Ashes of Forever Sleep

1 A riot broke out at the city’s largest mall on New Year’s Eve. I grabbed my three-year-old daughter and barricaded us in a bathroom stall, praying for rescue. Thirty-six hours later, I bled out. My husband Daniel’s voice, raw with fury, crackled through my phone’s speaker. “I already explained! Jenna is just my deputy captain! She got hurt on New Year’s Eve, so I went to the hospital with her for a few hours. Did you really have to pull a disappearing act with our daughter over that?” The sound of his yelling made Rosie flinch. Her small voice, thick with tears, cried out, “Daddy, I’m sorry! I won’t ask Mommy to take me out to play anymore.” “Mommy’s sleeping,” she sobbed. “I keep calling her, but she won’t wake up. Doesn’t Mommy want me anymore?” The line went dead silent. A moment later, I heard Daniel’s shattered roar, ordering his team to accelerate the search for casualties. I watched as the girl, Jenna, got closer and closer to where my daughter was hidden. A strange sense of relief washed over me. Congratulations, Daniel. You’re finally getting your wish. A new wife. The panting of search dogs grew louder, closer. I floated in the air, a ghost looking down at my own body, crumpled behind a toilet. I was bent at an unnatural angle, the gunshot wound that had torn through my abdomen gaping open. Blood pooled on the tiled floor. Even in death, my arms were wrapped tightly around my daughter, Rosie. My slender back had shielded her from the chaos. Daniel stumbled through the crowd of first responders, his voice cracking with fear. “Find the child! My daughter is in this mall! Find the child first!” His deputy, Jenna, pried my stiff arms apart and carefully lifted Rosie from my embrace. My daughter’s face was pale, her clothes were filthy and damp, and her eyes were swollen and red from crying. Daniel snatched her from Jenna’s arms, his hands frantically checking her for injuries. He found no visible wounds, only a suspicious, faint smear of reddish-brown at the corner of her mouth. He let out a huge, shuddering sigh of relief. Then, just as quickly, the fear on his face morphed into rage. He started calling my phone, over and over, but of course, there was no answer. Jenna moved to his side, her voice a soothing balm. “Daniel, I think she must have left her phone with Rosie. I was in such a rush, I might have missed it. Should I go back and check again?” Daniel’s eyes were bloodshot with anger. He held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t bother. It’s just a stupid phone. I trust your skills; don’t waste your energy.” He glared in the direction of the bathroom. “Look at how terrified she is. What kind of mother abandons her child in a crisis and runs off to save herself?” He spat the words out. “When she’s done with her little tantrum, I’d love to hear how she explains this!” He punctuated the sentence by kicking a nearby trash can with a deafening clang. The rescue workers rushing past flinched, casting strange looks his way before scattering. I floated above his head. I should have been furious at his misunderstanding, but all I felt was a profound, chilling calm. If he could hear me, I’d tell him. Your precious deputy, Jenna, has already hidden my body. You’ll never find me. Rosie, terrified by his outburst, began to cry again, struggling to climb out of his arms. “I want Mommy! I want my mommy!” she wailed. “That lady threw Mommy away!” Daniel let out a cold, humorless laugh. He set Rosie on the ground and, for the first time in her life, he swatted her bottom. Rosie’s heartbroken sobs echoed in my soul, and a phantom pain pierced my chest. When I was pregnant, Daniel had held me and sworn an oath. He named her Rosie, he said, because he would cherish her above all else. He would rather be hurt himself than ever let his daughter feel a moment of pain. Now, for another woman, he was striking his own child as she cried for her mother. “You still want her to hold you?” he snarled. “She threw you away in a fit of pique, and you still want her? And now you’re lying to cover for her! Why on earth would Jenna see your mother and not rescue her?” Jenna knelt, her voice soft and gentle. “Daniel, don’t hit her. Children this young can get confused, their memories get mixed up. It’s not her fault.” She added, with a sympathetic look, “Besides, she was hiding all alone. She must have been desperately hoping her mom would come save her.” Daniel brushed the dust off Rosie’s clothes. “Did you hear that, Rosie? Jenna is defending you. How can you accuse her of something so awful?” He commanded, “Apologize to her. Now.” Seeing that her father not only didn’t believe her but had hurt her, Rosie’s cries grew louder, tears carving clean tracks through the grime on her face. “I’m not lying! Mommy’s just asleep!” she insisted. “I forgot to wake her up! I’m sorry! I want my mommy!” As she cried, the reddish stain at the corner of her mouth began to dissolve with her tears, revealing its true color. Daniel froze, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Alright, that’s enough crying,” he said, his voice still harsh. “If she was sleeping through all this, she clearly wasn’t looking for you. It’s not your fault, it’s hers. Stop crying. Daddy’s taking you home.” Just then, a section of the damaged ceiling groaned and gave way. A massive slab of sheet metal came crashing down. Instinctively, Daniel swept Rosie into his arms, shielding her with his body. He didn’t spare a single glance back toward the bathroom where I was hidden. I watched as the wreckage landed squarely in the middle of the only path leading to the restrooms. Daniel clutched Rosie tightly, refusing to let anyone else hold her. He turned to his deputy for a final confirmation. “That entire section has been cleared? You’re certain there’s no one else?” Jenna was about to nod when he let out another derisive laugh. “What am I worried about? Her? She’s the most selfish person I know. She would never risk her own skin to protect someone else.” With that, he turned and strode away, carrying our daughter toward the exit and the waiting ambulance. I watched his back, seeing not a single flicker of hesitation or regret. My spectral eyes stung, but it didn’t matter anymore.

2 The hospital was blindingly bright. I never imagined a ghost could still smell the sharp, stinging scent of disinfectant. Daniel carried Rosie to a hospital bed himself, refusing all offers of help. She had cried herself to sleep. I hovered beside her, my heart aching as I reached out to stroke her sweaty forehead. But my hand passed right through her. I could never touch her again. A doctor examined her, his expression growing serious as he looked at the dried blood on her lips. “Captain, aside from the shock, we can’t rule out the possibility of internal bleeding. We’ll need to run some more tests.” Daniel’s hand, holding Rosie’s, tightened. His anger flared anew. “Do it,” he bit out. “Run every test you can. Whatever is wrong, just fix it.” As they wheeled Rosie to the imaging department, Daniel walked alongside the gurney, muttering under his breath. “Our daughter is in this state, and her mother couldn’t care less. No sense of priority. Still throwing a tantrum at a time like this.” I floated near Rosie’s head, a cold dread creeping into me, so overwhelming I could barely register his words. Suddenly, the walkie-talkie on Daniel’s hip crackled to life. After a burst of static, a soft female voice came through. “Daniel, the building is clear. All casualties have been transported to the hospital. Any word on your wife?” It was Jenna again. The same Jenna who had personally hidden my body in the mall’s basement. Daniel snorted. “She’s an expert at playing the victim. She’s probably hiding somewhere, waiting for me to come groveling.” His voice was laced with contempt. “Stop looking for her. It’s a waste of resources. She can come back when she’s ready to stop being so damn jealous and petty.” I drifted listlessly beside him, a bitter smile on my face. So this is what he thought of me. A selfish, contemptible woman who would abandon her own child over some petty jealousy. The tests were finished, and they brought Rosie back, a small IV line in her hand. Daniel clipped his walkie-talkie off and rushed to her bedside, his hands hovering over her, afraid to touch. “Doctor, how is she? Is she okay?” The doctor reassured him that the results weren’t back yet and that the child was just sleeping. Daniel sat by Rosie’s bed all night, his eyes fixed on her sleeping face, never once blinking. Just when I thought the long, silent night would pass without incident, he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. His expression was a mixture of annoyance and weary resignation. He placed the object on the pillow beside Rosie’s head. It was an old silver locket, the chain worn smooth with time, but clearly cherished by its owner. My eyes widened in shock. I had given him that locket when we were first in love. He had just joined the volunteer SAR team and had been badly injured on a mission. For months, he couldn’t walk, and I had stayed by his side, nursing him back to health. When he recovered, we went to a small, quiet church to give thanks. While he wasn’t looking, I had the priest bless the locket before I gave it to him. Daniel had been overjoyed. “I’ll wear this every day,” he promised, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ll never take it off. It will be like you’re always with me.” I believed him. Until I saw a photo from a team dinner and there, around Jenna’s neck, was my locket. I was furious. I stormed into the restaurant and confronted him. “What gives you the right to give my gift to someone else?” Daniel’s face darkened as he glanced at the curious expressions of his teammates. “Are you really going to embarrass me in front of everyone over a stupid trinket?” The words “stupid trinket” were like a dull knife twisting in my heart. I grabbed the nearest ashtray and threw it at him. He didn’t move, but Jenna stepped forward, an apologetic look on her face. She unclasped the locket and pressed it into my hand. “Please, don’t misunderstand,” she said earnestly. “I begged Daniel to let me try it on. Please don’t fight because of me.” I stared at the locket in my palm, still warm from another woman’s skin. Tears streamed down my face. With a cry of rage and betrayal, I hurled it at her. The delicate silver struck the floor and shattered. I saw the locket, engraved with our initials, break into pieces. Just like our relationship, it could never be put back together. I turned to leave, but Daniel grabbed my wrist. His face was a thundercloud. For a second, I thought he was going to hit me. “Apologize,” he snarled. “You can take your anger out on me. God knows I deserve it. But what did Jenna do wrong? Apologize to her!” I don’t remember what Jenna said after that. I only remember that from that day on, our relationship deteriorated into mutual resentment. If it weren’t for Rosie, I would have ended the marriage long ago. I thought if I could just endure, just pretend nothing was wrong, I could give my daughter a complete childhood. I never imagined that he had painstakingly collected every shard of that broken locket and pieced it back together. Just then, one of his teammates came in with a document. “Captain, Jenna’s team has done a final sweep. No more bodies have been found. The higher-ups have scheduled the demolition for tomorrow morning. We just need your signature.” Daniel let out a quiet breath, but his expression quickly soured into one of disgust. He curled his lip. “Taught Rosie to lie for her, too. Said she was taking her out to play. The nerve.” I watched, helpless, as he put his pen to the paper and signed the order that would bury me forever. 3 The next day, Rosie’s test results came back. Physically, she was fine, but the trauma had triggered a high fever in her sleep. Her small body was curled up in Daniel’s arms as she mumbled “Mommy” in her delirium. I anxiously placed my hand on her forehead, wishing I could be the one to change the cool cloth for her. But I could do nothing but watch as my daughter’s face grew flushed and her lips cracked from the heat. Daniel gently patted her back, his brow furrowed in a permanent frown. After a moment of hesitation, he tucked the repaired locket inside her pajamas. A cold laugh escaped his lips. “Aria… what day is it now?” he whispered to himself. “Whenever Rosie got sick, you were always right here. But now, just to accuse me of an affair that never happened, you abandon her? If you don’t want to be a mother so badly…” His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. “Then just get out of the way and let someone else do it!” I was so furious I wanted to slap him. “Daniel, you blind, heartless bastard!” I screamed, though he couldn’t hear. “Rosie is my daughter! How could I not love her?” “You finally admit it,” I raged. “You’ve already found a new mother for her, haven’t you?” Just then, Jenna walked in, carrying a bag of breakfast. She had obviously heard Daniel’s last words. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she placed the food beside him. Then, she efficiently replaced the warm cloth on Rosie’s forehead with a cool one. She bustled around, gently wiping Rosie’s body with lukewarm water. Looking at them, one might think they were already a family. After Daniel finished eating, he took Jenna’s hand, his expression softer than I’d seen it in years. “Jenna, thank you. You worked so late yesterday, and you still made time to come take care of us today.” He sighed. “I wish Aria was as thoughtful and understanding as you.” Jenna’s smile was tender. She sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over to hug him. “Daniel, don’t worry. I’m sure your wife is fine. She’s a survivor. She definitely got out of the riot safely.” She looked at Rosie with pity. “It’s just poor Rosie. When I found her, she hugged me and called me ‘Mommy.’ You can’t imagine how much she must have been wishing for her real mother to save her.” At her words, Daniel’s face hardened again. “A woman who would abandon her own child to save herself? Does she even deserve to be a mother?” He was working himself into a rage again. “It’s one thing to fight with me, but to pull this kind of stunt now? She has no sense of right and wrong. That woman is a lost cause.” He looked at Jenna, his voice filled with a desperate longing. “Jenna… I wish you were Rosie’s mother.” My soul shriveled in the air. I thought I was immune to his words by now, but hearing them spoken aloud shattered my heart all over again. Jenna stroked his back, her smile sweet. “Come on, Daniel. Your wife would be hurt if she heard that. Let’s go. We have to wrap things up at the site.” I knew what that meant. They were going to demolish the building. I was about to be buried forever, lost to the light of day. Daniel was too worried to leave Rosie alone at the hospital, so Jenna held our sleeping daughter while he personally supervised the placement of the explosive charges. Just moments before the detonation, Rosie suddenly woke with a start. She began to struggle wildly in Jenna’s arms. “No!” she cried, her voice hoarse. “Mommy’s still in there! She’s sleeping downstairs!” Daniel’s hand, poised to give the signal, froze in mid-air. His brow snapped together. “I have to save Mommy! I have to wake her up!” Huge tears rolled down Rosie’s pale cheeks, splashing onto the dusty ground. I floated to her side, wanting so badly to wipe away her tears, to hold my daughter one last time. But my hand passed right through her face. I stood there, stunned, for a long moment before covering my own face and weeping silently. My sweet girl. She was only three years old, and out of the thousands of people here, she was the only one who wanted to save me. But Daniel, hearing his daughter’s fragmented words, only grew angrier. “Rosie, how long are you going to keep lying to me?! Did your mother teach you this? To tell lies at your age?” His voice was rough with frustration. “Your mother is not in there! She abandoned you! She ran away during the riot and left you behind, do you understand?” At this point, I no longer cared about his misunderstanding. Because in that moment of distraction, Rosie wriggled free from Jenna’s grasp and, on her short little legs, started running toward the condemned building. A wave of pure terror washed over me. I could only watch, helpless, as it all unfolded. The scene descended into chaos. Daniel’s face was a mask of horror. But before Rosie could get far, Jenna sprinted forward and scooped her up. The next second, the demolition charges were triggered. With a deafening roar, the towering mall collapsed into a cloud of dust and debris. Jenna turned her back to the blast, shielding Rosie from the flying shrapnel. She was hit herself, but she protected my daughter. I floated beside Daniel, watching the mix of relief and barely contained fury on his face. My broken body was now buried deep beneath the ruins. Perhaps it would never be found. The man who was once my husband would find a new wife, someone gentle and supportive, someone who could help his career. My daughter would have a new mother. And as she grew up, the memories of the mother she had before she was three would slowly fade away. I had never been so certain of anything in my life. I was truly dead, my body lost forever. But a small, morbid part of me was intensely curious to see Daniel’s reaction when he finally learned the truth.