, he felt uneasy.Then, as if he thought of something, he tapped on WhatsApp.His finger hovered over our chat.It still contained records of our argument.One month ago, Zach suddenly said that he was willing to marry me. Honestly, once I became an adult, we started sleeping together. Over the years, Zach never admitted that I was his girlfriend. He only ever told the others that I was his sister, much less talked about marrying me.But suddenly, he said that he was willing to marry me.In retrospect, that was one of the few moments of happiness that I had ever had, but in the next second, he said something that completely destroyed that happiness.“But on one condition: You have to donate a kidney to Catherine.”Catherine Queen was the girl whom he loved for years.I did not even know what I signed to Zach at that time, but when I wa

Zach hated me, but he also felt guilty toward me.Both of us lost our parents that night.Since I was mute and deaf and since Zach’s mother said that I was the treasure she protected, Zach did not leave my side.Instead, he took upon himself the responsibility of being my brother and brought me up, but I knew that he still hated me.Over the years, whenever it was his mother’s death anniversary, he would get himself drunk and go alone to visit his mother.I went with him once, but in his drunken state, he kicked me away.He then grabbed my neck, and with a fearsome expression, said, “Stella, you’re not worthy of visiting my mother!”But after he became sober, he hugged me and touched the bruises on my neck while apologizing to me. “I’m sorry, Stella. I just feel… really conflicted.”I knew that.He would even cover my face when he slept with me.Honestly, I felt conflicted too.I wanted to treat him as my brother and stay by his side forever, but things did not go my way.A

“Is that so?” Zach massaged the center of his brows again and shut his eyes.I, too, shut my eyes.If Zach had asked a few more questions to get a clearer answer or even called me, even if I could never hear his voice clearly again, my phone would still ring… in the trunk of his car.But he did not do it.Not in the past, and not in the present.He would not do it in the future either.With my kidney, Catherine’s surgery was a success.Zach was really concerned about Catherine. Even if she had not woken up, he never left her side.When she did, he finally felt relieved.“Thanks for saving me, Zach.”“You don’t have to thank me. We’re friends, after all. Besides, you saved my life.”Catherine forced a smile and said nothing else, as if she was weakened by the surgery and did not have the strength to speak.But I was the only one who knew that she was feeling guilty.She knew that the one who saved Zach in the past was not her, but me.Honestly, though, I think that to Zach

Once he was certain that all of Catherine’s vital signs were normal, Zach was satisfied, and he went back home.He had sent a message to me and told me that he was coming back for dinner tonight. So, he thought that I would welcome him with an apron around my waist and a table full of food, like a dog who would foolishly wag my tail at him while I waited for my master to come home.But he never thought that he would be welcomed by cold silence.When he could not find me in any of the rooms in the house, he took his phone out and finally called me.It was on the third day of my death.Just as I expected, Zach was told that my phone was turned off.Frustrated, Zach threw his phone away.“Stella! You think you’re hot sh*t now, huh?! Fine! It’s not as if you can throw a tantrum forever, anyway!”Then, he picked up his phone and typed a message.[If you don’t come home today, don’t ever come back again!]Once done, he threw the phone on the sofa. After some thought, he added anoth