Digging up My Bones

Half an hour later, Samuel pushed open the gate, which was already covered in cobwebs. The weeds in the courtyard had grown even taller than the grass by the gate. They reached up to his waist.

It was clear that this place had been uninhabited for a long time.

Samuel stood in the courtyard, hesitating whether to take another step forward.

He had been here twice before, and he should have remembered that I kept the yard in excellent condition. It didn't look anything like this when he visited in the past.

The first time he came here was to drop off Toby and me. Back then, two-year-old Toby had just been diagnosed with uremia caused by underdevelopment of his kidneys.

He thought Toby was a jinx and bought this farmhouse in a remote village for us to move into. Every month, he transferred me 20 thousand dollars, which included the fees for Toby's dialysis treatment.

The second time he came was to force me to go and do the HLA typing to see if my bone marrow was compatible with Violet's. If his memory didn't fail him, he should recall that the yard was once filled with hydrangeas and roses. I had even built a swing there for Toby.

While Samuel was still lost in thought, Violet called again.

Her voice sounded weak over the phone. "Sam, have you found Kristen yet? Will she come and donate her bone marrow to me today?"

Samuel reassured her, "I'll handle this. Just focus on cooperating with the doctors for your treatment. Don't worry."

Violet's voice broke slightly. "I know Kristen must be unwilling to donate her bone marrow for me again, and I can understand. She already saved me once. I shouldn't be greedy and ask her to save me a second time. If she's hiding now, I don't blame her…"

It was as if she knew for a fact that I was intentionally hiding because I didn't want to donate my bone marrow to her.

Samuel was silent for a few seconds.

To my surprise, he didn't immediately side with Violet. Instead, he said, "That's not it. I haven't managed to contact her yet. She probably doesn't even know that your leukemia has relapsed. How could she have known about that in advance and decided to hide?"

Violet was momentarily at a loss for words. She quickly clarified, "Sam, you misunderstood me. That's not what I meant."

Samuel cut her off. "Don't worry, Vivi. As long as Kristen is still alive, I'll find her. And if she's on the brink of death, I'll make sure she donates her bone marrow to you before she takes her last breath."

Violet seemed relieved after hearing this.

After hanging up, Samuel stood in front of the house for a long time. Even though the door wasn't locked, he didn't push it open and go inside.

If he had, he would have seen the two figures outlined in white chalk. Those were the markings left by the police after they discovered our dead bodies in the house.

Samuel just stood there.

In the end, he stepped back out of the yard and bought a new lock from the locksmith. Then, he locked the gate.