Mom Said I Should Die Instead

Eight-year-old Ava Miller has spent her entire childhood living in the shadow of her older sister, Sophie, who suffers from brittle bone disease. To keep Sophie from feeling hurt, Ava is not allowed to run or jump. She cannot have toys of her own, and over time, she learns to give all of their parents’ love and attention to her sister. On Ava’s eighth birthday, their mother suddenly realizes that Ava has grown taller than Sophie. In a moment of anger, she lashes out: “Why couldn’t you have been the sick one? Why couldn’t it have been you who died?” Those words completely shatter Ava. What no one knows is that just one week earlier, Ava had also been diagnosed with the same inherited brittle bone disease. Afraid of adding even more medical debt to the family, she keeps the diagnosis a secret. Instead, she takes her mother’s cruel words as one final thing she is supposed to do for the family. Ava takes an overdose of medication and dies. But her spirit remains inside the house. She watches helplessly as Sophie later dies in an accident, and as their mother places all the blame on Ava, never realizing that the daughter she is accusing is already dead. Several days later, Ava’s parents finally break open the door to her locked bedroom. Inside, they find her medical records, her awards, and the money she had carefully saved for Sophie. Only then do they understand the truth. Ava had never been jealous of her sister. She had simply wanted so desperately to be a good child—one who never caused trouble, never became a burden, and never made life harder for anyone