Chapter 1

When I'm seven years old, my sister, Ellie Corwin, and I are playing hide-and-seek when an earthquake hits. My parents pull me out first, but rescue teams search for three days and nights without finding where my sister is hiding.

My parents confront me with bloodshot eyes, demanding answers, and all I can do is stammer, "I don't know… I don't know where she hid."

From that day on, my parents, who once adored me, never smile at me again.

This time, they're heading to visit my sister's grave. I mention that I want to come, and my mother breaks down all over again.

"Get lost! Your sister died because you just had to play hide-and-seek! You wanted to hide? Then get in there!"

She screams herself hoarse and shoves me into a suitcase. But she forgets the suitcase has a combination lock. Once it clicks shut, I can't push it open no matter how hard I try.

Chapter 1

I obediently curled up and squeezed myself into the cramped suitcase.

Over the years, I'd long since gotten used to treating it as my own secret hideout. Whenever Mom had a breakdown and smashed everything off the table, Dad would shoot me a look, and I'd climb right in. I'd zip it shut and pretend I couldn't hear a thing.

Like a game of hide-and-seek, I started counting, quietly preparing to count all the way to a hundred thousand. But this time, I didn't finish like I usually did.

My limbs went stiff and numb from being twisted up for so long. My knees pressed tight against my chest, making it hard to breathe. I clawed at the gap near the zipper with my small hands, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't budge.

"All of Ellie's things are in the suitcase, right? I'll put it in the car."

Dad's voice drifted in.

Hope flared inside me. If I hurried up and apologized, maybe I could beg him to let me out.

Then, the world spun. I felt the suitcase being lifted and flipped upside down, my body hanging inverted inside it.

The suffocation hit all at once. I thrashed and banged against the walls on instinct, but they were too thick and I barely had any strength. Even the weak cries I forced out were swallowed up by my parents' voices.

"The medium said to burn everything that needs to go. The child's spirit is trapped. If you don't help her move on, she never will."

"Shut up! Isn't this all because of Landon? He's the one who killed Ellie!" Mom cut in, her voice sharp enough to slice.

"If he hadn't dragged Ellie into that stupid game of hide-and-seek, they would have at least found her body. My Ellie… There's nothing left of her…"

Her voice went hoarse toward the end. Every word was heavy with pain.

My throat clenched shut, and I couldn't make a sound anymore.

Ellie Corwin's death had been lodged inside my chest for so long it felt like part of me now.

Inside the suitcase, the air turned thick and stale. My mind grew heavier and foggier, and my consciousness started to slip.

Through the haze, I thought I saw a little girl standing far in the distance, calling out in a bright, clear voice, "Landon, let's play hide-and-seek! I'm going to go hide!"

I froze for a second, and then my knees buckled, dropping me to the ground like it was muscle memory.

"No… No more hide-and-seek… I'm sorry, Ellie. It was my fault. I'm the one who got you killed."

The apology I'd rehearsed over and over in my head every time I was shut in that suitcase still came out a jumbled mess. What I really wanted to say was that if I could, I'd trade my life for hers, just like Mom always prayed for.

When I looked up again, my soul had drifted out of the suitcase.

What stood before me wasn't the sister I dreamed of day and night. It was my mother, frozen in place. She opened her mouth numbly, like she was talking to herself.

"Do we really have to burn all of it? Her things, her clothes, the dolls I made her… I dug every last piece out of the rubble.

"It's all because of Landon. Ellie can't even rest in peace because of him. Tell me he isn't God's punishment sent down on me!"

Mom's emotions surged again, the sorrow on her face twisting into deep, raw hatred. She'd taken the medium's word as gospel and believed the dead needed a proper burial with remains intact to find peace. In her mind, it was my fault my sister could never have that.

Dad's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. He turned his head, his face tired and creased, his eyes sunken deep. Even his voice had no strength left.

"It's been long enough. Like the medium said, Ellie needs to go where she's meant to go, and the rest of us need to keep moving forward."

He smiled, but it was bitter. "We can always have another one down the road. A family of three, living a good life together."

Dad's tone was light, but it shook something in my soul.

A family of three, and I wasn't part of it. I was the one thing my parents most wanted to be rid of, and I'd always known it. My face looked so much like my sister's, and I carried the weight of her death everywhere I went.

That was why a few days ago, I'd secretly visited several orphanages, working up the courage to ask the directors if they took in children. But now, looking down at my transparent body, I thought maybe this was better.

I was dead. My parents wouldn't have to look at me and be hurt anymore.

Maybe my guilt could even start to fade, just a little, from their hearts.

Chapter 2

The closer the car got, the more visibly Mom's body trembled.

It had been nearly five years since the earthquake. The area had long since changed, with new buildings rising one after another. But the stretch where my sister and I had been that day was still a wasteland of rubble.

I still remembered how my parents had clawed through the ruins like they'd lost their minds that day, tearing through stone after stone until all ten fingers were slick with blood.

"Ellie loved barbecue chips, so I made sure to buy extra. And I brought plenty of chocolate milk, too." Dad took the food out of the car and set each item on the rubble.

Mom's eyes were already brimming with tears. When she saw Dad lift the suitcase out of the car, she lunged for it, but he held her back.

"Just let me look one more time," she begged, her voice raw with desperation.

Dad's brows furrowed, his eyes full of exhaustion and heartache. He rested his hand on the combination lock, hesitating.

My heart leapt into my throat.

Would they find out? Would they realize they'd grabbed the wrong suitcase and that what was inside wasn't Ellie's belongings but my body?

"Looking will only make it harder to let go. Forget it. Don't open it. The past needs to stay in the past." Dad sighed, resigned.

But Mom didn't pull her hand away.

While they stood at a stalemate, Dad's phone rang.

He answered, and the anxious voice of our housekeeper came through on the other end, "Mr. Corwin, I can't find Landon again. Where has that boy gone and hidden himself this time?"

Mom snatched the phone, her temper igniting instantly.

"Why bother with him? He's doing it on purpose, deliberately causing trouble on a day like this. Mrs. Gallagher, just lock his bedroom door and let him stay there."

Irritation surfaced in Dad's eyes too. He told Nancy Gallagher not to worry about it and hung up without hesitation.

"He's clever, isn't he? He thinks hiding from me is going to earn him forgiveness?" Mom scoffed.

The silence that followed was heavy, thick with something raw and bitter just under the surface. Dad didn't say a word and quietly prepared to light the fire. But the fire in Mom's eyes only burned brighter.

"This is all Landon's fault. He's the reason I can't even hold on to the last of Ellie's things. We treated him so well, so how can he be this cruel? Tricking his little sister into hiding during an earthquake with some stupid game of hide-and-seek.

"Ellie's dead, and she still can't rest in peace. Does he really hate his own sister that much?"

Mom snarled through gritted teeth, her eyes bloodshot. I'd heard words like these countless times. I knew Mom was in too much pain, and she always needed someone to take it out on.

I turned to look at Dad. Whatever tenderness he'd once had for me was long gone from his face, replaced by nothing but numbness and indifference. Because of me, he'd lost his little girl. And because of me, Mom had developed a severe mental illness.

Dad was a lawyer. Logic and composure had defined his entire life. But the relentless, day-after-day grief had eaten through all of that, and he couldn't look at me without resentment.

There was a time when Mom hurt me, and he'd sneak candy to me while I hid in the closet, leaning against the door and whispering apologies. "Landon, Mom's just having a rough spell. Hide a little longer, okay? I know it's not fair to you."

But later, he started drinking heavily where Mom couldn't see. He'd grab me and demand to know why I had to make Ellie play hide-and-seek.

After that, he stopped caring when Mom hit me. He'd lock my bedroom door and forget to bring me food after leaving me shut in all day.

And now he just said it, voice hollow and distant, "Yeah. Once we've sent Ellie off, I'll send the boy to live with my parents. After that, we start over."

It was as if I were nothing more than a piece of trash to throw away.

My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to smile. I wanted to be happy for them, happy that they were finally free of the nightmare and brave enough to start fresh.

But the flames in front of me were already leaping, eager to swallow the last traces of my existence.

My hollow chest still ached.

Mom held Ellie's teddy bear with a dazed, lost look on her face. I let my soul settle into the stuffed animal, and it felt like being back in my mother's arms. A warmth I hadn't felt in years wrapped around me.

I remembered being pulled from the rubble, barely able to see anything, and Mom sweeping me into her arms. But that last bit of warmth shattered the moment I said the words "hide-and-seek", and Mom slapped me across the face.

Chapter 3

The flames climbed higher, and Dad tossed the teddy bear from Mom's arms into the fire.

Mom's face went white. She spun around and threw herself at the suitcase, stumbling as she wrapped her arms around it.

"Please. Just let me stay with Ellie a little longer."

Tears streamed down her face as she begged, practically groveling. Dad's expression twisted with pain.

Guilt hit me out of nowhere. If my parents opened the suitcase and found my body inside, they'd be furious. I just had to go and die today of all days and ruin Ellie's send-off.

My soul circled frantically around them, helpless. But all I could do was watch as Dad pried the suitcase from Mom's grip and, like he'd made up his mind, kicked it straight into the fire.

The flames crackled and popped.

"Wait. That's not Ellie's suitcase!" Mom suddenly screamed.

Her hand trembled as she pointed at the suitcase in the fire, absolute certainty in her voice. "Ellie loved pink stickers. Her suitcase had a Hello Kitty one right on it."

Dad froze, confused.

"That's Landon's suitcase!"

I jolted, instantly panicking. I thought Mom was about to remember that I'd been locked inside and never let out.

But the next second, Mom's voice rose to a shriek, her face wearing that familiar mix of fury and disgust.

"Were you not paying attention when you packed? How could you put Ellie's things in Landon's filthy suitcase? Ellie deserves better than that!"

Dad blinked. So did I.

That was what she cared about? Not only did Mom never think of me, she couldn't even stand the sight of my suitcase.

"No. I won't let my daughter's things be burned in something this dirty…"

Mom lost it and tried to throw herself into the fire. Dad grabbed her just in time. He held her thrashing body against his chest, trying to calm her down.

"Hey, it's okay. Just breathe. It's just a suitcase. It won't change anything."

Mom fought against him, the firelight washing over her ashen face. Her eyes were wide, her hands clamped over her nose and mouth, looking like she was about to faint.

When Dad realized how far gone she was, he stared at my suitcase, and his expression darkened too. He was probably cursing me in his head for not being able to stay out of the way even now.

"That's enough. Let's go home."

All he could do was pat Mom's back and help her to the car, leaving the dying fire behind. He gave her a pill and watched until she fell asleep, then sent a text to someone.

"Thanks, Doc. We took care of Ellie's things. When the time is right, could you tell my wife that her daughter has successfully moved on?"

The reply came quickly.

"Of course. I hope this approach helps your wife heal. Let's schedule another session soon."

That was when I realized there had never been any medium. It was all a performance Dad and the therapist had put together to help Mom find her way out of the nightmare.

It was a brilliant plan, really—if it weren't for me.

I stared out the window. My body was still trapped in that suitcase somewhere in the rubble, and I silently prayed that no one would ever find it. I wanted my remains to rot in that wasteland, right there beside my sister.

But that hope didn't last.

When the car pulled into the driveway, I saw a group of people standing in the front yard. As Dad helped a groggy Mom out of the car, Mrs. Gallagher, looking visibly relieved, finally let out a breath.

She pointed toward my parents and spoke quickly, "There, those are Landon's mom and dad. They're back now. You can talk to them."